René Staar

René Staar (born May 30, 1951 in Graz ) is an Austrian composer , violinist and conductor .

Life

Staar composed his first pieces as a child. He attended the Östermalms Musikskole Stockholm from 1962 to 1963 and studied music theory with Walter Wasservogel . This was followed by violin studies with Franz Samohyl and from 1965 studies of harmony and counterpoint at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna .

In 1968 Staar completed guest studies at the Sibelius Academy with Anja Ignatius (violin) and Izumi Tateno (piano). In Helsinki he also made his debut as a violinist and pianist. In Vienna he continued his training with Alfred Uhl (composition), Erich Urbanner (twelve-tone music) and Francesco Valdambrini (new music) and began studying conducting in 1972 with Hans Swarowsky and Karl Österreicher . From 1977 he took master classes with Nathan Milstein in Zurich and completed postgraduate studies with Roman Haubenstock-Ramati in 1981 , he received further impulses from Leonard Bernstein .

From 1974 Staar was assistant to his teacher Franz Samohyl. In 1979 he founded the Trio des Trois Mondes , which existed until 1981. As a violinist, he performed with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra , went on concert tours to Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United States and played the world premiere of Robert Schollum's Violin Concerto with the ORF Symphony Orchestra .

Since the early 1980s, Staar has worked as a soloist with the 20th century ensemble , with whom he performed his composition Fragments of a Dream Play on a concert tour through Sweden in 1986 . In the same year he was awarded for his composition Just an Accident? A Requiem for Anton Webern and Other Victims of the Absurd was awarded the Ernst Krenek Prize of the City of Vienna. Since 1987 he was a member of the Vienna String Soloists , from 1990 to 1994 as their managing director.

In 1987 he founded the Ensemble Wiener Collage with Eugene Hartzell and Erik Freitag , which is dedicated to the interpretation of contemporary works, especially by Austrian composers. In 1988 he became a member of the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera . In 1991, he performed compositions by Mozart and contemporary composers in Japan and the United States with the Ensemble Wiener Collage.

In 1994 Staar became visiting professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz . In 1996 he performed for the first time with the newly founded piano quintet Vienna-Paris with the pianist Roger Muraro . In 1999 the joint stage work Da Capo al Capone by Dieter Kaufmann and Ulrich Kaufmann , Erik Freitag, Georg Amanshauser , Amy Leverenz , Eugene Hartzell and Staar premiered. For the first time in its more than 170-year history, the Vienna Philharmonic commissioned one of its members to compose a composition: on May 17, 2014, Staars orchestral work Time Recycling was premiered in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein under the direction of Semjon Bytschkow . August 2014 the work was presented under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel at the Salzburg Festival , both times with great success.

In 2014 he was awarded the Great Merit of the State of Salzburg.

Works (selection)

• The stage work: Fortunes of war Op. 37 (Vienna, 1999) (Libretto by Amy Leverenz)
• Movimientos para Don José Haydn for Chamber Orchestra Op. 8, 1981–1983, 1990 (also for 2 pianos)
• Structures I – VI for chamber ensemble Op. 7, 1980–1982, revision 1994/2001
• Just an accident? (A Requiem for Anton Webern and Other Victims of the Absurd) Op. 9 (text by Alan Levy ) for soprano, narrator and large orchestra, 1985
• Two songs based on words by Else Lasker-Schüler for soprano and chamber ensemble Op. 20 I, 1987-1995
• Bagatelles in the name of György Ligeti for piano Op. 14 No. 3a, 1989-1996
• Metamorphoses of a Labyrinth for ten solo strings and solo violin Op. 22a, 1990-1995
• Gemini , Duette cycle Op. 24, 1991-2000
• La Fontaine du Sang for solo violin and large orchestra Op. 22b, 1992-2001
• Sunken Dreams , Six Sketches for String Quartet Op. 22c, 1993
• Europafanfares for wind orchestra Op. 28, 1994
• Cat Music for flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, tuba, accordion, piano and cello Op. 38, 1999-2000
• Hammabbul for soloists, mixed choir and orchestra Op. 22g (Munich, 2003, full-length revision Vienna 2008) (texts: Bible, synthetic language and sound elements compiled by the composer and Anna-Maria Adaktylos)
• "PB forever" for chamber ensemble (2009) Op. 14 No. 10
• "Morgengabe" for cello and piano Op. 14 No. 9, 2002
• "Klischees" for large orchestra Op. 22e 1995-2002
• "Kodai-no-ibuki" for violin, Shakuhachi, traditional Gagaku instruments and Shomyo male choir Op. 30 (1996)

Web links

• Homepage of René Staar with a complete catalog of works

Individual evidence

1. ↑ from DAHOAM: Great Merit to eight members of the Vienna Philharmonic , from August 10, 2014