Wim Mertens
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Wim Mertens (born May 14, 1953 in Neerpelt ) is a Flemish-Belgian composer , countertenor , pianist , guitarist and musicologist .
Life
Mertens studied social and political science at the University of Leuven and musicology at the University of Ghent ; in addition, music theory and piano at the Royal Conservatories of Ghent and Brussels.
In 1978 he began to produce for the then BRT (Radio-Télévision Belge) . He has produced concerts with Philip Glass , Steve Reich (both awarded the Praemium Imperiale - Nobel Prize in the Arts), Terry Riley , Meredith Monk and Urban Sax and directed the show Funky Town .
In 1980 he published his first work, For Amusement Only , an electronic composition for pinball machines.
Since then, Mertens has made a name for himself around the world, primarily as a composer. Today he is one of the most important composers of the modern era and, together with Steve Reich , Terry Riley , La Monte Young and John Adams, one of the most influential representatives of minimal music .
Wim Mertens plays the piano and classical guitar. He sings with his unmistakably characteristic high voice, in a fantasy language he developed himself.
He makes international guest appearances as a soloist, with different ensembles and with a symphony orchestra.
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His work includes compositions in a wide variety of formats:
- from short, memorable, melodic and accessible pieces to challenging experimental pieces and complex, multi-part cycles
- Pieces for solo piano, chamber music ensemble and compositions for symphony orchestra
- Solo singing and choral compositions (also in his distinctive fantasy language)
- Theater and film music.
He also writes for extraordinary casts, e.g. B. 12 piccolo flutes, 10 bass trombones, 13 clarinets, ...
Mertens' style has continued to develop during his highly productive work and shows influences from minimalism , ambient and avant-garde . Usually Mertens retains his characteristic, melodic basis on the forays he undertakes through the musical worlds and combines the lyrical quality of his voice with the instrumental.
In his compositional career spanning more than 30 years, Wim Mertens has released more than 50 albums. His complete catalog is published under EMI CLASSICS (except Spain, there under Warner Music Spain).
Wim Mertens is the author of the book American Minimal Music , the first book that deals in depth with the School of American Repetitive Music . It contains a foreword by Michael Nyman .
His best-known album is Struggle for Pleasure , which contains the multi-covered classic Struggle for Pleasure and Close Cover .
Mertens led the Soft Verdict ensemble.
Some special individual projects:
- 1983 Maximizing the Audience , composed for the play The Power of Theatrical Madness by Jan Fabre , which premiered in Venice at the opening of the 41st Biennale in 1984 and was performed in the Royal Albert Hall in 1986
- 1987 alongside Glenn Branca soundtrack for Peter Greenaway's film The Belly of an Architect ( The Belly of an Architect )
- 1993 Composition and live performance of original music for the silent films La femme de nulle part by Louis Delluc and The Land beyond the Sunset Harold M. Shaw
- 1997 parts of the soundtrack to the two German film awards excellent and with the Golden Leopard nominated film Winter Sleepers by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Perfume - The Story of a Murderer)
- 2006 Film music for Der Lebensversicherer by Bülent Akinci , performed at the 56th Berlinale
- 2007 performance with the 70 musicians ORCAM Symphony Orchestra Madrid in the Albeniz Theater Madrid
- 2007 Solo concert in the Arena Antiqua (amphitheater) of Ostia (Rome)
- 2007 album Receptacle , in collaboration with a female-only orchestra
- 2008 Composition and live performance with the Wim Mertens Ensemble on the occasion of the presentation of the men's collection "Christian Dior Homme" at the fashion show in Paris
- 2008 Performance, CD and DVD production with the OST Symphony Orchestra Tenerife in the Auditorio de Tenerife (Tenerife Opera House)
- 2009 Music and Film - 3 CDs with a large selection of film music and a new edition of the soundtrack for the Paul Cox film Father Damien
- 2009 QUA a 37 CD compilation of the Wim Mertens cycles from 1980 to 2001
- 2011 Series of Ands - Immediate Givens - a demanding production in which more than 30 musicians took part. A full set of string instruments, horns, guitars, harp and a harpsichord create an orchestral sound.
- 2012 A Starry Wisdom - a composition for the Festival of Flanders
- 2012 “When Tool Met Wood” composition and live presentation with the Fundação Orquestra Estúdio commissioned by the City of Guimarães (Portugal), European Union Capital of Culture 2012
Discography
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I. Wim Mertens solo: piano and vocals
II. Wim Mertens & Ensemble: instrumental and vocals
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III. Wim Mertens: Symphony
IV. Wim Mertens: Cycles
V. Wim Mertens: Live series
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VI. Wim Mertens solo: guitar
VII. Wim Mertens: Singles
VIII. Wim Mertens: Best Of
IX. Wim Mertens: DVD
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Filmography (selection)
- 1987: The Belly of an Architect (The Belly of an Architect)
- 1990: Rust (Ryð)
- 1992: I think of you (Je pense à vous)
- 1995: Fiesta
- 1995: Between the Devil and the deep blue Sea
- 2006: The life insurer
publication
- Mertens, Wim (1983). American Minimal Music . Translation of the first Belgian publication (1980) by J. Hautekiet. Foreword by Michael Nyman . London: Kahn & Averill; White Plains, New York: Pro / Am Music Resources Inc. ISBN 1-871082-00-5 ; ISBN 0-912483-15-6 .
Awards
1998 cultural ambassador of the Flemish Community
In pop culture
- 1998: Close Cover - on Volume 5 of the Café del Mar music series
- 2000: Struggle for Pleasure - Remix of Minimalistics, a Belgian techno project. Top 10 of the European Radio Dance Tracks, Top 40 of the charts of many European countries
- 2001: Close Cover - Remix by Minimalistics. Number 12 on the UK Singles Chart
- Struggle for Pleasure - theme song from Proximus (largest Belgian mobile operator)
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- ↑ Chart discography Belgium (Flanders)
Web links
- Official website of Wim Mertens
- Works by and about Wim Mertens in the catalog of the German National Library
- Wim Mertens in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Wim Mertens at Discogs (English)
- Wim Mertens at Allmusic (English)
- Wim Mertens audio interview at Cerysmatic Factory (English)
- Wim Mertens at EMI CLASSICS (W)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mertens, Wim |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian composer, countertenor, pianist, guitarist and musicologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 14, 1953 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Neerpelt |