Wolfgang Fortner
Encyclopedia
Wolfgang Fortner was a German
composer
, composition teacher and conductor
.
. From his parents - both singers - Fortner very early on had intense contact with music. In 1927 he began his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory
(organ
with Karl Straube
, composition
with Hermann Graubner) and at University
, (philosophy
with Hans Driesch, musicology
with Theodor Kroyer, and German studies
with Hermann August Korff) (Weber 2001). While still a student, two of his early compositions were publicly performed: Die vier marianischen Antiphonen at the Lower Rhineland Festival in Düsseldorf in 1928, and his First String Quartet in Königsberg in 1930 (Weber 2001). In Berlin he encountered Arnold Schoenberg
and wrote his Leipzig professional degree thesis on the Kammermusik set of Paul Hindemith
.
In 1931 he completed his studies with the State Exam for a high teaching office, after he accepted a lectureship in music theory
at the . There his music was attacked as Cultural Bolshevism. In 1935 and 1936 Fortner created the Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra with which he supported New Music and undertook expanded concert journeys for "armed forces support", from Scandinavia to Holland to Greece. In the same year he also took over the directorship of the orchestra of the Hitler Youth
of Heidelberg, a string orchestra, formed from juvenile laymen, whose directorship changed in 1939 again. 1940 he was drafted into the army as a medical soldier. In 1941 he joined the Nazi Party; in the same year he published the "Heidelberg Song Book for Soldiers" (without contributions of his own).
After the end of the war, Fortner underwent Denazification
due to the Bandwagon effect
and was found not affected by professional disqualification. Fortner moved to the Heidelberg Kohlhof and there a group of very young students formed around him, who showed interest in the modern music of 1933. In 1946 he joined the circle of the Darmstadt
Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, and taught within that framework. In 1954 he became a professor for composition at the North-West German Music Academy in Detmold, then from 1957 up to his retirement in 1973 taught in Freiburg
. After the death of Karl Amadeus Hartmann
, in 1964 he took up the leadership of the Musica Viva concerts, which he directed until 1978 (Weber 2001).
Together with eleven other composer-friends (Conrad Beck
, Luciano Berio
, Pierre Boulez
, Benjamin Britten
, Henri Dutilleux
, Alberto Ginastera
, Cristóbal Halffter
, Hans Werner Henze
, Heinz Holliger
, Klaus Huber
, and Witold Lutosławski), he was asked by Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich
, on the occasion of the 70th birthday of the Swiss composer and art patron Paul Sacher
, to write a composition for cello solo using the notes of his name (eS, A, C, H, E, Re). Wolfgang Fortner created the theme and three variations Zum spielen für den 70. Geburtstag, Thema und Variationen für Violoncello Solo. These compositions were partially presented in Zurich on 2 May 1976. The whole "eSACHERe" project will be (for the first time in complete performance) performed by Czech Cellist František Brikcius this autumn 2010/2011 in Prague.
Wolfgang Fortner died in Heidelberg
in 1987, aged 79.
Among his students were composers Günther Becker, Arthur Dangel, Friedhelm Döhl
, Hans Ulrich Engelmann
, Diego H. Feinstein, Peter Förtig, Volkmar Fritsche, Hans Werner Henze
, Milko Kelemen
, Rudolf Kelterborn
, Karl Michael Komma, Arghyris Kounadis, Ton de Kruyf, Uwe Lohrmann, Wolfgang Ludewig, Bruce MacCrombie, Roland Moser, Diether de la Motte, Nam June Paik
, Graciela Paraskevaídis
, Robert HP Platz
, Rolf Riehm, Wolfgang Rihm
, Griffith Rose, Mauricio Rosenmann, Dieter Schönbach, Manfred Stahnke
, Henk Stam, Peter Westergaard
, Hans Zender
, Bernd Alois Zimmermann
, Heinz Werner Zimmermann
, conductors Thomas Baldner and Arturo Tamayo and translator Hans Wollschläger
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
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...
, composition teacher and 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...
.
Life
Fortner was born in LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. From his parents - both singers - Fortner very early on had intense contact with music. In 1927 he began his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory
Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre
The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig is a public university in Leipzig . Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatory of Music, it is the oldest university school of music in Germany....
(organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
with Karl Straube
Karl Straube
Montgomery Rufus Karl/Carl Siegfried Straube was a German church musician , organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. He studied organ under Heinrich Reimann in Berlin from 1894 to 1897 and became a widely respected concert organist...
, 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 Hermann Graubner) and at University
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, (philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
with Hans Driesch, musicology
Musicology
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...
with Theodor Kroyer, and German studies
German studies
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents, and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German history, and German politics in addition to the...
with Hermann August Korff) (Weber 2001). While still a student, two of his early compositions were publicly performed: Die vier marianischen Antiphonen at the Lower Rhineland Festival in Düsseldorf in 1928, and his First String Quartet in Königsberg in 1930 (Weber 2001). In Berlin he encountered Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
and wrote his Leipzig professional degree thesis on the Kammermusik set of Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
.
In 1931 he completed his studies with the State Exam for a high teaching office, after he accepted a lectureship in music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
at the . There his music was attacked as Cultural Bolshevism. In 1935 and 1936 Fortner created the Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra with which he supported New Music and undertook expanded concert journeys for "armed forces support", from Scandinavia to Holland to Greece. In the same year he also took over the directorship of the orchestra of the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
of Heidelberg, a string orchestra, formed from juvenile laymen, whose directorship changed in 1939 again. 1940 he was drafted into the army as a medical soldier. In 1941 he joined the Nazi Party; in the same year he published the "Heidelberg Song Book for Soldiers" (without contributions of his own).
After the end of the war, Fortner underwent Denazification
Denazification
Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of the National Socialist ideology. It was carried out specifically by removing those involved from positions of influence and by disbanding or rendering...
due to the Bandwagon effect
Bandwagon effect
The bandwagon effect is a well documented form of groupthink in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with "the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have...
and was found not affected by professional disqualification. Fortner moved to the Heidelberg Kohlhof and there a group of very young students formed around him, who showed interest in the modern music of 1933. In 1946 he joined the circle of the Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, and taught within that framework. In 1954 he became a professor for composition at the North-West German Music Academy in Detmold, then from 1957 up to his retirement in 1973 taught in Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
. After the death of Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Karl Amadeus Hartmann was a German composer. Some have lauded him as the greatest German symphonist of the 20th century, although he is now largely overlooked, particularly in English-speaking countries.-Life:...
, in 1964 he took up the leadership of the Musica Viva concerts, which he directed until 1978 (Weber 2001).
Together with eleven other composer-friends (Conrad Beck
Conrad Beck
Conrad Beck was a Swiss composer.Beck was the son of a pastor. His stay in Paris between 1924 and 1933 proved crucial to his artistic development, where he studied with Jacques Ibert and also made contact with Arthur Honegger, Nadia Boulanger, and Albert Roussel...
, Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
, 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...
, Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own...
, Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered one of the most important Latin American classical composers.- Biography :...
, Cristóbal Halffter
Cristóbal Halffter
Cristóbal Halffter Jiménez-Encina is a Spanish composer. He is the nephew of two other composers, Rodolfo and Ernesto Halffter.-Life:...
, Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
, Heinz Holliger
Heinz Holliger
Heinz Holliger Heinz Holliger Heinz Holliger (born 21 May 1939 is a Swiss oboist, composer and conductor.-Biography:He was born in Langenthal, Switzerland, and began his musical education at the conservatories of Bern and Basel. He studied composition with Sándor Veress and Pierre Boulez...
, Klaus Huber
Klaus Huber
Klaus Huber is a Swiss composer.Huber was born in Bern, Switzerland. One of the leading figures of his generation in Europe, he has written extensively for chamber ensembles, choirs, soloists and the orchestra as well as the theater...
, and Witold Lutosławski), he was asked by Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE , known to close friends as Slava, was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of...
, on the occasion of the 70th birthday of the Swiss composer and art patron Paul Sacher
Paul Sacher
Paul Sacher was a Swiss conductor, patron and impresario.-Biography:He studied under Felix Weingartner, among others. In 1926 he founded the Basel Chamber Orchestra to play works written before the classical period and modern works...
, to write a composition for cello solo using the notes of his name (eS, A, C, H, E, Re). Wolfgang Fortner created the theme and three variations Zum spielen für den 70. Geburtstag, Thema und Variationen für Violoncello Solo. These compositions were partially presented in Zurich on 2 May 1976. The whole "eSACHERe" project will be (for the first time in complete performance) performed by Czech Cellist František Brikcius this autumn 2010/2011 in Prague.
Wolfgang Fortner died in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
in 1987, aged 79.
Prizes
- 1948 Schreker-Prize Berlin.
- 1953 Louis Spohr Prize Brunswick.
- 1955 Bearer of the "Great Prize of Art-Music" of from North-Rhine/Westphalia.
- 1955 Member of the Academy of the Beautiful Arts of Berlin.
- 1956 Member of the Bavarian Academy if the Beautiful Arts of Munich.
- 1957 President of the German section of the ISCM (from 1971).
- 1960 Bach-Prize of the State of Hamburg.
- 1975 President of the Dramatists' Union.
- 1977 Reinhold Schneider Prize of Freiburg.
- 1977 Grand Medal of Service of the Federal Republic of Germany
- 1977 Honorary Doctorate of the Universities of Heidelberg and Freiburg.
Among his students were composers Günther Becker, Arthur Dangel, Friedhelm Döhl
Friedhelm Döhl
Friedhelm Döhl is a German composer and professor of music.Döhl studied composition with Wolfgang Fortner and piano with Carl Seemann at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, and also musicology, German philology, art history, and philosophy concurrently at the Universities of Freiburg and Göttingen...
, Hans Ulrich Engelmann
Hans Ulrich Engelmann
Hans Ulrich Engelmann was a German composer.-Biography:Engelmann studied composition with Hermann Heiss and Wolfgang Fortner...
, Diego H. Feinstein, Peter Förtig, Volkmar Fritsche, Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
, Milko Kelemen
Milko Kelemen
Milko Kelemen is a Croatian composer.- Life :Milko Kelemen studied under Stjepan Šulek in Zagreb, under Olivier Messiaen in Paris and Wolfgang Fortner in Freiburg amongst others....
, Rudolf Kelterborn
Rudolf Kelterborn
Rudolf Kelterborn is a Swiss musician and composer.-Life:Kelterborn studied in Basel, Detmold, Salzburg, and Zürich, among other places, with the composers Walther Geiser, Willy Burkhard, Boris Blacher, Günter Bialas, and Wolfgang Fortner...
, Karl Michael Komma, Arghyris Kounadis, Ton de Kruyf, Uwe Lohrmann, Wolfgang Ludewig, Bruce MacCrombie, Roland Moser, Diether de la Motte, Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
, Graciela Paraskevaídis
Graciela Paraskevaidis
Graciela Paraskevaidis is an Argentine writer and composer of Greek ancestry who lives and works in Uruguay.-Life:Graciela Paraskevaidis was born in Buenos Aires...
, Robert HP Platz
Robert HP Platz
Robert H.P. Platz is a German classical composer.Platz studied music theory, composition , musicology and piano in Freiburg, Germany between 1970 and 1973. He studied later with Karlheinz Stockhausen at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Cologne...
, Rolf Riehm, Wolfgang Rihm
Wolfgang Rihm
Wolfgang Rihm is a German composer.Rihm is Head of the Institute of Modern Music at the Karlsruhe Conservatory of Music and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Salzburg Festival...
, Griffith Rose, Mauricio Rosenmann, Dieter Schönbach, Manfred Stahnke
Manfred Stahnke
Manfred Stahnke is a German composer and musicologist from Kiel. He writes chamber music, orchestral music and stage music. His music is notably known for his use of microtonality.- Life:...
, Henk Stam, Peter Westergaard
Peter Westergaard
Peter Talbot Westergaard is an American composer and music theorist. He is Professor Emeritus of music at Princeton University.-Biography:...
, Hans Zender
Hans Zender
Johannes Wolfgang Zender is a German conductor and composer.-Life:From 1956 to 1959 Zender studied piano, conducting, and composition at the Hochschule für Musik Frankfurt and at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg.From 1959 to 1963 he was Kapellmeister of the Municipal Theatres in Freiburg im...
, Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann was a post-WWII West German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera Die Soldaten which is regarded as one of the most important operas of the 20th century...
, Heinz Werner Zimmermann
Heinz Werner Zimmermann
Heinz Werner Zimmermann is a German composer.Zimmermann had his first composition instruction from 1946 to 1948 with Julius Weismann and studied from 1950 to 1954 in Heidelberg with Wolfgang Fortner as well as at the Institut for Protestant Church Music there...
, conductors Thomas Baldner and Arturo Tamayo and translator Hans Wollschläger
Hans Wollschläger
thumb|right|150px| Signature, 1988Hans Wollschläger was a German writer, translator, historian, and editor of German literature.-Biography:...
.
Operas
- Bluthochzeit. Lyric Tragedy in 2 Acts/7 Pictures, Libretto by the Composer after the Drama Bodas se sangre by Federico García LorcaFederico García LorcaFederico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
(1957) - Corinna. Opera buffaOpera buffaOpera buffa is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ‘commedia in musica’, ‘commedia per musica’, ‘dramma bernesco’, ‘dramma comico’, ‘divertimento giocoso' etc...
in one Act after a Comedy by Gérard de NervalGérard de NervalGérard de Nerval was the nom-de-plume of the French poet, essayist and translator Gérard Labrunie, one of the most essentially Romantic French poets.- Biography :...
(1958) - In seinem Garten liebt Don Perlimplin Belisa. Opera after Federico García LorcaFederico García LorcaFederico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
(1962) - Elisabeth Tudor. Opera in three Acts after a Libretto by Matthias BraunMatthias BraunMatthias Bernard Braun was a sculptor and carver active in the Czech lands, one of the most prominent late baroque style sculptors in the area....
(1972) - That time. Scenic Cantata after Samuel BeckettSamuel BeckettSamuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
(1977)
Ballets
- Die weiße Rose. BalletBalletBallet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
after Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
(1950) - 'Die Witwe von Ephesus. PantomimePantomimePantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
after a scenario of PetroniusPetroniusGaius Petronius Arbiter was a Roman courtier during the reign of Nero. He is generally believed to be the author of the Satyricon, a satirical novel believed to have been written during the Neronian age.-Life:... - CarmenCarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
(Bizet Collagen). Music for a ballet by John CrankoJohn CrankoJohn Cyril Cranko was a choreographer with the Sadler's Wells Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet....
(1971)
Selected Works
- String quartet no. 1 (published 1930)
- ConcertoConcertoA concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
for organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and stringsString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
(published 1932) - Concertino in G minor for viola and chamber orchestra (1934)
- Sonatina for piano (1935)
- Concerto for string orchestra (1935?)
- Sinfonia concertante (published 1937)
- String quartet no. 2 (published 1938)
- ConcertoPiano concertoA piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
for PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and Orchestra (published 1943) - SonataSonataSonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
for violin and piano (1945) - ConcertoViolin concertoA violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
for ViolinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and Orchestra (1947; written for Gerhard TaschnerGerhard TaschnerGerhard Taschner was a noted German violinist and teacher.-Biography:Taschner was born in Krnov , Czechoslovakia, of Moravian origins. After studying with his grandfather, he played Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 at his debut in Prague, when aged only 7...
) - Sonata for fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
and piano (1947) - SymphonySymphonyA symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
1947 (1947) - String quartet no. 3 (1948)
- Phantasie über die Tonfolge BACHJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
for Orchestra (1950) - ConcertoVioloncello concertoA cello concerto is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments....
for CelloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and orchestra (1951) - The Creation (Die Schōpfung) for middle voice and orchestra (1954). Recorded by Dietrich Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
(with the Sinfonie Orchester des Norddeutschen RundfunksNorth German Radio Symphony OrchestraThe North German Radio Symphony Orchestra is a German orchestra, the symphony orchestra of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk in Hamburg....
conducted by Hans Schmidt-IsserstedtHans Schmidt-IsserstedtHans Schmidt-Isserstedt was a German conductor and composer.-Early life:Born in Berlin, he studied music in Heidelberg and Münster. He was also a composition student with Franz Schreker at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, and received a doctorate in 1923.-Career:He was a repetiteur at the...
.) - Impromptus for large Orchestra (1957)
- Die Pfingstgeschichte nach LukasLuke the EvangelistLuke the Evangelist was an Early Christian writer whom Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles...
, Evangelist-scoring for Tenor solo, six-part choir, 11 instruments and organ (1963) - Triplum for 3 KlavierePianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and Orchestra (1965/6) - Prismen for Flute, Oboe, Harp, Percussion and Orchestra (1967)
- Marginalien. Dem Andenken eines guten Hundes. For Orchestra (1969)
- Zyklus for Cello and Chamber Orchestra without strings (1970)
- MachautGuillaume de MachautGuillaume de Machaut was a Medieval French poet and composer. He is one of the earliest composers on whom significant biographical information is available....
-Ballden for Singer and Orchestra (1974) - String Quartet no. 4 (1975)
- TriptychTriptychA triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
on for Orchestra (1977) - Two string trioString trioA string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. The term is generally used with reference to works of chamber music from the Classical period to the present.-History:...
s (1951, 1983) - Piano trioPiano trioA piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music...
(1978)
Literature on Fortner
- Lohrmann, Uwe (1982). "Wolfgang Fortner". Neue Zeitschrift für Musik 143, no. 10:.
- Weber, Brigitta (2001). "Fortner, Wolfgang". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley SadieStanley SadieStanley Sadie CBE was a leading British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.Sadie was educated at St Paul's School,...
and John TyrrellJohn Tyrrell (professor of music)John Tyrrell was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1942. He studied at the universities of Cape Town, Oxford and Brno. In 2000 he was appointed Research Professor at Cardiff University....
. London: Macmillan Publishers.