Heinz Winbeck (11 February 1946 – 26 March 2019) was a German composer, conductor and academic teacher. He is known for five large-scale

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

, which he programmatically subtitled, such as " Tu Solus" and " De Profundis". As a composition teacher in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the '' Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzbur ...

, he shaped a generation of students.

Career

Winbeck was born in a small village named Piflas, now part of

Ergolding Ergolding (Central Bavarian: ''Erwading'') is a municipality in the district of Landshut, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Isar The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria, and Bavaria, Germany, which is not navigabl ...

, close to Landshut in

Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-W ...

, into a family of farmers. He started his musical studies in 1964 at the

Richard Strauss Conservatory The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater München), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is ...

in Munich: piano with Magda Rusy and conducting with Fritz Rieger. From 1967 he studied conducting at the

Musikhochschule München The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater München), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is ...

with

Jan Koetsier Jan Koetsier (14 August 1911 in Amsterdam – 28 April 2006 in Munich) was a Dutch composer and conductor. In 1950, Koetsier became the first of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. As a composer, he wrote chamber music, and orchestral an ...

and composition with

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 ...

and

Günter Bialas Günter Bialas (19 July 1907 – 8 July 1995) was a German composer. Life Bialas was born in Bielschowitz (today Bielszowice, a subdivision of Ruda Śląska) in Prussian Silesia. His father was the business manager of a German theatre, and his ...

, graduating with the ''Staatsexamen'' (State Exam) in 1973. After his studies, he was encouraged especially by

Wilhelm Killmayer Wilhelm Killmayer (21 August 1927 – 20 August 2017) was a German composer of classical music, a conductor and an academic teacher of composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München from 1973 to 1992. He composed symphonies and so ...

to find his personal style. Like

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (born 13 March 1952) is a German composer and academic teacher. He is musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the ...

and

Manfred Trojahn Manfred Trojahn (born 22 October 1949) is a German composer, flautist, conductor and writer. Career Trojahn was born Cremlingen in Lower Saxony and began his musical studies in 1966 in orchestra music at the music school of Braunschweig. After g ...

, he turned to a ''Neue Einfachheit'' (New simplicity) and subjectivity. From 1974 to 1978 he worked as a composer and conductor at the

Stadttheater Ingolstadt Stadttheater Ingolstadt is a theatre in Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous me ...

, also for the festival . In 1980 he taught at the Musikhochschule München. In 1981 he studied for half a year at the

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 ...

in Paris on a scholarship from the State of Bavaria. In 1987 he taught ear training and music theory at the

. In 1988 he was appointed professor of composition at the

Hochschule für Musik Würzburg The Hochschule für Musik Würzburg (University of Music Würzburg) was founded in 1797 by Franz Joseph Fröhlich as Collegium musicum academicum (Academic college of music). From 1921 to 1973, it was named Bayerisches Staatskonservatorium der Mu ...

. Among his students were , the composer and pianist

Rudi Spring Rudi Spring (born 17 March 1962) is a German composer of classical music, pianist and academic. He is known for vocal compositions on texts by poets and his own, and for chamber music such as his three Chamber Symphonies. Career Born in Lind ...

and

Stefan Hippe Stefan Hippe (born 1966) is a German composer, conductor and accordionist. Life Born in Nuremberg, Hippe received his first accordion lessons from Herbert Bausewein in 1974 and his first composition lessons from Hans-Ludwig Schilling in 1981. ...

as well as the composer Ines Lütge, composer and musicologist

Daniel Hensel Daniel Hensel (born 17 April 1978 in Büdingen) is a German composer, VJ, musicologist and music theorist. He is known as a composer of expressive works of all musical genre's whose works can be dedicated to ″a thread of a tradition leading ...

Alexander Muno Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, Adrian Sieber, Henrik Ajax and the composer

Joachim F.W. Schneider Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...

. Winbeck was composer in residence at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Cabrillo, California. From 1991 Winbeck lived in Schambach near

Riedenburg Riedenburg () is a town in the district of Kelheim, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, northwest of Kelheim and northeast of Ingolstadt. Prunn Castle ( de) is located in Riedenburg. The town is on the Rhine–Main–D ...

, in a monastery that he and his wife Gerlinde modernized. He died on 26 March 2019 in a clinic in Regensburg. The CD box "Heinz Winbeck - The Complete Symphonies" published by the TYXart records label in 2019 was awarded in August 2020 for the

OPUS Klassik ''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.). Opus or OPUS may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...

in the categories "Symphonic recording of the 20th / 21st century", "Editorial performance of the year" and "World premiere recording of the year" nominated and awarded the OPUS Klassik for the "world premiere recording" at the beginning of September 2020.

Symphonies

Winbeck revived the genre of the symphony, motivated by the need for existential expression. He composed five large-scale symphonies between 1983 and 2011, comparable to the symphonies of Gustav Mahler. By giving them titles, he reflected topics such as history as a sequence of wars and cruelty, the guilt of the generation of his parents, endangered ecology, the loneliness of humanity in the cosmos, and facing near-death. Winbeck's First Symphony was premiered in 1984 at the Donaueschinger Tage für Neue Musik and recorded by

WERGO WERGO is a German record label focusing on contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1962 by German art historian and music publisher (1903–1975) and the musicologist Helmut Kirchmeyer. Their first release, filed under "WER 60001", was ...

, combined with Winbeck's second string quartet, with

Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist, He is currently the music director and chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic. Biography Davies studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard Sc ...

conducting the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken. Winbeck's Fifth Symphony "Jetzt und in der Stunde des Todes" (Now and in the hour of death) reflects sketches of Anton Bruckner's unfinished 9th Symphony. The work in three movements of about 55 minutes was played by the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies on 1 March 2010 at the

Stift St. Florian St. Florian Monastery (german: Stift Sankt Florian) is an Augustinian monastery in the town of Sankt Florian, Austria. Founded in the early ninth century, and later refounded by Augustinians in the eleventh century, St. Florian is the largest mona ...

. The same year Winbeck started a collaboration with the

Landestheater Linz The Linz State Theatre (german: Landestheater Linz) is a theatre in Linz, Austria. References External links * Theatres in Linz Buildings and structures in Linz Tourist attractions in Linz Clemens Holzmeister buildings and struct ...

, which resulted in the ballet "Lebensstürme" (Storms of life). The composer commented on his way of composing:

Works

Winbeck's works are published by Bärenreiter. Vocal * ''Glühende Rätsel'' (Glowing enigmas) (1970),

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarel ...

for baritone and piano, Text:

Nelly Sachs Nelly Sachs (; 10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a German-Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearnings of he ...

Symphonic works * ''Sonoscillant'' (1971), music for cello and string orchestra * ''Entgegengesang'' (1973), for orchestra * ''

Lenau Nikolaus Lenau was the pen name of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch Edler von Strehlenau (13 August 1802 – 22 August 1850), a German-language Austrian poet. Biography He was born at Csatád (Schadat), Kingdom of Hungary, now Lenauheim, Banat, then pa ...

-Fantasien'' (1979), for cello and orchestra * ''Denk ich an Haydn'' (1982), three fragments for orchestra * ''Tu Solus'' (You alone), First Symphony (1983/85) * Second Symphony (1985/86) * ''Grodek'', Third Symphony (1987/88), for orchestra, alto and speaker, text:

Georg Trakl Georg Trakl (3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914) was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem "Grodek", which he wr ...

* ''De Profundis'' (Out of the deep,

Psalm 130 Psalm 130 is the 130th psalm of the Book of Psalms, one of the penitential psalms and one of 15 psalms that begin with the words "A song of ascents" (Shir Hama'alot). The first verse is a call to God in deep sorrow, from "out of the depths" or " ...

), Fourth Symphony * ''Jetzt und in der Stunde des Todes'' (Now and in the hour of death, from the

Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Ann ...

), Fifth Symphony Chamber music * ''Pas de deux'' (1971) for flute and xylophon * ''Tempi capricciosi'', First String Quartet (1979) * ''Tempi notturni'', Second String Quartet (1979) * ''Blick in den St.&nrom'' (1982) for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos * ''Jagdquartett'' (Hunting quartet), Third String Quartet (1984)

Awards

* 1974: First prize in the First composition competition of the

Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker ("summerly music days Hitzacker") is the name of a traditional international festival of classical chamber music in Hitzacker, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1946, it is held annually for nine days beginning with ...

(Summer Music Days) * 1980: Second prize in the Fourth composition competition in Hitzacker * 1981: Grant award of the city of Munich * 1981/82: scholarship by State of Bavaria for studies of half a year at the

* 1985: Music prize of the

Berliner Kunstpreis The ''Berliner Kunstpreis'' (Berlin Art Prize), officially Großer Berliner Kunstpreis, is a prize for the arts by the City of Berlin. It was first awarded in 1948 in several fields of art. Since 1971, it has been awarded by the Academy of Arts ( ...

* 2004: "Gerda-und-Günter-Bialas-Award" of the GEMA Foundation * 2010 Friedrich-Baur-Preis * 2020

In 1994 Heinz and Gerhilde Winbeck won a prize for the historical renovation by the Hypo-Foundation.

Publications

* Edwin Baumgartner, Kreisen um den Tod. Heinz Winbeck galt als Ausdrucksmusiker in der Bruckner-Mahler-Linie, in: Wiener Zeitung, 1. April 2019.https:// www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/kultur/klassik/2002690-Kreisen-um-den- Tod.html(in German) *

, "Heinz Winbeck", in: Komponisten der Gegenwart, Edition text + kritik München, 65. Nachlieferung, 12/2019.(in German) *

, Musik als Natur. Zur Kompositionsweise von Heinz Winbeck. Zum einstimmigen Melos im Streichquintett "Blick in den Strom", in: Melos. Vierteljahreszeitschrift für Musik, 1984, H. 1, p. 70–81.(in German) *

Franz Hummel Franz Hummel (2 January 1939 – 20 August 2022) was a German composer and pianist. From his youth, Hummel was interested in music and, in particular, the works of Richard Strauss, Eugen Papst and Hans Knappertsbusch. In Munich and Salzburg, ...

, Heinz Winbecks apokalyptische Volksmusik, in: Text zur LP Col legno 5517, 1987.(in German) *

Siegfried Mauser Siegfried Mauser (born 3 November 1954) is a German pianist, academic and music manager. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, German courts convicted him as a multiple sex offender.Ralf Wiegand/Susi Wimmer, ''Professor Unrat.'' In: ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'', n ...

: Musik als Natur. Zur Kompositionsweise von Heinz Winbeck. Zur Klangschichten-Komposition in den »Lenau-Fantasien", in: Melos. Vierteljahreszeitschrift für Musik, 1984, H. 1, p. 62–70.(in German) * Michael Töpel, "Heinz Winbeck", in: MGG, Supplement, Kassel 22008, 1132–1134.(in German) * ''Winbeck, Prof. Heinz.'' In: Wilfried W. Bruchhäuser: ''Komponisten der Gegenwart im Deutschen Komponisten-Interessenverband. Ein Handbuch.'' 4. Auflage, Deutscher Komponisten-Interessenverband, Berlin 1995, , p. 1393.(in German)

Discography

* Heinz Winbeck – The Complete Symphonies, 2019 TYXart, TXA17091, LC28001 * Heinz Winbeck – Erste Sinfonie Tu Solus, Zweites Streichquartett tempi notturni, 1990, WERGO 6509 2, LC 8046 * Heinz Winbeck – Denk Ich An Haydn / Entgegengesang, LP, 1982, col legno - 5517, LC 7989 * J. F. Kleinknecht*, H. Winbeck*, P. Engel* / Münchener Kammerorchester – Fest-Konzert, "Lenau-Fantasien", 1980, Bayerische Vereinsbank, A-5580 A-1/80S

References

External links

*
Winbeck, Prof. Heinz
German composers association *
Heinz Winbeck / Erste Sinfonie Tu Solus / Zweites Streichquartett tempi notturni

Deutscher Musikrat The Deutscher Musikrat (DMR, ''German Music Council''; ) is an umbrella organization for music associations and the 16 music councils of the German federal states.musikrat.deÜberblick über Organisationsstruktur des DMR(retrieved on 10 May 2019) ...

Heinz Winbeck und Philipp Maintz bei "Ultraschall" in Berlin
Takte February 2016
Trauer um Komponisten von Weltrang
Donaukurier 27 March 2019
Prof. Heinz Winbeck verstorben
Musikhochschule Würzburg {{DEFAULTSORT:Winbeck, Heinz 1946 births 2019 deaths People from Landshut (district) German classical composers Ballet composers Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers University of Music and Performing Arts Munich alumni German male classical composers 20th-century German composers 21st-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians 21st-century German male musicians