HK Gruber

HK Gruber (actually Heinz Karl Gruber , born January 3, 1943 in Vienna ) is an Austrian composer , chansonnier and conductor .

Life

After basic musical training with the Vienna Boys' Choir from 1953 to 1957, Gruber studied horn , double bass , electronic music, film music and composition at the Vienna University of Music from 1957 to 1963 . a. with Alfred Uhl and Erwin Ratz and in 1963 in the master class with Gottfried von Eine . From 1963 to 1969 he was a double bass player in the Tonkünstler Orchestra and from 1969 to 1995 a member of the ORF radio symphony orchestra . As early as the 1960s he made a name for himself as a conductor, so from 1961 on with the ensemble "die reihe" , whose artistic director he succeeded Friedrich Cerha in 1984. In 1968 he founded the ensemble MOB art & tone Art together with Kurt Schwertsik and Otto M. Zykan . He makes regular guest appearances as a conductor at the Klangforum Wien , the Ensemble Modern , the London Sinfonietta , the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and other well-known ensembles. Numerous CD releases, among others with the Palast Orchester and the Ensemble Modern, testify to Gruber's artistic versatility.

HK Gruber lives in Vienna and Rosenburg (Lower Austria).

Awards

• 1969 and 1978: Promotion Prize of the City of Vienna
• 1970 and 1977: Theodor Körner Foundation sponsorship award
• 1975 and 1979: Appreciation award for music from the BMUKK
• 1989: Prize of the City of Vienna for Music
• 2002: Grand Austrian State Prize for Music
• 2004: Silver Medal of Honor for Services to the State of Vienna
• 2017: Gold Medal of Honor for Services to the State of Vienna

Compositions

Stage works

• The Expulsion from Paradise (op. 17; 1966, revised 1979). Melodrama. Libretto: Richard Bletschacher . Premiere : 1969 Vienna
• Gomorrah (1976, revised 1990/91). A musical spectacle. Libretto: Richard Bletschacher. Premiere: 1993 Vienna
• Gloria von Jaxtberg or The opposite of sausage is love (1992/93). A pigtale (chamber opera in two parts). Libretto: Rudolf Herfurtner . WP: 1994 Huddersfield.
• the lord north wind . Opera. Libretto: HC Artmann . Commissioned by the Herbert von Karajan Center Vienna. Premiere: June 12, 2005 at the Zurich Opera House , conductor: HK Gruber, director: Michael Sturminger .
• Stories from the Vienna Woods . New setting after Ödön by Horváth . Libretto by Michael Sturminger. Premiere: July 23, 2014, Bregenz Festival , conductor: HK Gruber, director: Michael Sturminger. Vienna EA: Theater an der Wien , March 14, 2015.

Vocal compositions

• Frankenstein !! (1976/77). A pandemonium for chansonniers and orchestra. Texts: HC Artmann . Premiere: November 25, 1978 in Liverpool, Philharmonic Hall, chansonnier: HK Gruber, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra , conductor: Simon Rattle .

Orchestral works

• Concerto (1966) for orchestra op.3
• Violin Concerto No. 1: ... woven from shadow scent , for violin and orchestra, 17 '. Premiere: September 20, 1979, Berlin, revised version, Premiere: July 20, 1992, Stadthalle Palasport, Bozen.
• Rough Music (1982/83). Concerto for percussion and orchestra. Premiere: 1983, drums : Gerald Fromme, ORF orchestra . Swiss EA: October 1988, drums: Dieter Dyk; Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich , conductor: Yoav Talmi.
• Nebelsteinmusik for violin and strings, 16 ', WP: July 10, 1988, Festival in St. Florian .
• Concerto (1989) for violoncello and ensemble (small orchestra). WP: August 3, 1989 Tanglewood Music Center, violoncello : Yo-Yo Ma ; Boston Musica Viva, conductor: Richard Pittman.
• Aerial (1999), Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra. Premiere: July 29, 1999, London (Royal Albert Hall), trumpet : Håkan Hardenberger , BBC Symphony Orchestra , conductor: Neeme Järvi .
• Hidden agenda . WP: Lucerne, Culture and Congress Center , BBC Symphony Orchestra .

Chamber music

• Suite for 2 pianos, wind instruments and percussion (1960)
• Trio gioco a tre for piano trio op.12 (1963)
• Bossa Nova op.21 (1968)
• To a household
• The Real Rage Over the Lost Dime for 5 Players (1972)
• Anagram for 6 cellos (1987)
• 3 Mob pieces for 7 instruments and percussion (1968, version for trumpet and orchestra arr. 1999)

Instrumental music

• 4 pieces for violin solo op.11
• 6 episodes (from an interrupted chronicle) for piano, op.20 (1966-67)
• Bossa Nova for violin and piano, op.21e
• Castles in the Air for Piano (1981)
• Exposed throat for trumpet

CD publications

• Charming Weill . Dance band arrangements . Max Raabe , Palast Orchester; Conductor: HK Gruber
• Roaring Eisler . Ensemble Modern , conductor: HK Gruber
• The Threepenny Opera . With Max Raabe, Nina Hagen u. a .; Ensemble Modern, conductor: HK Gruber
• Kurt Weill - Berlin in Light . Ensemble Modern, conductor: HK Gruber

Filmography (selection)

• 2018: Mackie Messer - Brecht's Threepenny Film

literature

• Elisabeth Th. Hilscher-Fritz: Gruber, Heinz Karl (Nali; HK Gruber). In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 2, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-7001-3044-9 . P. 637.
• Andrea Zschunke: HK Gruber - Music in Communication. Verlag Lafite , Vienna 2014, ISBN 978-3-85151-081-2 , table of contents (PDF, 2 pages)

Movie

• Not just Frankenstein. The composer Heinz Karl Gruber. Documentary, Austria, 2014, 33:40 min., Script and director: Herbert Eisenschenk , production: Vermeer-Film, ORF , series: matinee, first broadcast: July 21, 2014 on ORF 2 , summary of ORF 2, ( memento from 29 July 2014 in the Internet Archive ).

Web links

• Works by and about HK Gruber in the catalog of the German National Library
• HK Gruber's composers homepage at the music publisher Boosey & Hawkes
• Heinz Karl Gruber at the Music Information Center Austria
• Tabular biography of HK Gruber in: Österreichischer Kunstsenat
• HK Gruber - composing conductor and political artist: “Inspiration is largely overestimated.” In: klassik.com , August 2008, Toni Hildebrandt in conversation with HK Gruber.
• Archive recordings with and about HK Gruber in the online archive of the Austrian Media Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Renate Rapf: Heinz Karl "Naly" Gruber and Walter Schmögner awarded. In: City Hall Correspondence City of Vienna , April 20, 2004.
2. ↑ Stories from the Vienna Woods. Opera in 3 acts by HK Gruber. ( Memento from June 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) & production images, cast. In: Bregenz Festival , accessed on November 1, 2016.
3. ↑ Stories from the Vienna Woods. Action & information. ( Memento from October 21, 2015 in the web archive archive.today ). In: Theater an der Wien , premiere: March 14, 2015, (with scene recordings).