Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such a ...

oboist, composer and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

and Classical pieces, but he has regularly engaged in lesser known pieces of

Romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—th ...

, as well as his own compositions. He often performed

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

works with his wife, the harpist Ursula Holliger; composers such as Berio, Carter,

Henze Henze is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Albert Henze (1894–1979), German Wehrmacht general *Frank Henze (born 1977), German slalom canoeist *Gertrud Henze (1901–2014), a German supercentenarian *Gregor Henze, German ...

, Krenek, Lutosławski,

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', '' ...

Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groundb ...

and Yun have written works for him. Holliger is a noted composer himself, writing works such as the opera '' Schneewittchen'' (1998).

Biography

Holliger was born in

Langenthal Langenthal is a town and a municipality in the district of Oberaargau in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipality of Untersteckholz merged into the Langenthal. On 1 January 2021 the former municipality of Obersteckho ...

, Switzerland. He began playing the oboe at age eleven, and studied at the conservatory of Bern before taking first prize for oboe in the Geneva International Music Competition in 1959. He studied composition with Sándor Veress and

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mo ...

. He has become one of the world's most celebrated oboists, and many composers,

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as ...

Ernst Krenek Ernst Heinrich Krenek (, 23 August 1900 – 22 December 1991) was an Austrian, later American, composer of Czech origin. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including ''Music Here and Now'' (1939), a study ...

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szyman ...

, Frank Martin,

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', ' ...

Henri Pousseur Henri Léon Marie-Thérèse Pousseur (23 June 1929 – 6 March 2009) was a Belgian classical composer, teacher, and music theorist. Biography Pousseur was born in Malmedy and studied at the Academies of Music in Liège and in Brussels from 1947 ...

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groundb ...

, Sándor Veress and Isang Yun have written works for him. He began teaching at the

Hochschule für Musik Freiburg ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

, Germany in 1966. In 1972 Holliger,

Maurice Bourgue Maurice Bourgue (born 6 November 1939) is a French oboist, composer, and conductor. Biography Maurice Bourgue studied at the Conservatoire de Paris in the oboe class of Étienne Baudo and chamber music of Fernand Oubradous. He won a First P ...

(oboe),

Klaus Thunemann Klaus Thunemann (born 19 April 1937) is a German bassoonist, considered "one of the finest bassoonists of his generation". Biography Klaus Thunemann was born in Magdeburg on 19 April 1937. He originally studied piano but from the age of 18 foc ...

(

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuos ...

), and

Christiane Jaccottet Christiane Jaccottet (born Christiane Wachsmuth, Lausanne, Switzerland 18 May 1937; died Rivaz Rivaz (pro. ree-vah) is a municipality in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Lavaux-Oron. History Rivaz is first mentio ...

(continuo) et al. recorded the ''Six Trio Sonatas for Oboe and Bassoon'' by

Jan Dismas Zelenka Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Czech composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint. Zelenka was rais ...

. This recording is credited for the "Zelenka Renaissance". Holliger has also composed many works in a variety of media. Many of his works have been recorded for the ECM label. Invited by

Walter Fink Walter Fink (16 August 1930 – 13 April 2018) was a German entrepreneur and a patron of contemporary classical music. He is known for being a founding member, executive committee member and sponsor of the Rheingau Musik Festival, where he initi ...

, he was the 17th composer featured in the annual Komponistenporträt of the Rheingau Musik Festival in 2007 in chamber music and a symphonic concert that he conducted himself, including works of

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

and

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

along with his ''Lieder'' after

Georg Trakl Georg Trakl (3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914) was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem " Grodek", which he wr ...

and ''Gesänge der Frühe'' on words of Schumann and

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...

. On the occasion of

Paul Sacher Paul Sacher (28 April 190626 May 1999) was a Swiss conductor, patron and billionaire businessperson. At the time of his death Sacher was majority shareholder of pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche and was considered the third richest person i ...

's 70th birthday, Holliger was one of twelve composer-friends of his who were asked by Russian cellist

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well ...

to write compositions for cello solo using his name spelt out in German names for musical notes on the theme ( eS, A, C, H, E, Re); Holliger contributed a

Chaconne A chaconne (; ; es, chacona, links=no; it, ciaccona, links=no, ; earlier English: ''chacony'') is a type of musical composition often used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short rep ...

for Violoncello Solo. The compositions were partially presented in Zurich on 2 May 1976. The whole "eSACHERe" project was (for the first time in complete performance) performed by Czech cellist

František Brikcius František Brikcius is a Czech cellist. Early life František Brikcius was born in Prague. From early childhood, he began to play the cello and later studied at the Prague Conservatoire under Professor Jaroslav Kulhan. He was accepted into t ...

in May 2011 in Prague. Heinz Holliger was married to the harpist Ursula Holliger née Hänggi (1937–2014) until her death on 21 January 2014.

Awards

* 1987: Léonie Sonning Music Prize (Denmark) * 1991: Ernst von Siemens Music Prize * 2007: Zürich Festival Prize * 2008: Rheingau Musikpreis * 2016: Honorary member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

* 2017: Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau * 2018:

Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts Pour may refer to these people: * Kour Pour (born 1987), British artist of part-Iranian descent * Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer * Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer * Pouya Jalili Pour (born 1976), Iranian si ...

Selected works

* ''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 Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...

* ''Not I'' (1978–1980)

monodrama A monodrama is a theatrical or operatic piece played by a single actor or singer, usually portraying one character. In opera In opera, a monodrama was originally a melodrama with one role such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's '' Pygmalion'', which w ...

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 Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's '' Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergol ...

* ''Alb-Chehr'' (1991) for speaker, singers and chamber ensemble * ''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 * ''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 Klaus Huber (30 November 1924 – 2 October 2017) was a Swiss composer and academic based in Basel and Freiburg. Among his students were Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Jarrell, Younghi Pagh-Paan, Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm, and Kaija Saariaho ...

(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) * '' Sándor Veress: Passacaglia / Songs / Musica Concertante'' (ECM, 2000) * '' Beiseit / Alb-Chehr'' (ECM, 2000) * '' Lauds and Lamentations'' (ECM, 2003)

References

Sources

* *

External links

*
Heinz Holliger

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were fo ...

Heinz Holliger

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's ...

* * *
Heinz Holliger on 1969 tour of Southern Africa
organised by Hans Adler
Holliger Heinz (1939)
Cdmc website
Profile
Colbert Artists Management *Sound recordings of works of the composer from the archives of

SRG SSR The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (german: Schweizerische Radio- und Fernsehgesellschaft; french: Société suisse de radiodiffusion et télévision; it, Società svizzera di radiotelevisione; rm, Societad Svizra da Radio e Televisiun; SRG ...

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Neo.Mx3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holliger, Heinz 1939 births Living people People from Oberaargau District 20th-century classical composers Swiss opera composers Male opera composers Swiss classical oboists Male oboists Swiss classical composers Swiss conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Contemporary classical music performers Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Langenthal Hochschule für Musik Freiburg faculty Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Recipients of the Léonie Sonning Music Prize Swiss male classical composers Ernst von Siemens Music Prize winners Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) 20th-century conductors (music) 21st-century conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians 20th-century Swiss composers