Ernest Sauter ( – ) was a German composer.

Biography

After early childhood in Munich, his parents moved to Leipzig in 1935. Due to his very conservative family he only was introduced to music of Classical Period and German

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—the ...

up to

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with the complete lack of contemporary music. The composer

Felix Petyrek Felix Petyrek (14 May 1892 in Brno 1 December 1951 in Vienna) was an Austrian composer. He wrote stage works, songs, piano music (including duos and duets) in a Romantic style. Petyrek was a pupil of Franz Schreker and Guido Adler in Vienna. Dur ...

who gave the young Sauter piano lessons in his home was the first to introduce him to new music. Sauter then joined the famous

Thomasschule St. Thomas School, Leipzig (; ) is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools in the world. St. Thomas is known for its art, language and m ...

where the so-called "Bachpflege" as part of his musical lessons sensitized his hearing. At war end in 1945 on the run back to Munich nearly all of his first compositions were destroyed or lost. The composition "Saitenspiel" was one of the few rescued compositions. In 1947 after passing his university entrance diploma Sauter began studying piano at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich. Unfortunately he had to abandon his studies due to financial reasons. He continued taking private piano lessons with

Maria Landes-Hindemith Maria Landes-Hindemith, ''née'' Maria Landes, (13 March 1901 – 1987) was a German pianist and music educator; she was Paul Hindemith sister in law; and Rudolf Hindemith's wife. Life Born in Munich the daughter of an engineer, Landes was t ...

where he was introduced to her husband

Rudolf Hindemith Rudolf Hindemith, since 1951 officially Paul Quest, pseudonym Hans Lofer (9 January 19007 October 1974) was a German cellist, composer and conductor. He was solo cellist of the Vienna State Opera, and played chamber music in the Amar Quartet. He ...

(of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American 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 advo ...

's brother) who gave him new motivation to start composing again. Over time this influence was too less progressive and led to a discord based on Hindemiths criticism of the

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concert series founded by

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in 1945. In the late fifties Sauter discovered the

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

genre and joined the

Junge Ballett Compagnie Junge ("Boy") is a song by German rock band ''Die Ärzte''. It is the sixth track and the first single from their 2007 album ''Jazz ist anders''. It debuted on the radio on 31 August 2007. The song is about teenagers experiencing criticism and ...

(JBC, Deutsches Ballett-Theater, Bonn) where he first did arrangements "Es war eine köstliche Zeit" broadcast by the

Bayerischer Rundfunk (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...

and instrumentations (Bizet, Jeux d’enfants). Sauter composed his first ballet "Blue Jeans" for the JBC which was broadcast by the

Saarländischer Rundfunk (; "Saarland Broadcasting"), shortened to SR (), is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster serving the German States of Germany, state of Saarland. With headquarters in the Halberg Broadcasting House in Saarbrücken, SR i ...

The closure of the JBC led to a mental and financial crisis for Sauter which in succession let his self-criticism destroy some of his non published compositions. In 1965 Sauter got an offer from

Yvonne Georgi Yvonne Georgi (29 October 1903 – 25 January 1975) was a German dancer, choreographer and ballet mistress. She was known for her comedic talents and her extraordinary jumping ability. In her roles as a dancer, choreographer, and ballet mistress ...

the head of the ballet at the

Staatsoper Hannover Hanover State Opera () is a German opera company based in Hanover, the state capital of Lower Saxony. The company is resident in the Hanover Opera House (), and is part of a publicly-funded umbrella performing arts organisation called Hanover S ...

to write the music for a new ballet called "Finale". Despite a successful performance the collaboration with Georgi had to end due to her sudden retirement. In 1976 he wrote a quadrophonic scenic music ("Remontage") which had its debut performance at the "Tage der neuen Musik" in Hannover in 1977. The "Requiem für eine Tänzerin" a "Tape Music for Dancers" produced by Germinal Casado followed in 1978 and was a long running great success Sauter had concerns to be rated solely as a ballet composer. This and his wish to be independent and perhaps also the desire to "be somewhere else" led to the decision to relocate to the South of France. Thanks to the support of his friends, foremost of the conductor

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, Sauter was able to get to work in the solitude and quietness of the

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

without losing the connection to the outside world. There in 1983/84 the first feature-length piece, a ballet "Till Eulenspiegel" based on de Costers novel '' La Légende d’Ulenspiegle'' was created. Again a commissioned work for the

. In 1986 Sauter choose Suzette a small village in the Dentelles near

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

and

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as new residence. There he composed his first piano concerto ("Concerto Russe") devoted to

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who played the debut performance on the occasion of the

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year 1993 in Hanover. The wish to create his own sphere let him organize an annual summer festival called "Festival MUSIQUE D ÉTÉ À SUZETTE" for chamber music ensembles in the small church of Suzette. It was his goal to present not only classical pieces to the interested audience but also pieces of contemporary composers like

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, Ligeti,

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etc. After several years of groundwork Sauter was able to compose own pieces for the festival and have them performed by artists of international reputation. The 3 string trios devoted to and performed by the "Deutsches Streichtrio" and "Verrà La Morte" for soprano and string quartet performed by

Christina Ascher Christina may refer to: People * Christina (given name), shared by several people * Christina (surname), shared by several people Places * Christina, Montana, unincorporated community, United States * Christina, British Columbia, Canada * Chris ...

and the Szymanowski-Quartet are vivid examples.

Selected works

;Stage * ''Blue Jeans Story'', ballet for the "Junge Ballett-Compagnie" (1960); TV-recording at

* ''Finale'', ballet (1963) * ''Till Eulenspiegel'', feature-length ballet (1984); commissioned work for the

;Orchestral * ''Variations Classique'' (1960) ;Concertante * ''Concert Russe'', Concert for piano and orchestra (1991); commissioned work for the Niedersächsische Staatsorchester, Hannover, dedicated to

* ''Essai sur "l'accord prométhéen"'' for viola solo and string orchestra (2000); revision of the 1988 version for viola solo and string trio ;Chamber music * Sonata for viola solo (1974) * ''Remontage'', electroacoustic tape-music (1976); commissioned work for the

Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (, abbreviated to HMTMH) is a university of performing arts and media in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. Dating to , it has reorganised and changed names as it developed over the years, ...

* ''Métrages'' for flute, harp and percussion (1982); soundtrack to an abstract movie directed by Kurt Kranz * ''Essai sur "l'accord prométhéen"'' for viola solo and string trio (1988) * String Trio (1999) * ''Ballade'' for violin, viola and cello (2001) * ''Musique Romantique'' for cello solo and string trio; "À la mémoire d'Arenski" (2005) * Trio No. 3 for violin, viola and cello (2007) ;Piano * ''Drei Studien'', inspired by the ''51 Exercises'' for two pianos by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

(1981) * ''Toccata sur le nom B-A-C-H'' for piano (2000) ;Vocal * ''Saitenspiel'', 6 short choral pieces based on Japanese lyrics (1945); translated by Manfred Hausmann * ''Verrà la morte'', Music for mezzo-soprano and string quartet (1997); words by Cesare Pavese All published compositions by Ernest Sauter are archived at the German Composer Archive *1984 ''Till Eulenspiegel Notizen nach getaner Arbeit''; Edition Kunzelmann GmbH, Adliswil/Zürich *1972 ''Instrumentation, ein Versuch über die Arbeit mit dem Klang'', script for a broadcast series at

; also available as printed copy from Verlag Walter Wollenweber

Sources

*1967 NZ, Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, February 2, S.54, Hannover, Ballett-Uraufführung(Erich Limmert) *1978 Neue Hannoversche/Hannoversche Presse Nr.24 v.28:/29. Januar 1978 Zur Person (RH) *1984 Theaterzeitung Mai Till Eulenspiegel Uraufführung (W.K.) *1992 Judith G. Prieberg, Der Komponist Ernest Sauter, Beobachtungen und Notizen in: Werkverzeichnis Ernest Sauter, Verlag Albert Kunzelmann, Lottstetten *1993 Theater-Magazin der Niedersächsischen Staatstheater Hannover, Februar 5. Konzert (B.W.) *2003 Helmut Rohm, "Abseits der Eitelkeiten, der Komponist Ernest Sauter", Bayern2Radio first broadcast July 28, 2003,

2003 *2011 Roland Spiegel, alpha-Forum: Interview with the composer Ernest Sauter. First broadcast February 14, 2011,

2011

Recordings

*2010 All String Trios, Ars Produktion ARS 38 492 in Lizenz der BRW-Service GmbH• coproduction with

References

External links

Sauter Foundation

German Composers' Archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauter, Ernest 1928 births 2013 deaths 20th-century German classical composers 21st-century German classical composers German male classical composers 20th-century German male musicians 21st-century German male musicians