Klaus Zoephel (16 July 1929 – 27 January 2017) was a German composer and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Life

Born in

Plauen Plauen (; ; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest cit ...

, ready at a young age, during the Second World War, Zoephel worked as an organist in various places in his native

Vogtland Vogtland (; ) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euroregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former leadershi ...

. After the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

he studied conducting (with ),

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an Originality, original piece or work of music, either Human voice, vocal or Musical instrument, instrumental, the musical form, structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new pie ...

from 1948 to 1953 (

Johannes Weyrauch Johannes Weyrauch (20 February 1897 – 1 May 1977) was a German composer and Cantor (Christianity), cantor. Life Childhood Weyrauch was born on 20 February 1897 in Leipzig. His mother, Maria Große, who had received a thorough musical educatio ...

and Wilhelm Weismann and piano (Franz Langer) at the

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 ...

. Even before completing his studies in 1953 he was entrusted with the establishment and direction of the newly founded state cultural orchestra of the

Senftenberg Senftenberg ( German, ) or (Lower Sorbian, ) is a town in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, capital of the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district. Geography Senftenberg is located in the southwest of the historic Lower Lusatia region at t ...

miners' district. Afterwards he worked for several years as a theatre conductor (among others at the

Deutsches Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar The (DNT), or German National Theater and Weimar State Orchestra, is the most significant arts organization in Weimar. The institution unites the (German National Theater) with the (Weimar State Orchestra). It plays on a total of six stages ...

) and later as musical director of the State Cultural Orchestra Mühlhausen in Thuringia. From 1963 on, he worked for almost three decades as chief conductor of the State Orchestra

Pirna Pirna (; , ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as a ''Große ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. (symphony orchestra). In 1970 he was appointed

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

. From 1965 to 1996 he simultaneously taught

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

, conducting and score playing at the

Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber The Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber (or Dresden University of Music Carl Maria von Weber; also/formerly known as Dresden Conservatory or Dresden Royal Conservatory) is a university school of music, university of music in Dresden, ...

as a lecturer. Among his students were

Hans-Joachim Rotzsch Hans-Joachim Rotzsch (25 April 1929 – 25 September 2013) was a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor from 1972 until 1991 as the fifteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach. He was also a tenor and an academic teacher. Bi ...

Udo Zimmermann Udo Zimmermann (6 October 1943 – 22 October 2021) was a German composer, musicologist, opera director, and conductor. He worked as a professor of composition, founded a centre for contemporary music in Dresden, and was director of the Leipzig ...

, Wilfried Krätzschmar, Romely Pfund, , Johannes Winkler,

Christian Kluttig Christian Kluttig (born 17 August 1943) is a German conductor, pianist and Hochschullehrer. From 1979 to 1990, he was chief conductor of the . Appointed General Music Director in 1983, he worked as such at the theatres in Halle Opera House, Halle ...

, Volker Hahn and Jörg Herchet. Concert tours and radio recordings have taken him to numerous orchestras at home and abroad. He has also enjoyed international success as a composer of orchestral and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

works. He has received several prizes and awards for his compositional work. Since 1995 he has lived as a freelance composer in

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

. He held various honorary posts and was president of the Joseph Haas Society since 1997. In an honorary capacity he looked after the senior citizens' choir at in Ingolstad.

Compositions

* ''Sinfonie in D'' (UA 1969) * ''Sinfonietta'' (UA 1953, Rdfkprod. 1958, Rdfk-Kammerorch. Leipzig, Ltg.

Dietrich Knothe Dietrich Knothe (6 January 1929 – 7 September 2000) was a German conductor and choral conductor. He is the winner of the 1985 Handel Prize presented by the city of Halle. Biography Knothe was born in Dresden. At the age of 10, he joined th ...

) * ''Verwandlungen eines Themas von

Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (13 January 1690 – 27 November 1749) was a German composer of the Baroque music, Baroque era. Biography Early life Stölzel was born in Schwarzenberg, Saxony, Grünstädtel in Saxony on 13 January 1690. His fath ...

'' (UA 1964, Rdfkprod. 1969

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has a ...

, Ltg. d. Komponist) * ''Musik für Orchester'' (UA 1982) * ''Kleine Lustspielmusik'' (UA 1960, Rdfkprod. 1958 Gr. Rdfk-Orch. Leipzig, Ltg.

Heinz Rögner Heinz Rögner (16 January 1929 – 10 December 2001) was a German conductor. He was born in Leipzig. Rögner was a student of Hugo Steurer (piano), Egon Bölsche (conducting) and Otto Gutschlicht (viola). From 1947 to 1951, he was a repetit ...

) * ''Musica ilare'' (UA 1977, Rdfkprod. Gr. Rdfk-Orch. Leipzig, Ltg.

Klaus Wiese Klaus Wiese (January 18, 1942 – January 27, 2009 in Ulm) was a veteran e-musician, minimalist, and multi-instrumentalist. A master of the Tibetan singing bowl, he created an extensive series of album releases using them. Wiese also used the hum ...

) * ''Dohnasche Anekdoten'', concert ouvertüre (UA 1990) * ''Capriccio für Klavier und Orchester'' (UA 1959, Rdfkprod. 1965, sol. Renate Schorler, Ltg.

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (; 18 July 192719 December 2015) was a German Conducting, conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewand ...

) * ''Finckenschläge'', Illustrationen zu Themen von H.F. (UA 1985, Rundfunkmitschnitt Sender Dresden 1989) * ''Lâ trûren varn'', mittelhochdeutsche Minnelieder für eine Sgst., viola (violine) and piano (UA 1949) bzw. for tenor and

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

(UA 1963) * ''Spiel zu Dritt'', trio for 2 violins and violoncello, (UA 1997) * ''Von Vögeln gesungen, drei nichtige Begebenheiten nach Worten von

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

'' für eine Singstimme und Klavier, UA 2008 * several vocal compositions (Lieder, Choralkantaten) Some of Zoephel's works are published by renowned music publishers like

Edition Peters Edition Peters is a classical music publisher founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1800. History The company came into being on 1 December 1800 when the Viennese composer Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812) and the local organist Ambrosius Kühn ...

.Bestellliste beim Onlineauftritt
von Edition Peters. Retrieved 15 May 2020. Zoephel died in

at age 87.

Editing

* Arrangement of the songs and ballads from ''Des Knaben Wunderhorn'' for voice and orchestra by Wilhelm Weismann * Transcription of works by

Johann Simon Mayr Johann(es) Simon Mayr (also spelled Majer, Mayer, Maier), also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr (14 June 1763 – 2 December 1845), was a German composer. His music reflects the Transition from Classical to Romantic mus ...

* Publication of autographs of the composer Johannes Weyrauch

Prizes and awards

* 1953 – 1. prize for the dance suite at the "Preisausschreiben zur Förderung einer neuen deutschen Unterhaltungsmusik" * 1959 – Carl-Maria-von-Weber-Förderpreis (Dresden) * 1970 – Titelverleihung Musikdirektor * 1973 – Ehrennadel in Bronze des Verbandes der Komponisten und Musikwissenschaftler der DDR * 1975 – * 1985 – Ehrennadel in Silber des Verbandes der Komponisten und Musikwissenschaftler der DDR

References

External links

Konzert zum 80. Geburtstag von Klaus Zoephel

Artikel über Klaus Zoephel im Donaukurier
*
Deutsches Theaterlexikon, Band 7

Ortschronik Pirna, 5. November 2000
(PDF-Datei; 253 kB) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zoephel, Klaus 20th-century German composers German conductors (music) 1929 births 2017 deaths People from Plauen