Paul Kurzbach

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Paul Kurzbach (born December 13, 1902 in Hohndorf , Saxony , † August 2, 1997 in Chemnitz ) was a German composer .

Life

Kurzbach came from a simple background and got involved early on. a. as leader of labor choirs in the labor movement . From 1916 to 1923 he studied at the Zschopau teachers' college and worked as a teacher from 1921 to 1933. In 1920 he began studying music at the Leipzig Conservatory, which he completed in 1928. Here he made the acquaintance of Hermann Scherchen , who promoted the young composer. From 1939 to 1942 he was a student of Carl Orff . In the era of National Socialism Kurzbach was in 1939 a member of the Nazi party . He became a soldier in World War II and was taken prisoner of war until 1946. He then moved to Karl-Marx-Stadt and became a member of the SED and the FDGB . He worked as a choir director and employee of the FDGB, the Kulturbund and other institutions. Kurzbach returned to the school service and was, among other things, director of the Volksmusikschule Karl-Marx-Stadt. From 1951 to 1975 he was chairman, then honorary chairman of the composers' association in the Karl-Marx-Stadt district. Kurzbach was also active on the central board of the composers' association and was its vice-president from 1968 to 1977. Since 1955 he worked as a freelancer. Kurzbach was highly respected in the GDR, he received, among other awards , the medal for the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold in 1982, the Gold Star of Friendship of Nations in 1987 and the prize for artistic people's creativity. He was also an honorary citizen of Karl-Marx-Stadt.

style

Impulses from Carl Orff and Hanns Eisler were decisive for Kurzbach's musical language . Orff's influence is shown above all in a differentiated, complex rhythm, a sound that is described as rough, hard or gritty and a preference for clear structures. Eisler gave Kurzbach important suggestions regarding his understanding of the social function of music: Kurzbach saw himself as motivated by a social mandate, tried to find music facilities for a broad masses and saw music as a means to change the world. Therefore, in his work there are many works that are composed for laypeople. Kurzbach's musical creativity only found its full expression around the founding of the GDR. The focus of his work is vocal music. Song-like, vocal melodies can also be found in his instrumental music. Kurzbach did not categorically shut himself off from musical innovations, but he was of the opinion that comprehensibility and the relationship to the listener should be given top priority. For this reason he did not give up the reference to tonality , although of course he repeatedly explored its limits. In the reunified Germany, however, he did not find the recognition that he had enjoyed in the GDR.

Works

  • Orchestral works
    • Symphony op.12 (referred to as No. 1; 1926)
    • Symphony in C (1952)
    • Chamber Symphony op.21 (1931)
    • Dafnis , lyrical portrait for orchestra based on Arno Holz (1950)
    • Divertimento for small orchestra (1953)
    • Peasant Music , four pieces for orchestra (1959/60)
    • Thyl Claas - a portrait (1961/62)
    • Orchestral Variations on a Melody by Henry Purcell (1966)
    • 7 serenades, a. a.
      • No. 1 for orchestra (1964)
      • No. 2 for orchestra (1968)
      • No. 3 for orchestra (1969)
      • No. 5 for wind orchestra
      • No. 6 for strings (1971)
      • No. 7 for soprano, bass and orchestra based on texts by Weisenborn , Brecht and Strittmatter (1972)
  • Concerts
    • Concerto for harpsichord and strings (1957)
    • Concertino for piano and strings (1965)
    • Violin Concerto (1969)
    • Violoncello Concerto (1982)
  • Stage works
    • Junge Liebe , opera based on Gottfried Keller's Romeo and Juliet in the village (1933–36)
    • Historia de Susanna , opera (1946)
    • Thomas Müntzer , Opera (1948–51, rev. 1972/73)
    • Thyl Claas , Opera (1955/56)
    • Jean the Soldier , opera in three acts (1981)
  • Vocal music
    • May cantata based on Günter Felkel (1951)
    • To those born after, cantata after Brecht (1951)
    • Cantata of friendship after Horst Salomon (1959)
    • Hymn to the Era of Peaceful Times , Cantata (1960)
    • Everything is changing , cantata after Brecht (1970)
    • News about Ole Bienkopp , cantata based on Erwin Strittmatter (1978)
    • Stella caerulea nostra , oratorio (1988)
    • 206 solo songs, songs and chansons
    • 150 choral and mass songs
  • Chamber music
    • Concerto for solo double bass, wind quintet, harpsichord and percussion (1980)
    • String quintet O miracol d'amore conversazione con Carlo Gesualdo (1989)
    • Piano Quintet (1990)
    • 9 string quartets (1945, 1947, 1948, 1958, 1975, 1977, 1985, 1986, 1991)
    • Quartet for flute, horn, harp and violin (1990)
    • Piano trio op.9 (around 1925/26)
    • Piano Trio (1967)
    • Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon (1938)
    • Trio for accordion, guitar and violoncello (1983)
    • Sonatina for violin and piano (1962)
    • Sonatina for violoncello and piano (1961)
    • Sonata for solo cello Mother and the Neutron Bomb (after Yevtushenko ) (1985)
  • Piano music
    • 3 sonatinas (1947, 1947, 1963)

literature

  • Leonhardt, Arne: Paul Kurzbach , in: From the life and work of our composers , issue 4 of the series From the life and work of great musicians , Berlin 1972
  • Laux, Karl (Hrsg.): The music life in the German Democratic Republic , Leipzig undated
  • Hollfelder, Peter: The Piano Music , Hamburg 1999
  • Schaefer, Hansjürgen: Supplement to LP ETERNA 8 25 892 our new music 42: Otto Reinhold : Triptych for orchestra, Paul Kurzbach: Concertino for piano and strings
  • Müller, Hans-Peter: Supplement to LP NOVA 8 85 114 Paul Kurzbach. A composer portrait
  • Werner Kaden : Kurzbach, Paul . In: Institute for Saxon History and Folklore (Ed.): Saxon Biography .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Harry Waibel : Servants of many masters. Former Nazi functionaries in the Soviet Zone / GDR. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2011, ISBN 978-3-631-63542-1 , p. 190.
  2. ^ New Germany , October 6, 1982, p. 2
  3. ↑ Neues Deutschland, 3./4. October 1987, p. 3
personal data
SURNAME Kurzbach, Paul
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Hohndorf , Saxony
DATE OF DEATH 2nd August 1997
Place of death Chemnitz