Gruppe Neue Musik Hanns Eisler was an ensemble of musicians founded in 1970 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

with a focus on

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...

, which played several world premieres and toured internationally. The ensemble disbanded in 1993.

History

The ensemble Gruppe Neue Musik "Hanns Eisler" was founded in

on 17 December 1970 by composer and trombone player

Friedrich Schenker Friedrich Schenker (23 December 19428 February 2013) was a German avant-garde composer and trombone player. Life Born in the German town of Zeulenroda, Schenker learned trombone and piano as a child and made his first compositional attempts at ...

, oboist

Burkhard Glaetzner Burkhard Glaetzner (born 29 May 1943) is a German oboe virtuoso und conducting, conductor. He is one of the leading oboe players in Germany. Life Glaetzner was born in Poznań. His grandfather was the Goethe researcher , who last taught in Le ...

, pianist

Gerhard Erber Gerhard Erber (21 November 1934 – 4 September 2021) was a German classical pianist and academic teacher. He played as a member of the East German ensemble Gruppe Neue Musik Hanns Eisler, which focused on contemporary chamber music. He was a pr ...

and others, to perform

. Its regular conductors were Max Pommer,

Friedrich Goldmann Friedrich Goldmann (27 April 1941 – 24 July 2009) was a German composer and conductor. Life Born on 27 April 1941 in Siegmar-Schönau (today a part of Chemnitz), Goldmann's music education began in 1951 when he joined the Dresdner Kreuzchor. ...

and

Christian Münch Christian Münch (born 11 April 1951) is a German composer, organist, pianist and conductor. Life Münch was born in Freiberg in 1951 in a cantor's family. With his father he learned trumpet and organ. Since his childhood he received piano and ...

Repertoire

The core repertoire of Gruppe Neue Musik Hanns Eisler consisted of works by

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

Anton Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...

and

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was a German-Austrian composer. He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artistic association with Bertolt Brecht, and for the scores he wrote for films. The ...

as well as

Stefan Wolpe Stefan Wolpe (25 August 1902, Berlin – 4 April 1972, New York City) was a German-born American composer. He was associated with interdisciplinary modernism, with affiliations ranging from the Bauhaus, Berlin agitprop theater and the kibbutz mov ...

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...

and

Paul Dessau Paul Dessau (19 December 189428 June 1979) was a German composer and conductor. He collaborated with Bertolt Brecht and composed incidental music for his plays, and several operas based on them. Biography Dessau was born in Hamburg into a m ...

. The group's mission was to keep the spirit of their namesake alive, which meant that they focused not on performing his work, but on promoting new music. More than 250 first performances by more than 70 composers include

Edison Denisov Edison Vasilievich Denisov (, 6 April 1929 – 24 November 1996) was a Russian composer in the so-called " Underground", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division of Soviet music. Biography Denisov was born in Tomsk, Siberia. He studied math ...

's ''Trio'', Nicolaus A. Huber's ''Demijour'', Luca Lombardi's ''Einklang'',

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (; 13 March 1952 – 27 July 2024) was a German composer of contemporary classical music and an academic teacher based in Karlsruhe. He was an influential post-war European composer, as "one of the most original and independent mus ...

's ''Kalt'', Goldmann's Konzert für Posaune und 3 Instrumentalgruppen,

Luigi Nono Luigi Nono (; 29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990) was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music. Biography Early years Nono, born in Venice, was a member of a wealthy artistic family; his grandfather was a notable painter. Nono bega ...

's ''Kolomb'', and ''Alax'' by

Iannis Xenakis Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; , ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde composer, music theorist, architect, performance director and enginee ...

. In addition, they played several East German first performances of works by international composers such as

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

's Piano Concerto,

's ''Chorale-Variations'',

Dieter Schnebel Dieter Schnebel (14 March 1930 – 20 May 2018) was a German composer, theologian and musicologist. He composed orchestral music, chamber music, vocal music and stage works. From 1976 until his retirement in 1995, Schnebel served as professor of e ...

's ''Glossolalie'', Stockhausen's ''

Zyklus ''Zyklus für einen Schlagzeuger'' (English: Cycle for a Percussionist) is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, assigned Number 9 in the composer's catalog of works. It was composed in 1959 at the request of Wolfgang Steinecke as a test piece ...

'',

's ''Nomos Alpha'',

Isang Yun Isang Yun, or Yun I-sang (; 17 September 1917 – 3 November 1995), was a Korean-born composer who made his later career in West Germany. Early life and education Yun was born in Sancheong (Sansei), Korea under Japanese rule, Korea in 1917, ...

's ''Piri'' and

Bernd Alois Zimmermann Bernd Alois Zimmermann (20 March 1918 – 10 August 1970) was a German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera ''Die Soldaten'', which is regarded as one of the most important German operas of the 20th century, after those of Berg. Hi ...

's ''Intercommunicatione''.

Tours and disbanding

Gruppe Neue Musik Hanns Eisler was one of the first East German ensembles to tour beyond the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

, including several performances throughout Western Europe and Japan. They were often invited to the Steirischer Herbst, the Warsaw Autumn Festival, the

Donaueschingen Festival The Donaueschingen Festival, or more precisely ''Donaueschingen Music Days'' (), is a three-day October event presenting new music in the town of the same name, where the Danube River starts, at the edge of the Black Forest in southern Germany. F ...

and the

Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik The Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik (Witten Days for New Chamber Music) is a music festival for contemporary chamber music, jointly organised by the town Witten in the Ruhr Area and the broadcasting station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). The con ...

among others.Programme 1975–1999 der Gruppe Neue Musik "Hanns Eisler"
burkhard-glaetzner.de It was the most important ensemble for contemporary music in East Germany. Alongside ensemble intercontemporain and

Ensemble Modern Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting the music of contemporary composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countri ...

it was also one of the most respected contemporary chamber music ensembles in Europe. The ensemble disbanded after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1993, considering its mission accomplished.

Awards

Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic The Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic (German: ''Kunstpreis der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik'') was an East German state award bestowed on individuals for contributions in various fields of art. History The Art Prize was annually a ...

(1980) *

Kunstpreis der Stadt Leipzig From 1959 to 1989, the city of Leipzig awarded the Kunstpreis der Stadt Leipzig, which was given for outstanding merits in the artistic field to persons who promoted the reputation of the city beyond the region: architects, visual artists, compos ...

(1986) *

Schneider-Schott Music Prize The Schneider-Schott Music Prize is a cash award bestowed to an outstanding composer, performing artist, or music ensemble in classical music—with emphasis, but not mandatory, on contemporary music. From 1986 to 2006, the prize was awarded annua ...

(1991)

Film

The group played Reiner Bredemeyer's music for the 1980 documentary film '.

Recordings

Recordings by the group were released by Wergo, including: * Steffen Schleiermacher: ''Zeremonie'' * Helmut Zapf: ''Zusammenklang II'' * Nicolaus Richter de Vroe: ''Aus weißen Listen'' * Reiner Bredemeyer: ''Septett 80 / Alle Neune'' *

Jörg Herchet Jörg Herchet (born 20 September 1943) is a German composer. Life Born in Dresden, Herchet grew up as the son of a driver and a worker in modest circumstances. As a pupil he received Recorder (musical instrument), recorder and cello lessons, la ...

: ''Kompositionen'' * Friedrich Schenker: ''Die Friedensfeier''

References

Sources *