Klaus Huber (30 November 1924 – 2 October 2017) was a Swiss composer and academic based in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

and

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. Among his students were

Brian Ferneyhough Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer. Ferneyhough is typically considered the central figure of the New Complexity movement. Ferneyhough has taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and ...

Michael Jarrell Michael Jarrell (born 8 October 1958) is a Swiss composer and academic teacher, whose operas, such as ''Cassandre'', have been performed internationally. Life Born in Geneva, Jarrell studied at the Geneva Conservatoire, and later with Klaus H ...

Younghi Pagh-Paan Younghi Pagh-Paan (born 1945) is a South Korean composer. Life Pagh‑Paan was born in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. She studied music at the Seoul National University from 1965 to 1971. In 1974 she received a German Academic Exchang ...

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio '' Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima' ...

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 ...

, and

Kaija Saariaho Kaija Anneli Saariaho (; ; 14 October 1952 – 2 June 2023) was a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the En ...

. He received the

Ernst von Siemens Music Prize The Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (short: Siemens Music Prize, ) is an annual music prize given by the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste (Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts) on behalf of the (Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation), established ...

in 2009, among other awards.

Life

Born in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, Huber first studied violin and music pedagogy from 1947 to 1949 at the Zurich Conservatory with

Stefi Geyer Stefi Geyer (June 28, 1888 in Budapest – December 11, 1956 in Zürich) was a Hungarian violinist who was considered one of the leading violinists of her generation. Biography Born in 1888 in Budapest, she was the daughter of Josef Geyer, a p ...

. From 1949 to 1955, he was a violin teacher at the Zurich Conservatory. At the same time he studied composition with

Willy Burkhard Willy Burkhard (17 April 1900 – 18 June 1955) was a Swiss composer and academic teacher, influential in both capacities. He taught music theory at the Berne Conservatory and the Zürich Conservatory. His works include an opera, oratorios, canta ...

. He continued his composition studies with

Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () (h ...

in Berlin. As a composer, Huber began with

serial music In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...

influenced by

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 ...

. His international breakthrough came in 1959 with the world premiere of his chamber cantata ''Des Engels Anredung an die Seele'' at the Weltmusiktage (World Music Days) of the

Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

in Rome. Unusually for the time, he used consonant intervals within a strictly serial context. He became one of the leading figures of his generation in Europe, compared to

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

and

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

. He composed extensively for chamber ensembles, choirs, soloists and orchestra. His works for the theatre look for scenes beyond

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

. Huber was a socially and politically conscious composer and his music often conveys a humanistic message. He set texts by biblical prophets and medieval mystics such as

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen Benedictines, OSB (, ; ; 17 September 1179), also known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictines, Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mysticism, mystic, visiona ...

. He was also inspired by texts of

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

Andreas Gryphius Andreas Gryphius (; 2 October 161616 July 1664) was a German poet and playwright. With his eloquent sonnets, which contains "The Suffering, Frailty of Life and the World", he is considered one of the most important Baroque poets of the Germanos ...

Ernst Bloch Ernst Simon Bloch (; ; July 8, 1885 – August 4, 1977; pseudonyms: Karl Jahraus, Jakob Knerz) was a German Marxist philosopher. Bloch was influenced by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx, as well as by apocalyptic and religious thinker ...

Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; ; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll received the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). Bio ...

, and of Latin American liberation theologians. From the 1980s, Huber studied

Arabic music Arabic music () is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse List of music styles, music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also many linguistic Varieties of Arabic, dialects, with each countr ...

and

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

and included their influences in his works. Huber taught music history at the Lucerne Conservatory from 1960 to 1963, and composition at the

City of Basel Music Academy The City of Basel Music Academy () is an institution for music education, located in Basel, Switzerland. It comprises a music school, college of music, and a center for early music research and performance. History The origins of the City of Base ...

(1961–72) and at the

Hochschule für Musik Freiburg The Hochschule für Musik Freiburg ("University of Music Freiburg or Freiburg Conservatory of Music") is a public music academy subsidized by the State of Baden-Württemberg for academic research and artistic and pedagogical training in music. ...

(1973–90). He was also appointed director of the composition seminars at the

Gaudeamus Foundation The Gaudeamus Foundation and Contemporary Music Center organizes and promotes contemporary musical activities and concerts in the Netherlands and abroad. It focuses on supporting the career development of young composers and musicians, particular ...

in Bilthoven, Netherlands, in 1966, 1968, and 1972. Additionally, he held international visiting professorships and composition classes in (among others) Paris, London, Geneva, Milan, Lyon, Montreal, Sarajevo, and Tatui (Brazil). Several of his students became internationally recognized composers, including

(later his wife),

, and

. He was a member of the

Akademie der Künste The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...

in Berlin from 1986. His manuscripts are kept by the

Paul Sacher Paul Sacher (28 April 190626 May 1999) was a Swiss conductor, patron and billionaire businessman. At the time of his death Sacher was majority shareholder of pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche and was considered the third richest person i ...

Foundation in Basel.

Compositions

An inventory of Huber's music manuscripts at the Paul Sacher Foundation was published in 2009. Source:

Stage works

* ''Jot oder Wann kommt der Herr zurück / Dialektische Oper in zwei Teilen'' (1973) Opera in two parts. Text: Philip Oxman, in German by Kurt Marti and Dietrich Ritschl * ''Schwarzerde'' (1997–2001) Stage work in nine sequences. Text: Michael Schindhelm in cooperation with Klaus Huber, based on poems and prose texts by

Osip Mandelstam Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam (, ; – 27 December 1938) was a Russian and Soviet poet. He was one of the foremost members of the Acmeist school. Osip Mandelstam was arrested during the repressions of the 1930s and sent into internal exile wi ...

Orchestral works

* ''Tenebrae'' (1966–1967) for large orchestra * ''Erniedrigt – Geknechtet – Verlassen – Verachtet...'' (1975/78–1983) for soloist, choir and orchestra. Text:

Ernesto Cardenal Ernesto Cardenal Martínez (20 January 1925 – 1 March 2020) was a Nicaraguan Catholic priest, poet, and politician. He was a liberation theologian and the founder of the primitivist art community in the Solentiname Islands, where he lived fo ...

, Florian Knobloch, George Jackson, Carolina Maria de Jesús, Prophet Jesaja * ''Protuberanzen'' (simultaneous version) (1985/86) Three small pieces for orchestra * ''Spes contra spem'' (1986–89) A contra-paradigm to "

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86D, is the last of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). I ...

". Text:

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

Elias Canetti Elias Canetti (; 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994; ; ) was a German-language writer, known as a Literary modernism, modernist novelist, playwright, memoirist, and nonfiction writer. Born in Ruse, Bulgaria, to a Sephardi Jews, Sephardic Jewish fam ...

Georg Herwegh Georg Friedrich Rudolph Theodor Herwegh (31 May 1817 – 7 April 1875) was a German poet,Herwegh, Georg, The Columbia Encyclopedia (2008) who is considered part of the Young Germany movement. Biography He was born in Stuttgart on 31 May 1817, t ...

Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg ( ; ; ; born Rozalia Luksenburg; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary and Marxist theorist. She was a key figure of the socialist movements in Poland and Germany in the early 20t ...

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

Reinhold Schneider Reinhold Schneider (Baden-Baden, May 13, 1903 – Freiburg im Breisgau, April 6, 1958) was a German poet who also wrote novels. Initially his works were less religious, but later his poetry had a Christian and specifically Catholic influence ...

Dorothee Sölle Dorothee Steffensky-Sölle (; 1929–2003), known as Dorothee Sölle, was a German Lutheran liberation theologian who coined the term " Christofascism". Life and career Sölle was born Dorothee Nipperdey on 30 September 1929 in Cologne, German ...

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and '' The Investigation'' and h ...

* ''Lamentationes de fine vicesimi saeculi'' (1992/94) for orchestra in four groups with

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

-singer (ad libitum) * ''Quod est pax? – Vers la raison du coeur...'' (2006/07) for orchestra with five solo voices and one Arabic percussion. Text:

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, a ...

Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish (; 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinians, Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as Palestine's national poet. In 1988 Darwish wrote the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which was the formal declarat ...

, Klaus Huber

Ensemble works

* ''Des Engels Anredung an die Seele '' (1957) for tenor, flute, clarinet, horn, and harp. Text: Johann Georg Albini * ''"Erinnere dich an G..."'' (1977) for double bass solo and 18 instrumentalists * ''Cantiones de Circulo gyrante'' (1985), Space music for three groups and five single players. Text:

, for soloists, speaker, choir, orchestra, two conductors * ''La terre des hommes'' In memoriam

Simone Weil Simone Adolphine Weil ( ; ; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic and political activist. Despite her short life, her ideas concerning religion, spirituality, and politics have remained widely influential in cont ...

(1987–89) for mezzo-soprano, countertenor/speaker, and eighteen instruments. Text: Simone Weil, Ossip Mandelstam * ''Die umgepflügte Zeit'' In memoriam

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 ...

(1990) Space music for viola d'amore, mezzo-soprano, high tenor, female speaker, 2 mixed ensembles, choir voices and instruments. Text: Ossip Mandelstam * ''Intarsi'' In memoriam

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szymanow ...

(1993/94) Chamber concerto for piano and 17 instruments * ''Lamentationes Sacrae et Profanae ad Responsoria Iesualdi'' (1993/1996–97) for six singers and two instrumentalists. Text:

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

, Klaus Huber, Ernesto Cardenal,

Mahmoud Dowlatabadi Mahmoud Dowlatabadi (; born August 1, 1940 in Dowlatabad, Sabzevar) is an Iranian writer and actor, known for his promotion of social and artistic freedom in contemporary Iran and his realist depictions of rural life, drawn from personal exper ...

* ''L'ombre de notre âge'' (1998/1999) for chamber ensemble * ''Die Seele muss vom Reittier steigen... '' (2002) for cello solo, baritone solo, countertenor (or alto) and 37 instrumentalists. Text: Mahmoud Darwish * ''Miserere hominibus...'' (2005/2006) Cantata for seven solo voices and seven instrumentalists. Text:

Psalm 51 Psalm 51, one of the penitential psalms, is the 51st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Have mercy upon me, O God". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin V ...

(''Il Cántaro Roto''), Mahmoud Darwish (Murale), Carl Améry (Global Exit), Jacques Derrida (Un très proche Orient, Paroles de paix)

Vocal music

* ''...inwendig voller Figur...'' (1971) for choir, loudspeakers, tape, and large orchestra. Text: From

Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

and by

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

* ''"...Ausgespannt..." / Geistliche Musik in memoriam Kurt Wolfgang Senn'' (1972) Sacred music in memory of Kurt Wolfgang Senn, for high baritone, five instrumental groups, percussion, organ, loudspeakers, and tape * ''Kleines Requiem for Heinrich Böll'' (1991, excerpts from ''Cantiones de Circulo Gyrante'') Little Requiem for Heinrich Böll, for choir a cappella and bass-baritone (ad lib.). Text:

Hildegard von Bingen Hildegard of Bingen OSB (, ; ; 17 September 1179), also known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner ...

(in Latin)

Chamber music

* ''...von Zeit zu Zeit...'' (1984/85) string quartet No. 2 * ''Des Dichters Pflug'' (1989) for violin, viola, and violoncello (all in three-tone tuning, ''Dritteltonstimmung'') * ''Agnus Dei cum recordatione'' Hommage à Jehan Okeghem (1990/91) Text:

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 ...

Hommage à Jehan Okeghem * ''Ecce homines'' (1997/98) string quintet

Solo works

* ''In memoriam Willy Burkhard'' (1955) for organ * ''La Chace'' (1963) for harpsichord * ''To Ask the Flutist'' (1966) for flute * ''Ein Hauch von Unzeit'' (1972): No. I for flute and other instruments; no. II for piano; no. V for guitar; no. VI for accordion; no. VII for double bass; no. VIII for cello * ''Blätterlos'' (1975) for prepared piano * ''Transpositio ad infinitum'' (1976) for cello * ''...Plainte...'' for Luigi Nono (1990) for viola d'amore in three-tone-tuning * ''Winter Seeds'' (1993) for accordion * ''Intarsimile'' (2010) for violin

Writings

Publications with writings by Huber: * ''Umgepflügte Zeit: Gesammelte Schriften'' (1999): Huber's collected writings. * ''From Time – To Time: The Complete Œuvre'' (2010), translation of ''Von Zeit zu Zeit: Das Gesamtschaffen'' (2009): a book Huber wrote in the format of a dialogue with

Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf (born 22 October 1962) is a German composer, editor and author. Career Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf was born in Mannheim, Germany, and studied composition with Brian Ferneyhough, Klaus Huber and Emanuel Nunes and music theory a ...

Awards and recognition

Awards and recognitions received by Huber include: * 1970: Beethoven Prize (Bonn) for ''Tenebrae'' * 2000: Honorary Doctorate from

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

* 2009: ** Salzburg Music Prize **

** Honorary Doctorate from

University of Music and Theatre Leipzig The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest univ ...

* 2013:

German Music Authors' Prize The German Music Authors' Prize () is a German music prize that has been awarded since 2009 by German collective rights association GEMA. It is awarded to composers and lyricists for their outstanding achievements. Under the motto "Authors honor a ...

in the category Lifetime achievement

References

External links

Official site including list of works, biographical information etc.
*
Klaus Huber
Musikbibliographie
Publisher's website: Klaus Huber at Ricordi Berlin

Ricordi: Klaus Huber has passed away
* Volker Hagedorn
Siemens-Musikpreisträger: Die Seele geht auf Seidenfüßen
(in German)

Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...

8 February 2009
Dem Genuss der Oberfläche widerstehen: Siemens-Preisträger Klaus Huber im Gespräch
(interview, in German) Neue Musikzeitung 15 May 2009 * * *Sound recordings of works of the composer from the archives of

SRG SSR The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (; ; ; ; SRG SSR) is the Swiss public broadcasting association, founded in 1931, the holding company of 24 radio and television channels. Headquartered in Bern, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation is a non-pro ...

o
Neo.Mx3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huber, Klaus 1924 births 2017 deaths 21st-century Swiss classical composers 20th-century Swiss classical composers Musicians from Bern Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Swiss male classical composers Ernst von Siemens Music Prize winners 20th-century Swiss male musicians 21st-century Swiss male musicians