Dietrich Erdmann (20 July 1917 – 22 April 2009) was a German composer and university lecturer.

Life

Erdmann was born in Bonn. His father was the publicist and trade union official

Lothar Erdmann Karl Hermann Dietrich Lothar Erdmann (12 October 1888 – 18 September 1939) was a German journalist. During the Weimar Republic he was the editor of the trade union theory organ '. He was a main supporter of the turning away of trade unions fro ...

, his mother

Elisabeth Erdmann-Macke Elisabeth Erdmann-Macke (née Gerhardt; 11 May 1888 – 17 March 1978) was a German writer who focused on memoirs of her time as the wife of the expressionist painter August Macke, who had portrayed her more than 200 times. He died in World War I ...

, the painter

August Macke August Robert Ludwig Macke (3 January 1887 – 26 September 1914) was a German Expressionist painter. He was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). He lived during a particularly a ...

's widow. Erdmann had lived in Berlin since he was eight years old. His childhood was characterised by a family environment with a strong cultural interest. He received his first piano lessons at the age of nine. Already during his school days at the Humanistisches Gymnasium In Berlin, he paid visits to the composers

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the '' ...

Ernst-Lothar von Knorr Ernst-Lothar von Knorr (2 January 1896 – 30 October 1973) was a German composer, music educator and civil servant. The years until 1933 Born in Eitorf, Knorr grew up in Bonn. His parents were the pharmacist Dr. chem. Karl Ferdinand von Knorr a ...

and

Harald Genzmer Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold. It may refer to: Medieval Kings of Denmark * Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986) Kings of Norway * Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933) * Harald Greycloak (died 970) * Harald Hardrada ...

. In 1931, he began his cello lessons with

Pál Hermann Paul Hermann (Budapest, 27 March 1902 – unknown 1944), also known as Pál Hermann, was a virtuoso cellist and composer. Career Hermann was born in Budapest, Hungary, on 27 March 1902 and came from a Jewish family. About his early childhood not ...

. From 1934 to 1938, Erdmann studied

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

conducting and musical composition with Kurt Thomas and conducting with Walter Gmeindl at the

Universität der Künste Berlin The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universit ...

. He completed his studies with the in choral conducting and the private music teacher examination in musical composition. Erdmann was co-founder of the ''Arbeitskreis für Neue Musik'' at the Berlin University of the Arts. From 1947, Erdmann taught at the , where he became head of the music seminar two years later. He then was appointed associate professor in 1954. Twelve years later, he became Ordinarius and in 1970

prorector Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals in academia. The academic ran ...

of the college. He retired in 1982. Erdmann was married to Gisela Cludius from 1940 to 1946, to Bianca Kuron from 1949 to 1958 and to Gertrud Schulz from 1959. Erdmann died in Berlin at the age of 91.

Activities

Erdmann's work encompasses a wide variety of instrumentations and almost all types of musical form: 16 concertos, 12 pieces for grand orchestras, piano music, and solo and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small num ...

for Strings and

wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...

s, as well as

lieder In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French ...

, cantatas and choir music. In addition, Erdmann composed numerous (music for plucked instruments) works.

Awards

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

am Bande (15 January 1987). * 1988: . * 1990: Honorary member of the * 1993: Honorary Chairman of the

Deutscher Tonkünstlerverband The Deutscher Tonkünstlerverband is the oldest and largest professional association for musicians in Germany. The umbrella organization with headquarters in Munich and a branch office in Passau is the professional representative for all music pro ...

Berlin * 1998: Humboldt-Plaketten. * 2002: .

Work

* 1946: ''Der Maien'' for soprano,

, flute and

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

* 1956: Concertino for piano and small orchestra * 1965: Sonata for

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

and piano * 1971: ''Dialoghi'' for

Violoncello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

and piano * 1979:

Mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

Concerto * 1982–1983: ''Prisma'' for viola and piano * 1984: ''Resonanzen'' for

Saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

Quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations ...

* 1986: Concertino for viola (or English horn or clarinet) and ensemble of plucked instruments * 1990:

Double Concerto A double concerto (Italian: ''Doppio concerto''; German: ''Doppelkonzert'') is a concerto featuring two performers—as opposed to the usual single performer, in the solo role. The two performers' instruments may be of the same type, as in Bach's ...

for bassoon,

contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences. Differences from the bassoon The reed is cons ...

and orchestra

Recording

* ''Werke für Zupforchester''. Mühlheimer Zupforchester (Ltg. Detlef Tewes). Telos music records, 2002

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erdmann, Dietrich 20th-century German composers Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1917 births 2009 deaths Musicians from Bonn Academic staff of the Berlin University of the Arts