Christoph Sramek (born 6 September 1950) is a German
music historian
Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view.
In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history o ...
and
music critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
.
Life
Born in
Chemnitz
Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...
, Sramek passed his
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
in 1969 in
Burgstädt
Burgstädt () is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 12 km northwest of Chemnitz.
Sons and daughters of the city
* Erich Gleixner (1920-1962), footballer
* Peter Jahr (born 1959), politician (CDU ...
. He also obtained a skilled worker degree as
bricklayer
A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsman and tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. ...
.
From 1969 to 1973 he studied
music education
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...
and
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 hi ...
at the
Leipzig University
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...
. His teachers included
Richard Petzoldt
Richard Johannes Petzoldt (12 November 1907 – 14 January 1974) was a German musicologist and music critic.
Life
Petzoldt was born in Plauen in 1907 as the son of a merchant and grew up in Berlin. After graduating from high school, he studied m ...
and
Werner Wolf
Werner Wolf (15 March 1925 – 23 December 2019) was a German musicologist and music critic. The acknowledged Wagner researcher was co-editor of ''Sämtlicher Briefe'' of the composer from 1967 to 1979. He also presented several opera performances ...
in music history, in
music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
and
Werner Buschnakowski in piano. Bezirksverband Leipzig. Leipzig 1982, . His diploma
thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
with
Gerd Schönfelder
Gerd Schönfelder (born 2 September 1970 in Kulmain) is a German para-alpine skier, one of the most decorated in the sport's history.
Biography
Schönfelder is a multiple Paralympic Champion who won his first three gold medals at the 1992 Win ...
as subject teacher deals with the topic ''Möglichkeiten aleatorischer musikalischer Gestaltungsweisen für das Musiktheater – untersucht an Fritz Geißlers "Zerbrochenem Krug"''. From 1973 to 1976 he was a teacher at the Polytechnic High School in Burgstädt. He also taught
stenography
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''ste ...
at the Extended Secondary School.
From 1976 to 1979 he was an aspirant for musicology at the University of Leipzig. In 1980 he was awarded a
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
by
Udo Klement
Udo Fritz Peter Klement (born 12 January 1936) is a German musicologist and music critic.
Life
Klement, non-denominational, was born in 1936 in Dresden as the son of a gear cutter and an agricultural worker and saleswoman. He attended the Dresdn ...
with the
dissertation ''Studien zur Klangfarbe – unter Einbeziehung von Beispielen aus der Orchestermusik der DDR in den siebziger Jahren''. From 1980 to 1988 he worked as an assistant in the research group ''Instrumental Music of the GDR'' and was temporarily head of the study department of the section for cultural and art studies. He began the
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
thesis ''Beziehungen zur Harmonik – ausgehend von Orchestermusikwerken Sachsens in den 1980er Jahren'' '(Relationships to Harmonics - based on orchestral music works of Saxony in the 1980s), which he did not complete. In 1988 he received the
teaching qualification
A certified teacher is an educator who has earned credentials from an authoritative source, such as the government, a higher education institution or a private body or source. This teacher qualification gives a teacher authorization to teach and ...
. From 1988 to 1989 he also studied at the
Charles University
)
, image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg
, image_size = 200px
, established =
, type = Public, Ancient
, budget = 8.9 billion CZK
, rector = Milena Králíčková
, faculty = 4,057
, administrative_staff = 4,026
, students = 51,438
, undergr ...
. Sramek taught from 1978 to 1997 at the .
From 1994 to 2015 he held a teaching position. From 2000 to 2003 he was twice deputy professor. In 2001 he was appointed
Honorary Professor
Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...
for historical musicology at the Institute of Musicology of the
University of Music and Theatre Leipzig
The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...
.
He works as a freelancer for the
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR; ''Central German Broadcasting'') is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. Established in January 1991, its headquarters are in Leipzig, with regional studio ...
. He also works as a music critic for music magazines such as ', ''Üben und Musizieren'', ''
Das Orchester
''Das Orchester'' is a German-language magazine for musicians and management which has been published eleven times a year since 1953 by Schott Music and is distributed in over 45 countries worldwide. The editor-in-chief is based in Berlin while ...
'' as well as the ''
Freie Presse'' and the ''
Ostthüringer Zeitung The ''Ostthüringer Zeitung'' (OTZ) is a German newspaper covering eastern Thuringia with a head office in Gera. Together with the '' Thüringische Landeszeitung'' it has a daily circulation of 78,244 copies as of 2019, a 57.5% decrease since 1998.
...
''. He wrote several CD booklets in the field of
New Music New music may refer to:
Musical styles and movements
Pre-20th century
* Ars nova, musical style in 14th-century France and the Low Countries
* '' Le nuove musiche'', collection of monody by Giulio Caccini
* New German School, music style in late 1 ...
and published composer portraits for the music publisher
Breitkopf & Härtel
Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf.
The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on ...
. Sramek is a member of the board of the .
Publications
* ''Studien zur Klangfarbe – unter Einbeziehung von Beispielen aus der Orchestermusik der DDR in den siebziger Jahren.'' 2 volumes, Leipzig 1980. (zugleich Dissertation, Universität Leipzig 1980)
* with Allmuth Behrendt: ''Prof. Dr. Johannes Forner: „Durchdachte Poesien“ – die späten Klavierzyklen von Brahms. Abschiedsvorlesung am Freitag, dem 25. Januar 2002, Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig, Hauptgebäude, Kammermusiksaal.'' Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Leipzig 2002.
* ''die töne haben mich geblendet. Festschrift zum 60. Geburtstag des Dresdner Komponisten
Jörg Herchet.'' Kamprad, Altenburg 2003, .
* ''Musik mit Klangsinnlich keit und konstruktivem Kalkül. Eine Dokumentation anlässlich des 70. Geburtstages von
Siegfried Thiele
Siegfried Thiele (born 28 March 1934) is a German composer. From 1990 to 1997 he was rector of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig.
Life
Born in Chemnitz Thiele was born the son of a craftsman. Already at the age of twelve he created hi ...
.'' Künstlerisches Betriebsbüro der Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Leipzig 2004.
* ''Dokumentation zum Leben und Schaffen des Leipziger Musikwissenschaftlers, Hochschullehrers und Musikkritikers Prof. Dr. sc. Werner Wolf anläßlich seines 80. Geburtstags am 15. März 2005.'' Leipzig 2005.
*
Thomas Buchholz
Thomas Walter Buchholz (born 27 August 1961) is a German composer and music educator.
Life
Buchholz was born in 1961 in Eisenach as the son of the oratorio singer and vocal pedagogue Kurt Wichmann and the concert pianist and music teacher Jutta ...
. ''Skizzenblätter zu Leben und Werk des halleschen Komponisten''. Verlag Neue Musik, Berlin 2011, .
* (ed.): ''"Im Lichtstrom versunken nun sonnenhaft": Dokumente zum Schaffen des Dresdner Komponisten Jörg Herchet''. Kamprad, Altenburg 2013, .
* with Wolfgang Orf: ''„Töne befragen – ihr Sosein erkunden“. Siegfried Thiele Werkeverzeichnis (ThWV): eine Dokumentation zu Leben und Schaffen des Leipziger Komponisten''. Kamprad, Altenburg 2017, .
* (ed.): ''„im teil ist das ganze verborgen“. Dokumente zum Werk des Komponisten Jörg Herchet und seines Textautors Jörg Milbradt. Jörg Milbradt zum 75. Geburtstag gewidmet''.
''"Im Teil ist das Ganze verborgen" : Dokumente zum Werk des Komponisten Jörg Herchet und seines Textautors Jörg Milbradt : Jörg Milbradt zum 75. Geburtstag gewidmet''
on WorldCat Kamprad, Altenburg 2018, .
References
External links
*
Literatur von Christoph Sramek
in the Bibliography of Music Literature
The Bibliography of Music Literature (BMS or BMS online, german: Bibliographie des Musikschrifttums) is an international bibliography of literature on music. It considers all kind of music and includes both current and older literature. Since 196 ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sramek, Christoph
German music historians
German music critics
Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig
Academic staff of Leipzig University
1950 births
Living people
People from Chemnitz