Olga Neuwirth
Encyclopedia
Olga Neuwirth is an Austrian composer
.
As a child at the age of seven, Neuwirth began lessons on trumpet. She later studied composition in Vienna
at the Vienna Academy of Music and Performing Arts under Erich Urbanner
, while studying at the Electroacoustic Institute. Her thesis was written on the music in Alain Resnais
's movie "L'Amour à mort
." In 1985-86, she studied music and art at the Conservatory of Music
in San Francisco with Elinor Armer
. In 1993-94 she studied with Tristan Murail
and worked at IRCAM
, producing such works as "...?risonanze!..." for Viola d'amore
. Earlier in her career, Neuwirth had the chance to meet with Italian composer Luigi Nono
, who had similarly radical politics, and has claimed this had a strong influence on her life. In 2000, Neuwirth was appointed Composer-in-residence of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, Antwerp and in 2002, she was appointed Composer-in-residence at the Lucerne Festival
(together with Pierre Boulez
).
She has numerous chamber music works released on the Kairos
label, and has collaborated with Elfriede Jelinek
on an opera of David Lynch
's film Lost Highway incorporating both live and pre-recorded audio and visual feeds, alongside other electronics. The world premiere took place in Graz
in 2003, performed by the Klangforum Vienna with the electronics realized at the IEM. The American premiere of the opera took place at Oberlin College
in Oberlin, OH and featured further performances at Columbia University's Miller Theater
in New York City, produced by Oberlin Conservatory and The Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble. The surround recording released at Kairos
was awarded the Diapason d'Or. The UK premiere took place at the Young Vic in London in April 2008, in a co-production with English National Opera, directed by Diane Paulus and conducted by Baldur Bronnimann.
In 2008 she was awarded the Heidelberger Künstlerinnenpreis.
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...
.
As a child at the age of seven, Neuwirth began lessons on trumpet. She later studied composition in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
at the Vienna Academy of Music and Performing Arts under Erich Urbanner
Erich Urbanner
Erich Urbanner is an Austrian composer and teacher.-Biography:Urbanner studied from 1955 to 1961 at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, in the composition classes of Karl Schiske and Hanns Jelinek, as well as studying piano with Grete Hinterhofer and conducting with Hans Swarowsky...
, while studying at the Electroacoustic Institute. Her thesis was written on the music in Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
's movie "L'Amour à mort
L'amour à mort
L'amour à mort is a 1984 film directed by Alain Resnais.The film was shot in Uzès, Gard, in the south of France.-Cast:* Sabine Azéma - Elisabeth Sutter* Fanny Ardant - Judith Martignac* Pierre Arditi - Simon Roche...
." In 1985-86, she studied music and art at the Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music, formerly the California Conservatory of Music, founded in 1917, is a music school, with an enrollment of about 400 students. It was launched by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgehead in the remodeled home of Lillian's parents on Sacramento Street. It was called the...
in San Francisco with Elinor Armer
Elinor Armer
Elinor Armer is an American pianist, music educator and composer.-Biography:Elinor Armer was born in Oakland, California. She studied music under Darius Milhaud and Leon Kirchner for composition and Alexander Libermann for piano...
. In 1993-94 she studied with Tristan Murail
Tristan Murail
Tristan Murail is a French composer. His father, Gérard Murail, is a poet and his mother, Marie-Thérèse Barrois, a journalist. One of his brothers, Lorris Murail, and his younger sister Elvire Murail, aka Moka, also write, and his younger sister Marie-Aude Murail is a French children's writer...
and worked at IRCAM
IRCAM
IRCAM is a European institute for science about music and sound and avant garde electro-acoustical art music. It is situated next to, and is organizationally linked with, the Centre Pompidou in Paris...
, producing such works as "...?risonanze!..." for Viola d'amore
Viola d'amore
The viola d'amore is a 7- or 6-stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.- Structure and sound :...
. Earlier in her career, Neuwirth had the chance to meet with Italian composer Luigi Nono
Luigi Nono
Luigi Nono was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music and remains one of the most prominent composers of the 20th century.- Early years :Born in Venice, he was a member of a wealthy artistic family, and his grandfather was a notable painter...
, who had similarly radical politics, and has claimed this had a strong influence on her life. In 2000, Neuwirth was appointed Composer-in-residence of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, Antwerp and in 2002, she was appointed Composer-in-residence at the Lucerne Festival
Lucerne Festival
- History :The festival was founded in 1938 with a series of concerts in the gardens of Wagner's villa conducted by Arturo Toscanini, who had formed an orchestra with members of different orchestras and soloists for the concert...
(together with Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
).
She has numerous chamber music works released on the Kairos
Kairos
Kairos is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment . The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. While the former refers to chronological or sequential time, the latter signifies a time in between, a moment of indeterminate time in which something special...
label, and has collaborated with Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004 for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."-...
on an opera of David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's film Lost Highway incorporating both live and pre-recorded audio and visual feeds, alongside other electronics. The world premiere took place in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
in 2003, performed by the Klangforum Vienna with the electronics realized at the IEM. The American premiere of the opera took place at Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
in Oberlin, OH and featured further performances at Columbia University's Miller Theater
Miller Theater
The Miller Theater is a former movie theater located in Augusta, Georgia. The Miller was built by architect Roy A. Benjamin utilizing the Arte Moderne style of architecture and was owned by Frank Miller. Due to an economic downturn in the 1980s in downtown Augusta, the theater was forced to close...
in New York City, produced by Oberlin Conservatory and The Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble. The surround recording released at Kairos
Kairos
Kairos is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment . The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. While the former refers to chronological or sequential time, the latter signifies a time in between, a moment of indeterminate time in which something special...
was awarded the Diapason d'Or. The UK premiere took place at the Young Vic in London in April 2008, in a co-production with English National Opera, directed by Diane Paulus and conducted by Baldur Bronnimann.
In 2008 she was awarded the Heidelberger Künstlerinnenpreis.
External links
- Official homepage
- http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=5292&ttype=SNAPSHOT&ttitle=SnapshotOlga Neuwirth @ Boosey & HawkesBoosey & HawkesBoosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....
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