Irmin Schmidt
Encyclopedia
Irmin Schmidt is a German keyboard
player and composer
, probably best known as a founding member of the band Can
.
, at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen
, the Mozarteum in Salzburg
, and he studied composition
in Karlheinz Stockhausen
's Cologne Courses for New Music at the Rheinische Musikschule, Cologne
.
He started work mainly as a conductor
and performed in concert
s with the Bochum
Symphony, the Vienna Symphony and the Dortmund Ensemble
for New Music, which he founded in 1962. During this time he received several conducting awards. Schmidt also worked as Kapellmeister
at the Theater Aachen
, as docent
for Musical theatre
and chanson
at the Drama school
Bochum, and as concert pianist.
In 1968 Schmidt founded with Holger Czukay
, Michael Karoli
and Jaki Liebezeit
the experimental
krautrock
band Can
. He has written the music
to more than 40 films and television programs.
Schmidt has recorded a few solo albums and written an opera
based on Mervyn Peake
's Gormenghast
. His wife Hildegard Schmidt has been responsible for the group's management and record label
, Spoon Records
, since the 1970s.
With Can:
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
player and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, probably best known as a founding member of the band Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
.
Biography
Schmidt studied music at the conservatorium in DortmundDortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, the Mozarteum in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, and he studied composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
in Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
's Cologne Courses for New Music at the Rheinische Musikschule, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
He started work mainly as a conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and performed in concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s with the Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
Symphony, the Vienna Symphony and the Dortmund Ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
for New Music, which he founded in 1962. During this time he received several conducting awards. Schmidt also worked as Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
at the Theater Aachen
Theater Aachen
Theater Aachen is a theatre in Aachen, Germany. It is the principal venue in that city for operas, musical theatre, plays, and concerts. It is the home of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra. Construction on the original theatre began in 1822 and it opened on 15 May 1825...
, as docent
Docent
Docent is a title at some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks below professor . Docent is also used at some universities generically for a person who has the right to teach...
for Musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
at the Drama school
Drama school
A drama school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution ; which specialises in the pre-professional training in drama and theatre arts, such as acting, design and technical theatre, arts administration, and...
Bochum, and as concert pianist.
In 1968 Schmidt founded with Holger Czukay
Holger Czukay
Holger Czukay is a German musician, probably best known as a co-founder of the krautrock group Can. Described by critic Jason Ankeny as "successfully bridg[ing] the gap between pop and the avant-garde," Czukay is also notable for creating early important examples of ambient music, for exploring...
, Michael Karoli
Michael Karoli
Michael Karoli was a German guitarist, violinist and composer. He was a founding member of the influential krautrock band Can....
and Jaki Liebezeit
Jaki Liebezeit
Jaki Liebezeit is a drummer probably best known as a founding member of Can who has been called "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral"....
the experimental
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
band Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
. He has written the music
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
to more than 40 films and television programs.
Schmidt has recorded a few solo albums and written an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
based on Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
's Gormenghast
Gormenghast series
The Gormenghast series comprises three novels by Mervyn Peake, featuring Castle Gormenghast, and Titus Groan, the title character of the first book.-Works in the series:...
. His wife Hildegard Schmidt has been responsible for the group's management and record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Spoon Records
Spoon Records
Spoon Records is an independent record label managed by Hildegard Schmidt, wife of keyboard player Irmin Schmidt, since 1974, on which music by the krautrock band Can and its members has been released and re-released. It takes its name from the song Spoon on Can's Ege Bamyasi album....
, since the 1970s.
Discography
Solo- Filmmusik (1980)
- Filmmusik, Vol. 2 (1981)
- Toy Planet (1981) with Bruno SpoerriBruno SpoerriBruno Alexander Spoerri is a Swiss jazz and electronics musician.Born in Zurich, he studied applied psychology in Basel and Zurich. He played the saxophone as a student, and toured with the Modern Jazz Group Freiburg in Germany and Switzerland. In the early 1960s, he worked as a psychologist and...
- Filmmusik, Vols. 3 & 4 (1983)
- Rote Erde (1983) soundtrack
- Musk At Dusk (1987)
- Filmmusik Vol. 5 (1989)
- Impossible Holidays (1991)
- Le Weekend (1991) maxi single
- Soundtracks 1978-1993 (1994)
- Gormenghast (2000)
- Masters of Confusion (2001) with KumoKumo (musician)Kumo is a British musician and composer, the pseudonym of Jono Podmore who was born in 1965.-Biography:Kumo came into existence in 1994 when composer, producer, engineer and arranger Jono Podmore began work at Watershed Studios, London and with Plink Plonk records, founding 2 sister labels to Plink...
- Flies, Guys and Choirs (2008) DVD with Kumo
- Axolotl Eyes (2008) with Kumo
- Palermo ShootingPalermo ShootingPalermo Shooting is a film written and directed by German director Wim Wenders, and starring Campino, Dennis Hopper, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Lou Reed as himself, and an uncredited Milla Jovovich, also playing herself. The film was released in Germany on 20 November 2008. The film had its U.S...
(2008) soundtrack
With Can: