Thilman, Johannes Paul

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Thilman, Johannes Paul

Thilman, Johannes Paul, German composer and pedagogue; b. Dresden, Jan. 11, 1906; d. there, Jan. 29, 1973. He was a pupil of Hindemith, Grabner, and Scherchen, and also studied at the Dresden Technical Univ. During the Nazi era (1933-5) he was declared an unacceptable composer, and it was only after the fall of the 3rd Reich that he was permitted to pursue his career in earnest. He was founder-director of the “New Music in Dresden” concert series (1947-51); he also taught at the Univ. of Dresden, and later was prof, of composition at the Dresden Hochschule für Musik (from 1965). He publ. Probleme der neuen Polyphonie (1949), Neue Musik: Polemische Beiträge (1950), and Musikalische Formenlehre (1952). Among his compositions are 7 syms. and other orch. works, much chamber music, choral works, piano pieces, and numerous works for school and domestic use..

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire