Karlheinz Essl (born 15 August 1960) is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

, performer, sound artist, improviser, and composition teacher.

Biography

Essl was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. His studies at the University of Music in Vienna included: composition (under

Friedrich Cerha Friedrich Cerha (born 17 February 1926) is an Austrian composer, conductor and music educator. Education and Career Cerha was born in Vienna, Austria, and educated at the Viennese Music Academy (violin with Váša Příhoda, composition with ...

), electro-acoustic music (under Dieter Kaufmann) and double bass. At the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...

he studied musicology (1989 doctoral thesis on ''Das Synthese-Denken bei

Anton Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...

''). In 1990-94 he was "composer in residence" at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, while in 1992-93 he worked on a commission at

IRCAM IRCAM (French: ''Ircam, '', English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of avant garde and electro-acoustical art music. It is ...

in Paris. From 1992 to 2016, he was the music curator of the Essl Collectio

in Klosterneuburg/Vienna. Between 1995–2006 he taught

Algorithmic composition Algorithmic composition is the technique of using algorithms to create music. Algorithms (or, at the very least, formal sets of rules) have been used to compose music for centuries; the procedures used to plot voice-leading in Western counterpo ...

at the ''Studio for Advanced Music & Media Technology'' at the

Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

in Linz, Austria. As of 2007, Essl is professor of composition for electro-acoustic and experimental music at the

University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

Characterisation

Karlheinz Essl's work with computers (with emphasis on

algorithmic composition Algorithmic composition is the technique of using algorithms to create music. Algorithms (or, at the very least, formal sets of rules) have been used to compose music for centuries; the procedures used to plot voice-leading in Western counterpo ...

and

generative music Generative music is a term popularized by Brian Eno to describe music that is ever-different and changing, and that is created by a system. Historical background In 1995 whilst working with SSEYO's Koan software (built by Tim Cole and Pete Col ...

) and a prolonged occupation with the poetics of

serial music In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were als ...

have been a formative influence on his compositional thinking. Besides writing instrumental music, Karlheinz Essl also works in the field of

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

, interactive realtime compositions and sound installations. Since the early 1990s, he has developed variou
software environments for realtime composition
which he uses himself for his own live performances and also in collaboration with artists from other fields (choreographers, dancers, visual artists and poets). In 1998, Essl started to develop a computer-based electronic instrument called ''m@ze°2'' which he uses as an improviser in live performances. Since 2008, he is working on a series of compositions for various solo instruments and

live electronics Live electronic music (also known as live electronics) is a form of music that can include traditional electronic sound-generating devices, modified electric musical instruments, hacked sound generating technologies, and computers. Initially the pr ...

named ''Sequitur''. Recently he has written several solo and ensemble pieces for electric guitar.

Projects

Since the 1990s, Karlheinz Essl carried out a number of projects for the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

and became increasingly involved with

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

.Drunken Boat: international online journal of the arts
/ref> In 1997, Karlheinz Essl was featured at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

with portrait concerts and sound installations. In 2003, he was artist-in-residence of the festival ''musik aktuell'', and in 2004 he was presented with a series of portrait concerts at the Brucknerhaus Linz. 2008–2009 he was composer-in-residence of the Belgium ensemble Champ d'Action.

Selected works

* ''Helix 1.0'' for string quartet (1986) * ''met him pike trousers'' for large orchestra (1987) * ''Rudiments'' for 4 snare drums (1989) * ''Close the Gap'' for 3 tenor saxophones (1989) * ''...et consumimur igni'' for 3 ensemble groups (1990) * ''In's Offene!'' flute, bass clarinet, violin and cello (1991) * ''Entsagung'' for ensemble and electronics (1993) * ''Lexikon-Sonate'' infinite realtime composition for computer-controlled piano (1992–2007) * ''Déviation'' for ensemble (1993) * ''absence'' for violin solo (1996) * ''à trois/seul'' for string trio (1998) * ''mise en scène'' for 10 instruments (1998) * ''more or less'' realtime composition for soloists and electronics (1999–2002) * ''upward, behind the onstreaming it mooned'' for string quartet (2001) * ''blur'' for flute, cello and vibraphone (2003) * ''Faites vos jeux!'' a musical card game for cellos and/or trombones (2004) * ''Kalimba'' for toy piano and playback (2005) * ''colorado'' for saxophone quartet and live-electronics (2005–2008) * ''Von Hirschen und Röhren'' sound installation for Beat Zoderer (2006–2007) * ''7x7'' for 4 clarinets, 4 saxophones, 4 trombones or 4 electric guitars (2006–2009) * ''AIRBORNE'' open-air sound environment (2006) * ''Cinq'' for woodwind quintet (2007) * ''FRÄULEIN ATLANTIS'' generative sound and video environment for Jonathan Meese (2007) * ''Sequitur'' cycle for 14 different solo instruments and live-electronics (2008/2009) * ''while my guitars gently whip'' for 4 electric guitars (2008/2009) * ''Detune'' for oboe and large orchestra (2009) * ''Chemi(s)e'' for electric guitar and 2 ensemble groups (2009) * ''whatever shall be'' for toy piano, dreidel, music box and live-electronics (2010) * ''LABoratorio'' mixed-media performance for viola, percussions, live-electronics, dancers and video (2010/2011) * ''juncTions'' for grand piano (two players) and live-electronics (2011/2012) * ''Si!'' for tenor tuba (or trombone), live-electronics and surround sound (2012) * ''under wood'' for two amplified toy pianos (one player) and ensemble (2012) * ''Miles to go'' for 4 prepared and amplified toy pianos (2012) * ''STERN'' for electric violin and vibration speaker (2013) * ''Pachinko'' for toy piano and computer (2013) * ''VIRIBVS VNITIS'' for toy piano and harpsichord (2014) * ''RESONAVIT'' for zither, electric violin and vibration speaker (2014) * ''Omnia in omnibus'' sound/video/performance for the 650th anniversary of the University of Vienna (2014) * ''Autumn's leaving'' for pipa and live-electronics (2015) * ''imagination'' soundtrack for a paper theater piece (2015) * ''river_run'' for guzheng and live-electronics (2016) * ''exit*glue'' for trombone and electric guitar (2016)

Music software

Amazing Maze
interactive realtime composition for sampled sound particles

algorithmic music generator

ambient soundscape generator

generative sound file shredder

ambient sound environment based on the sound of a bell

generative sound environment based on John Cage's ''Fontana Mix''

generative music generator in memory of Anton Webern

Records

free improvisations for zither and electronics, with Martin Mallaun (Nachtstück Records 2014)

Three Deconstructions on Richard Wagner (Radical Matters 2013)

music for toy instruments and electronics, performed by Isabel Ettenauer (Edition Eirelav 2013)

interpretation of J.S. Bach's ''Goldberg Variations'' for string trio and electronics (

Preiser Records Preiser Records is an independent Austrian record label. It was founded in 1952 by Otto G. Preiser (1920–1996). The label is particularly important for recordings from the Viennese cabaret scene, especially from the 1950s and 1960s ( Helmut Qu ...

2008)
SNDTX
electronic music #3 (tlhotra #23 2008) - free download from archive.org

electronic music #2 (Lotus Records 2001)

electronic music #1 (KHE 1999) - free download as mp3 from last.fm

instrumental compositions 1986–1993 (TONOS 1995)

References

External links

www.essl.at
official website

by Julieanne Klein (2010)

by Bruce Duffie (1997) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Essl, Karlheinz 1960 births Living people Musicians from Vienna 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Austrian male classical composers Twelve-tone and serial composers 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians