Reimann, Aribert
Reimann, Aribert
Reimann, Aribert , German composer, pianist, and teacher; b. Berlin, March 4, 1936. He studied at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik (1955–60) with Otto Rausch (piano), Blacher (composition), and Pepping (counterpoint), and also took courses in musicology at the Univ. of Vienna (1958). In 1963 he received the Prix de Rome and studied at the Villa Massimo in Rome. In 1957 he made his debut as a pianist, becoming particularly known in later years as a sensitive accompanist. From 1971 he was a member of the Berlin Akademie der Künste. He also was a prof. at the Hamburg Hochschule für Musik (1974–83), and later at the Berlin Hochschule der Künste (1983). In 1976 he was made a member of the Bayerische Akademie der SchÖnen Künste in Munich and in 1985 of the Hamburg Freien Akademie der Künste. In 1986 he won the Prix de la composition musicale of the Prince Pierre Foundation of Monaco. He received the Frankfurt am Main music award in 1991. After adhering to the precepts of the 2nd Viennese School of composition, he abandoned orthodox serialism in favor of a compositional style in which linear elements were occasionally complemented by lyrical effusions.
Works
DRAMATIC: Opera: Ein Traumspiel (1963–64; Kiel, June 20, 1965); Melusine (1970; Schwetzingen, April 29, 1971); Lear (1976–78; Munich, July 9, 1978); Die Gespenstersonate (1983; Berlin, Sept. 25, 1984); Troades (1985; Munich, July 7, 1986); Das Schloss (1989–91; Berlin, Sept. 2, 1992); Melusine (Munich, Oct. 19, 1997). Ballet: Stoffreste (1957; Essen, 1959); Die Vogelscheuchen (1969–70; Berlin, Oct. 7, 1970; orch. suite, 1970). Poème Visuel: Chacun sa chimère for Tenor and Orch. (1981; Düsseldorf, April 17, 1982). ORCH.: Elegie (1957; Darmstadt, April 5, 1963); Cello Concerto (1959; Berlin, March 23, 1961); Monumenta for Winds and Percussion (1960; Baden-Baden, Nov. 27, 1963); 2 piano concertos: No. 1 (1961; Berlin, Oct. 26, 1962) and No. 2 for Piano and 19 Players (1972; Nuremberg, Jan. 12, 1973); Sym., after the opera Ein Traumspiel (1964; Darmstadt, Sept. 12, 1976); Rondes for Strings (1967; Cologne, Jan. 25, 1968); Loqui (Saarbrücken, Dec. 5, 1969); Variationen (1975; Zürich, Jan. 13, 1976); Sieben Fragmente (1988); Double Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Orch. (1988–89; Hannover, Nov. 13, 1989); 9 Pieces (1993; Houston, May 14, 1994); Violin Concerto (1996). CHAMBER: Canzoni e ricercari for Flute, Viola, and Cello (1961); Cello Sonata (1963); Nocturnos for Cello and Harp (1965); Reflexionen for 7 Instruments (1966); Invenzioni for 12 Players (1979); Solo for Cello (1981); String Trio (1987). KEYBOARD: P i a n o: Sonata (1957); Spektren (1967); Variationen (1979); Auf dem Weg (Vol. I, 1989–93). Organ: Dialogo 1 (1963). VOCAL: Ein Totentanz for Baritone and Chamber Orch. (1960); HÖlderlin- Fragmente for Soprano and Orch. (1963); Epitaph for Tenor and 7 Instruments (1965); Verrà la morte, cantata for Soloists, 2 Choruses, and Orch. (1966; Berlin, Feb. 28, 1967); Nenia for Speaker and Orch. (1967; Kassel, June 26, 1968); Inane, monologue for Soprano and Orch. (1968); Fragmente aus Melusine for Soprano, Baritone, and Orch. (1970); Zyklus for Baritone and Orch. (Nuremberg, April 15, 1971); Lines for Soprano and Chamber String Orch. (1973); Wolkenloses Christfest, requiem for Baritone, Cello, and Orch. (Landau, June 2, 1974); Fragmente aus Lear for Baritone and Orch. (1976–78; Zürich, April 29, 1980); Unrevealed for Baritone and String Quartet (1980; Berlin, Sept. 3, 1981); Drei Lieder for Soprano and Orch. (1980–82; Kiel, June 26, 1982); Ein apokalyptisches Fragment for Mezzo-soprano, Piano, and Orch. (Berlin, Sept. 27, 1987); Sechs Gesänge for Soprano and String Quartet (1994); Finite Infinity for Soprano and Small Orch. (1994–95); Mignon for Soprano and Small Orch. (1994–95); Kumi Ori for Baritone and Orch. (1999); song cycles and solo songs with piano.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire