Heinz Holliger Explained

Heinz Holliger
Birth Place:	Langenthal, Switzerland
Education:	Conservatory of Bern
Occupation:	Composer, oboist, and conductor

Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss composer, virtuoso oboist, and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Classical pieces, but he has regularly engaged in lesser known pieces of Romantic music, as well as his own compositions. He often performed contemporary works with his wife, the harpist Ursula Holliger. Many composers have written works for him, including Messiaen, Berio, Carter, Henze, Krenek, Lutosławski, Martin, Penderecki, Stockhausen and Yun. A noted composer himself, Hollinger has written works such as the opera Schneewittchen (1998).

Biography

Holliger was born in Langenthal, Switzerland. An oboist since age eleven, he studied at the conservatory of Bern before taking first prize in oboe at the Geneva International Music Competition in 1959. In 1966, he began teaching at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg.

He has become one of the world's most celebrated oboists. Many composers have written works for him, including Luciano Berio, Elliott Carter, Hans Werner Henze, Ernst Krenek, Witold Lutosławski, Frank Martin, Krzysztof Penderecki, Henri Pousseur, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sándor Veress and Isang Yun.

In 1972, Maurice Bourgue (oboe), Klaus Thunemann (bassoon), Christiane Jaccottet (continuo), Holliger, and others recorded Jan Dismas Zelenka's Six Trio Sonatas for oboe and bassoon. This recording is credited for the "Zelenka Renaissance".

He was married to the harpist Ursula Holliger, French: née Hänggi (1937–2014).^[1]

Music

Having studied composition with Sándor Veress and Pierre Boulez, he has composed many works in a variety of genres, and many of his works have been recorded for the ECM label. Holliger was invited by Walter Fink to be the 17th composer featured in the 2007 Komponistenporträt of the Rheingau Musik Festival, where he conducted Claude Debussy's and Robert Schumann's music as well as his own Lieder (which set Georg Trakl poems) and Gesänge der Frühe (which set Friedrich Hölderlin and Schumann texts).

For New Music patron Paul Sacher's 70th birthday, Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich asked twelve composers, Sacher's friends, to write music for solo cello using the Sacher hexachord. (This musical cryptogram is eS, A, C, H, E, and Re, or "Sacher" spelled with German words for the pitch classes.) Holliger contributed a chaconne. Some of the compositions were premiered in Zurich on 2 May 1976. Czech cellist František Brikcius gave the entire "eSACHERe" project its premiere in Prague during May 2011.^[2]

Awards

• 1987: Léonie Sonning Music Prize^[3]
• 1991: Ernst von Siemens Music Prize^[4]
• 1994: The Prince Pierre of Monaco Music Composition Prize for (S)irató^[5]
• 2007: Zürich Festival Prize^[6]
• 2008: Rheingau Musik Preis^[7]
• 2016: Honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences^[8]
• 2017: Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau^[9]
• 2018: Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts^[10]
• 2022: Robert Schumann Prize for Poetry and Music^[11]

Selected works

Source:^[12]

• Sequenzen über Johannes I,32 (1962) for harp
• Siebengesang (1966–1967) for solo oboe, orchestra, voices and loudspeaker
• String Quartet (1973)
• Scardanelli-Zyklus (1975–1991) for solo flute, small orchestra, tape and mixed choir
• Come and Go / Va et vient / Kommen und Gehen (1976/1977), opera to a text by Samuel Beckett
• Not I (1978–1980) monodrama for soprano and tape
• Studie über Mehrklänge (1979) for oboe solo
• Lieder ohne Worte (1982–1994), two sets of works for violin and piano
• Präludium, Arioso and Passacaglia, for two guitars (1985)
• Gesänge der Frühe for choir, orchestra and tape, after Schumann and Hölderlin (1987)
• What Where (1988), chamber opera
• Alb-Chehr (1991) for speaker, singers and chamber ensemble
• (S)irató for orchestra (1992–03)
• Fünf Lieder für Altstimme und großes Orchester nach Gedichten von Georg Trakl (1992–2006)
• Violin Concerto "Hommage à Louis Soutter" (1993–1995)
• Schneewittchen (1998), opera based on a text by Robert Walser
• Partita (1999), piano cycle
• Puneigä, ten songs with twelve players after Anna Maria Bacher's poems (2000/02)
• Ma'mounia for percussion solo and instrumental quintet (2002)
• Romancendres for cello and piano (2003)
• Induuchlen, four songs for counter-tenor and horn, for Klaus Huber (2004)
• Toronto-Exercises for flute (also alto flute), clarinet, violin, harp and marimbaphone (2005)
• Lunea (2018), opera based on texts by Nikolaus Lenau

Discography

• Jan Dismas Zelenka: Trio Sonatas (ECM, 1997)^[13]
• Sándor Veress: Passacaglia / Songs / Musica Concertante (ECM, 2000)^[14]
• Beiseit / Alb-Chehr (ECM, 2000)^[15]
• Lauds and Lamentations (ECM, 2003)^[16]

References

Bibliography

• Encyclopedia: Burgess . Geoffrey . 2001 . . Oboe . II. The European treble oboe . . Oxford . 10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.40450 . 978-1-56159-263-0 . subscription .
• Encyclopedia: Kunkel . Michael . Stenzl . Jürg . Jürg Stenzl . 2003 . 2001 . . Holliger, Heinz . . Oxford . 10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.13230 . 978-1-56159-263-0 . subscription . 9 August 2021 . 9 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210809173858/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000013230 . live .

Further reading

• News: Buell . Richard . 27 March 1984 . Oboist Holliger at Musica Viva . . Boston . 26 . . 31 May 2020.
• News: Reich . Howard . 1 August 1986 . Heinz Holliger breathes a new sound into two oboe concertos . . Chicago . 25 . . 31 May 2020.

External links

• Heinz Holliger Schott Music
• Heinz Holliger ECM Records
  • Web site: Heinz Holliger – Leben und Werk . 22 May 2008. Katharina Jing An Gebauer . March 2008 . PDF (18MB) . BA (Composition) Thesis . de . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080528100243/http://finanzblog.kaywa.com/files/Bachelorarbeit.pdf . 28 May 2008.
• Heinz Holliger on 1969 tour of Southern Africa, organised by Hans Adler
• Holliger Heinz (1939) Cdmc website
• Sound recordings of works of the composer from the archives of SRG SSR on Neo.Mx3

Notes and References

1. News: Apone . Carl . 16 March 1989 . Holliger to debut Soviet oboe work . . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . 27 . . 31 May 2020 . 1 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200801213445/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52517100/heinz-holliger-apone/ . live .
2. Web site: eSACHERe . 10 October 2011 . 10 June 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120610072751/http://www.brikcius.com/Projects.uk.eSACHERe.html . dead .
3. Web site: Main prize recipients . Léonie Sonnings Musikpris . 21 March 2021 . 12 August 2024 . 9 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230109160943/https://www.sonningmusik.dk/main-prize-recipients/?lang=en . live .
4. Web site: HauptpreisträgerInnen Archiv . Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung . de . 12 August 2024 . 21 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240421145638/https://www.old.evs-musikstiftung.ch/de/preise/preise/archiv/hauptpreistraegerinnen.html . live .
5. Web site: Pierre . Fondation Prince . Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco . Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco . 12 August 2024 . 12 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240812101500/https://www.fondationprincepierre.mc/en/music/prize/the-musical-composition-prize/1994 . live .
6. https://archive.today/20120629122842/http://www.schott-music.com/news/archiv/show,881.html "Zurich Festival Prize for Heinz Holliger"
7. Web site: Rheingau Musik Preis . Rheingau Musik Festival . de . 12 August 2024.
8. Web site: Heinz Robert Holliger . American Academy of Arts & Sciences . 1 July 2024 . 12 August 2024 . 29 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230429194545/https://www.amacad.org/person/heinz-robert-holliger . live .
9. Web site: Preisträger . Willkommen in der Robert-Schumann-Stadt Zwickau! . de . 12 August 2024 . 10 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190510202827/https://www.schumann-zwickau.de/de/02/02/preistraeger.php . live .
10. Web site: Holliger . ORDEN POUR LE MÉRITE . de . 12 August 2024 . 12 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240812102245/http://www.orden-pourlemerite.de/mitglieder/heinz-holliger . live .
11. Web site: Komponist Heinz Holliger erhält Schumann-Preis . . 26 April 2021 . de . 27 April 2022 . 26 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220426224456/https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/komponist-heinz-holliger-erhaelt-schumann-preis-102.html . live .
12. Web site: Heinz Holliger . Schott Music . 21 May 1939 . 12 August 2024 . 12 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240812102437/https://www.schott-music.com/en/person/heinz-holliger#person_worklist . live .
13. Web site: Jan Dismas Zelenka: Trio Sonatas . ECM Records . 17 April 2024 . 12 August 2024 . 12 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240812102637/https://ecmrecords.com/product/jan-dismas-zelenka-trio-sonatas-heinz-holliger-maurice-bourgue-thomas-zehetmair-kalus-thunemann-klaus-stoll-jonathan-rubin-christiane-jaccottet/ . live .
14. Web site: Sándor Veress: Passacaglia Concertante / Songs Of The Seasons / Musica Concertante . ECM Records . 12 March 2024 . 12 August 2024 . 12 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240812102729/https://ecmrecords.com/product/sandor-veress-passacaglia-concertante-songs-of-the-seasons-musica-concertante-heinz-holliger-camerata-bern-london-voices/ . live .
15. Web site: Heinz Holliger: Beiseit / Alb-Chehr . ECM Records . 29 May 2024 . 12 August 2024 . 12 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240812102825/https://ecmrecords.com/product/heinz-holliger-beiseit-alb-chehr-david-james-elmar-schmid-teodoro-anzellotti-johannes-nied-heinz-holliger-franziskus-abgottspon-oberwalliser-spillit/ . live .
16. Web site: Music of Elliott Carter and Isang Yun . ECM Records . 3 June 2024 . 12 August 2024 . 12 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240812102935/https://ecmrecords.com/product/lauds-and-lamentations-music-of-elliott-carter-and-isang-yun-heinz-holliger-thomas-zehetmair-ruth-killius-thomas-demenga/ . live .