Thomas Hertel (1951 – 9 December 2024) was a German composer. He was head of incidental music at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden from 1974 to 1982. In 1985, he left the GDR. He focused on musical-scenic projects, for example at the Donaueschinger Musiktage and the Lucerne Festival. He taught in Hamburg, Bochum, Frankfurt and Munich. From 2002 to 2008 he was head of incidental music at the Schauspiel Leipzig.
Thomas Hertel | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Hertel c. 2020 | |
| Born | 1951 Bad Salzungen, Thuringia, Germany |
| Died | (aged 73) |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Organizations |
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| Awards | |
Life and career
editHertel was born in Bad Salzungen, Thuringia, in 1951.[1] After his Abitur in the special branch for music in Wernigerode, Hertel studied musicology in Halle from 1969 to 1973.[2] Afterwards he was a master student for composition at the Academy of Arts, Berlin with Siegfried Matthus.[3]
Hertel was head of incidental music at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden From 1974 to 1982.[1] He worked as a freelance composer and head of the Young Composers Section in the Dresden Composers' Association. He composed two commissioned operas, Leonce and Lena and Till. He received composition prizes in Halle and the Hans Stieber Prize of the Radio of the GDR. His compositions were promoted by two Leipzig music publishers Peters and Deutscher Verlag für Musik).[1] Travelling to Pierre Boulez and IRCAM in Paris was not granted to him.[4] He was banned from working on and realising cross-genre projects.[1]
Hertel left East Germany in 1985 for artistic and cultural-political reasons;[1][4] he devoted himself primarily to the realisation of musical-scenic projects,[1] among them Cernunnos for 7 reed players, bulls and live electronics for the 1993 Donaueschinger Musiktage edition with the Experimentalstudio des SWR;[5] the opening installation for the 1996 Lucerne Festival aus der erde durch den wind – a mobile open-air music for various wind, vocal and bell ensembles and the sound transport of natural sound samples, and in 1999 the cartoon opera Das Biest des Monsieur Racine after Tomi Ungerer commissioned by the Theater Basel.[6] In 1991, he received the Art Prize of the City of Munich for experimental theatre.[3]
He held teaching posts at music academies and drama schools among others in Hamburg, Bochum, Frankfurt and Munich.[1] He realised numerous commissioned works, song recitals and theatre music for over 40 German-speaking theatres. He returned to Leipzig and was from 2002 to 2008 head of incidental music at the Schauspiel Leipzig;[1] there he created the experimental musical-scenic series mund & knie 1–12, for which he was awarded the Leipzig Theatre Prize in 2009.[1][3][7]
Hertel died after a long illness in Leipzig, on 9 December 2024, at the age of 73.[1]
Awards
edit- 1982: Hans Stieber Prize[1]
- 1982: Hanns Eisler Prize[3]
- 1991: Kunstpreis der Landeshauptstadt München[3]
- 2009: Leipziger Theaterpreis[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Leipzig: Komponist Thomas Hertel gestorben". MDR.DE (in German). 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "Thomas Hertel". ParkinSong-Revue (in German). 15 October 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Landestheater Linz Person Details". Landestheater Linz (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ a b Nauck, Gisela. "Neue Musik". HfM Weimar (in German). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
- ^ "Cernunnos, eine musikalische A(u)ktion für 7 Rohrspieler, Stiere, Hirsch-Träger und Live-Elektronik". SWR Kultur (in German). 3 May 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "Das Biest des Monsieur Racine 1999/00". Archiv Theater Basel (in German). 19 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ Drehscheibe Leipzig Talk mit Komponist Thomas Hertel on Sachsen-fernsehen
- ^ "Leipziger Theaterpreis – Freundeskreis Schauspiel Leipzig". Freundeskreis Schauspiel Leipzig – Weil es unser Theater ist (in German). 18 January 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
Further reading
edit- "Der Grenzüberschreiter: Komponist und Theatermacher Thomas Hertel wird 70". LVZ – Leipziger Volkszeitung (in German). 3 February 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- Kienemund, Gudula (10 December 2024). "Leipzigs früherer Schauspiel-Musikchef Thomas Hertel gestorben: Nachklang eines mutigen Träumers". LVZ – Leipziger Volkszeitung (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- Hertel, Thomas: Weltoffene Musik in einem weltfernen Land Free University of Berlin 2014
External links
edit- Thomas Hertel discography at Discogs
- Thomas Hertel at IMDb
- Thomas Hertel im Archiv Zeitgenössischer Komponisten der Saxon State and University Library Dresden
- Hertel, Thomas RISM
