Martin Schlumpf

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Martin Schlumpf

Martin Schlumpf (born December 3, 1947 in Aarau ) is a Swiss musician, composer and improviser (double bass, saxophone and bass clarinet).

Life

Schlumpf studied clarinet (Hansjürg Leuthold), piano ( Warren Thew , Evelyne Dubourg), conducting ( Ferdinand Leitner ) and theory and composition ( Rudolf Kelterborn ) in Zurich . Further composition studies led him to Boris Blacher in Berlin.

From 1977 to 2011, Schlumpf taught as a professor for music theory and group improvisation at the Music Department of the ZHdK, Zurich University of the Arts (formerly the Music Academy). From 1999 to 2010 he was Convention President in the Music Department, from 2008 to 2010 he was also President of the Senate and University Assemblies.

Schlumpf was always active both as a composer and as an improviser.

His compositional development can be divided into four phases:

  1. 1970–1979 Successful activity (several prizes) in the context of a moderate modernity of this time;
  2. 1980–1990 The purely compositional interest fades into the background in favor of improvisational processes;
  3. 1991–2000 Reinforced focus on composing, now with a more pronounced personal style with influences from jazz and minimal music ;
  4. From 2001 The increasingly prominent polymetric thinking leads to the inclusion of the computer in his music (home studio in Würenlingen).

The improvisational development reached its first climax in Schlumpf's youth: as a bassist in the Jürg Sommer Trio at the International Amateur Jazz Festival in Corso Zurich (1964–67 with several awards). In 1980 Schlumpf turned away from composing and founded his first own jazz formation, the "Trio 80", with Urs Blöchlinger and various percussionists (most recently Burhan Öçal ). Later his own improvisation groups were the eleven-piece orchestra "Swiss Fusion", 1984 (including Omri Ziegele , Martin Schütz , Kornelia Bruggmann, Marco Käppeli ) and above all the group "Bermuda Viereck", with which he was active from 1985 to 1993 in different line-ups ( including Urs Blöchlinger, Dieter Ulrich , Christoph Baumann , Stephan Diethelm). In addition, Schlumpf played in many other ensembles of other musicians: u. a. in the Filmmusic Project by Christoph Baumann, in the “Duck Dich” cabaret with Martin Hamburger, in the John Tchicai Orchestra, in “Cadavre exquis” by Urs Blöchlinger (including Tom Varner , David Taylor, Nat Su , Hämi Hämmerli ) and in readings together with Klaus Merz .

From 1987 to 2004, Schlumpf was a soprano saxophonist in the Aargau Saxophone Quartet.

As part of a research assignment from the Zurich University of the Arts, Schlumpf dealt intensively with Conlon Nancarrow's player piano studies from 1999 to 2003 . The result is the CD Die Kunst des Tempokanons with computer processing of 14 studies by Nancarrow.

Schlumpf has been working with the American record company PARMA Recordings since 2009. Since 2015 he has been the artistic director of the "schlumpf +" concert series at Druckerei Baden AG.

Schlumpf has lived in Würenlingen AG with his wife Antoinette Schweickhardt since 1985.

Works (selection)

  • 5 pieces for large orchestra , 1973
  • Tenebrae for soprano, alto, baritone, mixed choir, 5 brass instruments, harpsichord and string quintet (after Paul Celan ), 1976/77
  • Jeux for 3 clarinets, 1979
  • Ostinato II for three improvising musicians and orchestra, 1982
  • Winterkreis for saxophone quartet, 1991
  • December Rains for piano solo, 1992/93
  • Mouvements for piano and orchestra, 1994/99
  • Spring for percussion quartet, 1995
  • ... the bats flutter up with dark faces ... , autumn music for four female voices, 1995
  • Trio for clarinet, violoncello and piano, 1997
  • Rattaplasma 2 for clarinet and computer (Ambisonics), 2001
  • Waves , Concerto for solo cello, obligatory trumpet, string orchestra and electronics, 2002
  • pulsar_1 for flute, clarinet, accordion, percussion and computer (Ambisonics), 2006/07
  • Summer group for string quartet, 2007
  • pulsar_2 for voice, flute, piano and computer (Ambisonics), 2009
  • Streams , double concerto for clarinet, bass trombone and 17 instruments, 2010
  • The Five Points for clarinet and string quartet, 2012
  • Spiegelbilder for viola, cello and piano, 2013
  • Pandora's Promise for alto saxophone, cello and piano, 2014
  • Triple Suite , Triple Concerto for violin, cello, piano and orchestra, 2015
  • Les Extrèmes se touchent for cello and piano, 2015

Sound carrier (selection)

  • Swiss Fusion 84 - Live (utr 4009 LP), 1984
  • Noblesse galvanisée (PL 1267-20 / 21 2LP), Martin Schlumpf's Bermuda Viereck, 1985
  • Martin Schlumpf's Bermuda Rectangle (utr 4038 CD), 1990
  • Cumuli (utr 4049 CD), Martin Schlumpf's Bermuda Viereck, 1992
  • Martin Schlumpf: Four Seasons (Swiss Music Scene CD 6129), 1996
  • Conlon Nancarrow - Martin Schlumpf: Die Kunst des Tempokanons (artist.cd, ARTS 8103 2), 2004
  • Timegrid_01 (tgmusic 47.101), two time, 2008
  • pulsar_1 (tgmusic 47.102 / ZHdK Records 15/09), Martin Schlumpf, 2009
  • Summer Circle (Navona Records, NV5873), 2012
  • The Five Points (NEOS, 11519), 2015

Awards (selection)

  • 1st prize in the composition competitions of the city of Zurich in 1972 and 1979
  • 1st prize in the composition competition of the Tonhalle Society Zurich in 1975
  • Years of work for the Aargau Board of Trustees and the City of Zurich

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. Bruno Spoerri (Ed.): Jazz in Switzerland. History and stories. Chronos-Verlag, Zurich 2005, p. 385
  2. ↑ He also performed there with the Pierre Wildbolz Trio . Cf. Bruno Spoerri (Ed.): Jazz in Switzerland. History and stories. Chronos-Verlag, Zurich 2005, CD supplement
personal data
SURNAME Schlumpf, Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss musician, composer and improviser
DATE OF BIRTH December 3, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Aarau