Max E. Keller
Encyclopedia
Max Eugen Keller is a Swiss composer
, jazz pianist and improvising musician
. He was one of the first free-jazz musicians in Switzerland. Since 2007 he is chairman of the Swiss Society for New Music.
, history
and composition
with Hans Ulrich Lehmann and Helmut Lachenmann
at the City of Basel Music Academy
and with Nicolaus A. Huber
and Thomas Kessler.
In 1966 he began his career as one of the first Swiss artists of free jazz
. In 1967, he had a sensational performance at the Zurich Jazz Festival. He played in various bands in concerts and on radio broadcasts in Europe.
Since 1980 he worked as an improvising musician (piano and electronic musical instruments) again. Concerts have taken him to South America, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. He worked together with Dani Schaffner, Christoph Gallio, Peter A. Schmid, Mathias Rissi, Kurt Grämiger, Daniel Mouthon, Thomas Borgmann, Hans Koch, Urs Leimgruber, Günter Müller
, Hans Hassler, Charlotte Hug, Matthias Ziegler
, Christian Wolfarth, Günter Heinz and Barry Guy
.
He has composed about 100 works, including electronic music
. He produce a chamber opera (commission of the Komische Oper Berlin
) and several songs. His compositions have been performed in Europe, Australia, South Africa, North and South America, Russia, Korea, China, Mongolia and Azerbaijan (including the World Music Days in Zurich (1991) and Mexico (1993)). Performers were the Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur
, the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich
, the Ensemble Sortisatio
and the Hanns Eisler New Music Group.
Since 2007 he is chairman of the Swiss Society for Contemporary Music (successor to Jean-Luc Darbellay
).
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...
, jazz pianist and improvising musician
Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...
. He was one of the first free-jazz musicians in Switzerland. Since 2007 he is chairman of the Swiss Society for New Music.
Life and work
Keller studied (fellowship by the Heinrich Strobel Foundation in Freiburg, Germany) musicologyMusicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and 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 :...
with Hans Ulrich Lehmann and Helmut Lachenmann
Helmut Lachenmann
Helmut Lachenmann is a German composer associated with musique concrète instrumentale.-Life and works:...
at the City of Basel Music Academy
City of Basel Music Academy
The City of Basel Music Academy is an institution for music education, located in Basel, Switzerland. It comprises a music school, college of music, and a center for early music research and performance...
and with Nicolaus A. Huber
Nicolaus A. Huber
Nicolaus A. Huber is a German composer.From 1958 to 1962 Huber studied music education at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and subsequently composition with Franz Xaver Lehner and Günter Bialas. He pursued his education further with Josef Anton Riedl, Karlheinz Stockhausen and, above...
and Thomas Kessler.
In 1966 he began his career as one of the first Swiss artists of free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
. In 1967, he had a sensational performance at the Zurich Jazz Festival. He played in various bands in concerts and on radio broadcasts in Europe.
Since 1980 he worked as an improvising musician (piano and electronic musical instruments) again. Concerts have taken him to South America, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. He worked together with Dani Schaffner, Christoph Gallio, Peter A. Schmid, Mathias Rissi, Kurt Grämiger, Daniel Mouthon, Thomas Borgmann, Hans Koch, Urs Leimgruber, Günter Müller
Günter Müller
Günter Müller is an Swiss composer, improviser and visual artist based in Lupsingen, Switzerland.Günter Müller is a German sound artist that originally performed as a percussionist and drummer active primarily in free improvisation....
, Hans Hassler, Charlotte Hug, Matthias Ziegler
Matthias Ziegler
Swiss flautist Matthias Ziegler specializes in contemporary music for various sizes of flute . His original works for these instruments feature numerous extended techniques...
, Christian Wolfarth, Günter Heinz and Barry Guy
Barry Guy
Barry John Guy is a British composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras in the UK and Europe...
.
He has composed about 100 works, including electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. He produce a chamber opera (commission of the Komische Oper Berlin
Komische Oper Berlin
The Komische Oper Berlin is an opera company in Berlin, Germany, which specializes in German language productions of opera, operetta and musicals....
) and several songs. His compositions have been performed in Europe, Australia, South Africa, North and South America, Russia, Korea, China, Mongolia and Azerbaijan (including the World Music Days in Zurich (1991) and Mexico (1993)). Performers were the Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur
Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur
The Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur is a symphony orchestra based in Winterthur, Switzerland. The oldest orchestra in Switzerland, it was founded in 1875 as the Stadtorchester Winterthur. The Musikkollegium itself as an organisation out of religious roots to that time was founded in 1629...
, the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich
Tonhalle Orchester Zurich
Tonhalle Orchester Zürich is a symphony orchestra founded in 1868 in Zürich Switzerland, where it established its residence in the neue Tonhalle in 1895....
, the Ensemble Sortisatio
Ensemble Sortisatio
Ensemble Sortisatio is a quartet founded by violist Matthias Sannemüller in 1992 in Leipzig, Germany. Its members are mostly soloists at the MDR Symphony Orchestra. They have specialized in contemporary classical music.- Formation :The Ensemble Sortisatio was founded in 1992 by Matthias...
and the Hanns Eisler New Music Group.
Since 2007 he is chairman of the Swiss Society for Contemporary Music (successor to Jean-Luc Darbellay
Jean-Luc Darbellay
Jean-Luc Darbellay is a Swiss composer, conductor, clarinetist and physician. He was chairman of the Swiss Society for New Music and board member of the International Society for Contemporary Music. Darbellay is a member of the composers group: Groupe Lacroix. He has published about 150 works...
).
External links
- Homepage of Max E. Keller
- Biography of Max E. Keller at Musinfo
- Informations about Max E. Keller at Klassika
- Informations about Max E. Keller at the Living Composers Project