Hanspeter Kyburz (born 8 July 1960) is a contemporary Swiss composer of classical music, known for applying

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

techniques to his productions.

Career

Kyburz was born in

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

to Swiss parents. In 1980, he began studying music composition, first in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popu ...

with A. Dobrowolsky and

Gösta Neuwirth Gösta Neuwirth (; born 6 January 1937) is an Austrian musicologist, composer and academic teacher. He studied in Vienna and Berlin, where he wrote a dissertation on harmony in Franz Schreker's '' Der ferne Klang''. He has taught at universities ...

, then, from 1982–1990, with Gösta Neuwirth and Frank Michael Beyer at the

Universität der Künste 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 unive ...

in Berlin, later with

Hans Zender Johannes Wolfgang Zender (22 November 1936 – 22 October 2019) was a German conductor and composer. He was the chief conductor of several opera houses, and his compositions, many of them vocal music, have been performed at international festival ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

. In 1990, he received the Boris Blacher Prize and won a

Cité internationale des arts The Cité internationale des arts is an artist-in-residence building complex which accommodates artists of all specialities and nationalities in Paris. It comprises two sites, one located in the Marais and the other in Montmartre. Approximatel ...

scholarship for 1990/91 in Paris. In 1991, Kyburz began collaborating with the Insel-Musik-Konzerte group in Berlin. His study of music theory as well as the philosophy and history of art assured him acquisition of the Magistertitels title. He was awarded the Schneider-Schott Music Prize in 1996, and the Förderpreis Prize from the Berlin Akademie der Künste in 1994. He has held lectures on electronic music production in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and in 1996 he participated as a guest lecturer on the subject of the Basler composer week. As a composer, he is by performances with the citizens of Berlin Biennale, Wiener Festwochen (Vienna's week-long musical festival), 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 co ...

and in Donaueschingen. Kyburz has led such internationally renowned ensembles such as Klangforum in Vienna, Ensemble Contrechamps in Geneva,

Ensemble Intercontemporain The Ensemble intercontemporain (EIC) is a French music ensemble, based in Paris, that is dedicated to contemporary music. Pierre Boulez founded the EIC in 1976 for this purpose, the first permanent organization of its type in the world. Organi ...

in Paris,

musikfabrik The Ensemble Musikfabrik (music factory ensemble) is an ensemble for contemporary classical music located in Cologne. Their official name is Ensemble Musikfabrik Landesensemble NRW e.V. (Ensemble Musikfabrik of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

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

, Ensemble für Neue Musik in Zürich, Ensemble UnitedBerlin, Camerata Quartett in Warsaw and ensemble recherche in Freiburg. CD recordings have documented his work. Hanspeter Kyburz wrote for the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris. He has also performed for Südwestfunk Radio in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with France, ...

, the Konservatorium in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...

and the Steirischen Herbst, the

Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival is a classical music festival held each summer throughout the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany. History The festival was founded in 1986 by German concert pianist Justus Frantz. In 2006, the 21 ...

, Sender Freies Berlin and the Süddeutscher Rundfunk. Since 1997, Kyburz has served as professor for composition at the

Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

in Berlin. Kyburz produced a piece that is a musical interpretation of the enigmatic

Voynich Manuscript The Voynich manuscript is an illustrated codex hand-written in an otherwise unknown writing system, referred to as 'Voynichese'. The vellum on which it is written has been carbon-dated to the early 15th century (1404–1438), and stylistic a ...

Recent activities

On 1 September 2006

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principa ...

and the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

, performed the London Premiere of ''Noesis'' as part of the

Promenade Concert Promenade concerts were musical performances in the 18th and 19th century pleasure gardens of London, where the audience would stroll about while listening to the music. The term derives from the French ''se promener'', "to walk". Today, the te ...

season at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Works

(Not complete) *Malstrom, SWR-SO Baden-Baden & Freiburg/ Zender *The Voynich Cipher Manuscript, Südfunk-Chor Stuttgart/

Klangforum Wien The Klangforum Wien is an Austrian chamber orchestra, based in Vienna at the Konzerthaus, which specialises in contemporary classical music. Founded by composer and conductor Beat Furrer in 1985, it is run on collective principles, having no ...

/Huber *Parts, Klangforum Wien/Rundel *Cells; Danse aveugle pour six instruments (1997) *Double Points Plus *A travers (1999) *Noesis (2001–2003)

Sources

Biography at hfm-berlin.de
*
Bio at ircam.frHanspeter Kyburz

Operabase Operabase is an online database of opera performances, opera houses and companies, and performers themselves as well as their agents. Found at operabase.com, it was created in 1996 by English software engineer and opera lover Mike Gibb.Edward Sc ...

1960 births Living people Swiss composers Swiss male composers Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Musicians from Lagos Nigerian people of Swiss descent Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize winners {{switzerland-composer-stub