Ulrich Leyendecker (29 January 1946 — 29 November 2018) was a German composer of classical music. His output consisted mainly of symphonies,

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

s, chamber and

instrumental music An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer t ...

Life

Leyendecker studied composition with Ingo Schmitt (1962–1965) and Rudolf Petzold (1965–1970), and piano with Günter Ludwig. In 1971 he became a lecturer at the

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Academy for Music and Performing Arts, and in 1976 he was appointed Professor of Composition and Theory at the Hamburg Music and Theatre Hochschule. In 1994, he became Professor of Composition at the State Hochschule for Music and the Performing Arts of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

Music

Leyendecker's music, although not serial, is largely atonal, but often with subtle hints of tonality. He employed regular time signatures in his pieces, but it sometimes does not sound that way, for he utilized carefully calculated and complex rhythms. His music often contains novel sonic architectures, while still managing to express powerful emotions directly to the listener. He often employed classical abstract forms such as the symphony and concerto form while avoiding operas and ballets.

Works

Orchestral

*Symphonies **Symphony No. 1 (1974) **Symphony No. 2 (1985) **Symphony No. 3 (1990-1) **Symphony No. 4 (1997) **Symphony No. 5 (Concerto for Orchestra) (2000) *''Con espressione'' (1979) *''Verwandlung'', five pieces for chamber orchestra (1980) *''Impromptu'' (1981) *''Erinnerung'', symphonic movement (1995) *''Penseés sur un Prélude'', variations on a prelude by

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

(2001) *''Evocation'' (2006) *''Mannheim Concerto'' (2006), for 2 chamber orchestras

Concertante

*Piano Concerto (1980) *Cello Concerto (1983) *Violin Concerto (1995) *Guitar Concerto (2004–2005) *Viola Concerto (2007–2008)

Vocal

*Two Chinese Songs, for soprano and piano (1964) *''Nocturne'', for bass and orchestra (1968) *''Versunken in die Nacht'', for soprano and chamber orchestra (1981) *''Canción última'', for alto and chamber ensemble (1983) *''Nocturne'', for soprano and four cellos (1987) *''Hebrew Ballads'' **version for mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, harp, viola, and double-bass (1993) **version for mezzo-soprano and piano (1993) *''Serenade'' **version for soprano, violin/viola, saxophone, and percussion (1997) **version for soprano, viola, bass clarinet, and piano (2001)

Chamber

*String Quartets **String Quartet No. 1 (1978) **String Quartet No. 2 (1987) **String Quartet No. 3 (1989) *String Trios **String Trio No. 1 (1966) **String Trio No. 2 (1972) *Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano (1964–1967) *Trio for Viola, Bass Clarinet and Piano (1966, revised 2001) *''Maqam'' (1967), for violin, cello, and piano *Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp (1988) *Chamber Concerto (1989), for flute, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello, double bass, percussion and piano *Quintet for Bass Clarinet and String Quartet (2000) *''Midnight Music'' (2008), for guitar and harp

Instrumental

*Clarinet Sonata (1966) *''Canto'', for violin (1979) *''Verso Parsifal'', for guitar (1982) *''Etüde'', for viola (1989) *Two Etudes for Bass Clarinet (1990) *Three Nocturnes for Guitar (2014)

Piano

*Sonata for Two Pianos (1985) *13 Bagatelles (1989) *''Ricercar'', for two pianos (1993) *''Impromptu'', for two pianos (1994)

Discography

* Violin Concerto, Symphony No.
(Naxos)
– Recension
(1)
* Cello Concerto, Piano Concerto, String Quartett No. 1, Canto per Violino sol
(Wergo)
* Piano Work

* Hebräische Balladen in ''Andere Welten – 50 Jahre Neue Musik in NRW – Ausstrahlungen'' (1996) * Guitar Concerto, Evocazione, Symphony No. 4 (Cantate Musicaphon) * String quartets No. 1-3, Quintet for bass clarinet and strings (Cantate Musicaphon)

Notable students

* Timo Jouko Herrmann * Friedrich Heinrich Kern

External links

Composer Portraits: Ulrich Leyendecker
Information about Ulrich Leyendecker on publisher´s website (Sikorski)
Biography

* ttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEW2zZRIdsCjAvaLdBmHECQ Official YouTube-Channel {{DEFAULTSORT:Leyendecker, Ulrich 1946 births 2018 deaths 20th-century German classical composers 21st-century German classical composers Musicians from Wuppertal German male classical composers 20th-century German male musicians 21st-century German male musicians