Manfred Eicher

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Manfred Eicher (born July 9, 1943 in Lindau (Bodensee) ) is a German music producer .

Live and act

Eicher studied music in Berlin and initially played classical music as a double bass player with the Berlin Philharmonic . He then appeared in Joe Viera's free jazz trio , but also with Bob Degen , Marion Brown and Leo Smith . In 1969 he founded the record label ECM Records (Edition of Contemporary Music) in Munich with Manfred Scheffner and Karl Egger . At ECM he primarily produces chamber music jazz , which is more oriented towards European cultural experiences than American traditions and trends. Since the mid- 1980s , Manfred Eicher has also been producing the music of contemporary composers of serious music under the label ECM New Series - starting with Arvo Pärt's 1984 composition Tabula Rasa . However, Eicher's interest in contemporary music is older - in the late 1970s, he published Steve Reich's groundbreaking work Music for 18 Musicians for the development of serial minimalism . There are also many crossover productions in which the genre boundaries are blurring. Artists who have been or are produced by Eicher include Paul Bley , Chick Corea , Jan Garbarek , Keith Jarrett , Pat Metheny, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago .

ECM productions are characterized by particularly careful recording technology. The ECM sound has a very clear and transparent sound pattern (true to the motto “The most beautiful sound next to silence”). Since it was founded, ECM has produced over a thousand recordings. Most are still available today.

1990 turned Eicher together with Heinz Bütler based on the story The Man in the Holocene of Max Frisch the film Holocene , of the International Film Festival of Locarno was awarded the Special Jury Prize. His further work in the film sector concentrates on the musical production and conception for various films by Jean-Luc Godard and Theo Angelopoulos , Xavier Koller , Sandra Nettelbeck and Christian Frei .

In 2009 the documentary sounds and silence about Manfred Eicher was created under the direction of Peter Guyer and Norbert Wiedmer . The film accompanies Eicher on his travels to various musicians from the ECM repertoire and shows Eicher's way of working and his search for sounds and music. The film was released internationally in 2010 by Recycled TV AG, Biograph Film and in Germany by Arsenal Filmverleih .

Honourings and prices

Manfred Eicher has received numerous awards for his artistic production: in 1986 he received the honorary award of the German record review , in 1998 the music award of the state capital of Munich . The University of Brighton awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2000 "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of contemporary music". In 2002 Eicher received a Grammy Award for Best Classical Producer of the Year . In January 2005 Eicher was awarded the 2004 cultural honorary prize of the City of Munich . On October 4, 2007 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon. In 2008, 2009, 2010 and from 2012 to 2019 he was named "Producer of the Year" in the jazz magazine Down Beat's critics poll (he had received this award before, in 1976). Down Beat presented Eicher with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 for "his life's work".

Manfred Eicher rejected the ECHO Jazz 2011, as a sponsor of jazz, on the grounds that this awarding of the award thwarted the perception of his work as a music producer “not only in jokes, but in all seriousness.” He quoted a sentence from Kurt Tucholsky : “Je priser crowned, the more he falls through ..... "

On February 12, 2018, Manfred Eicher was accepted into the circle of Honorary Fellows of the London Royal Academy of Music .

Filmography (selection)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ With Brown, Smith, Thomas Stöwsand and Fred Braceful he went on tour as a Creative Improvisation Ensemble in 1970 , documented in the films Without Forbearance and See the Music by Theo Kotulla . See Rolf Aurich, Wolfgang Jacobsen (eds.): Theodor Kotulla. Director and critic Munich 2005, pp. 39 and 238.
  2. ↑ Information from the Federal President's Office
  3. ↑ jazzecho.de: Downbeat Critics Poll 2019: Laurels for legends
  4. ↑ DownBeat Critics Poll Awards: Manfred Eicher is Producer of the Year (JazzEcho)
  5. ↑ Friday , No. 16, April 20, 2011
  6. ↑ BR-Klassik Newsletter from February 15, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Eicher, Manfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German music producer
DATE OF BIRTH July 9, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Lindau