Walter Thomas Heyn (born 14 November 1953) is a German

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

Life

Born in

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

, Heyn was initially musically

self-taught Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning, self-study and self-teaching) is the practice of education without the guidance of schoolmasters (i.e., teachers, professors, institutions). Overview Autodi ...

. From the age of fourteen he played

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and performed in singing clubs. From 1974 to 1980 he studied guitar with and ,

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

with Gerd Schlotter and

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

with

Carlernst Ortwein Carlernst Ortwein, pseudonym Conny Odd, (21 December 1916 – 22 December 1986) was a German classical pianist and composer. Life Ortwein was born in 1916 in Leipzig as the son of the music teacher Karl Ortwein. From 1927 he was a member of the ...

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 ...

. His composition teacher recommended him for the class of

Siegfried Thiele Siegfried Thiele (; 28March 193424November 2024) was a German composer. From 1990 to 1997, he was rector of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig where he had begun teaching in 1962. He composed an extended work for soloists, choir and or ...

. Heyn was then for composition with

Siegfried Matthus Siegfried Matthus (13 April 1934 – 27 August 2021) was a German composer, conductor, and festival founder and manager. Some of his operas, such as ''Judith'', were premiered at the Komische Oper Berlin in East Berlin. In 1991, he founded the c ...

at the

Academy of Arts, Berlin 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 (East) Berlin from 1985 to 1987. He was also a research assistant for composition at the Leipzig Academy of Music until 1984. He took part in events of the ''Deutscher Verlag für Musik'' and the Leipzig district association of the composers' association. From 1988 on he worked without a fixed contract and published the handbook ''Guitar-Harmonics'' at in Leipzig in 1989. He appeared as and

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

and played on

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

stages. Heyn received in this time among others composition commissions from private stage music. His works ''Concerto grosso Nr. 1'' op. 18 for 5 soloists and orchestra (1984) and ''Concerto grosso Nr. 2'' op. 20 for 2 violins and orchestra (1987) were premiered by the Leipzig

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus () is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The ...

orchestra under the direction of

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 ...

. In 1990 he was one of the founders of the ''International Children's Music Centre Leipzig''. Heyn was a member of the board of directors of the and since 1994 he has headed the ''Verein der Komponisten und Musikwissenschaftler'' (VKM e.V.). In 1991 he moved to Berlin. He bought the , whose chief editor he was from 1991 to 1999. In 2000 then acquired the the specialist publishing house for

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

. In 1996, he founded the record label and appeared as

. Heyn founded the ''Theatergruppe FSV Offenbach'', which performed in . He also founded the ensembles

Kammerorchester Berlin The Kammerorchester Berlin has been in existence since 1945 and its first director was the conductor Helmut Koch. Already in the 1950s, the orchestra succeeded in making a name for itself. Among other awards it received the ''Japanese Record Priz ...

and the ''Quintetto con brio''. He is head of the music section of the and chairman of the supporters' association of the . Heyn received several awards, including the

Hanns Eisler Prize The Hanns Eisler Prize was an East-German music award, named after the composer Hanns Eisler. It was awarded by Radio DDR – with advisory participation of the music section of the Akademie der Künste der DDR in Berlin (East) and the (VDK) � ...

for "3 Yiddish songs". He participated in radio (Deutschlandradio, RBB and MDR) and CD productions with the participation of

Claus Peter Flor Claus Peter Flor (born 16 March 1953, Leipzig) is a German conductor. Biography Flor studied violin and clarinet at the Robert Schumann Conservatory in Zwickau. He continued his music studies at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Weimar and th ...

Rosemarie Lang Rosemarie Lang (21 May 1947 – 12 January 2017) was a German operatic mezzo-soprano. Life Born in Grünstädtel, Lang studied at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig with Elisabeth Breul, Eva Schubert-Hoffmann and Helga Forner. At the ...

Dieter Mann Dieter Mann (20 June 1941 – 3 February 2022) was a German actor, director, university professor, and radio personality. In his career, he acted in several theater productions and in over 140 film and television productions. Between 1984 and 19 ...

, Kurt Masur, ,

Max Pommer Max Pommer (born 9 February 1936) is a German musicologist and conductor, a director of the Leipziger Universitätschor and the founder and conductor of the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum. Career Born in Leipzig, Pommer was a student of ...

Friedrich Schenker Friedrich Schenker (23 December 19428 February 2013) was a German avant-garde composer and trombone player. Life Born in the German town of Zeulenroda, Schenker learned trombone and piano as a child and made his first compositional attempts at ...

and .

Work

In the 80s, Heyn devoted himself to

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 ...

theatre music Theatre music refers to a wide range of music composed or adapted for performance in theatres. Genres of theatre music include opera, ballet and several forms of musical theatre, from pantomime to operetta and modern stage musicals and revues. Ano ...

and

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

. His first composition ''Four aphoristic songs'' (1980) was presented on a composer portrait at the Academy of Arts Berlin. In his works he worked on, among others. texts by

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; , . ( – 5 March 1966), better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova,. ...

Agostinho Neto António Agostinho Neto (17 September 1922 – 10 September 1979) was an Angolan Communism, communist politician and poet. He served as the first president of Angola from 1975 to 1979, having led the MPLA, Popular Movement for the Liberation of ...

and . His sound creations prove to be time-critical and cynical. For the

Gruppe Neue Musik Hanns Eisler Gruppe Neue Musik Hanns Eisler was an ensemble of musicians founded in 1970 in Leipzig with a focus on contemporary classical music, which played several world premieres and toured internationally. The ensemble disbanded in 1993. History The ens ...

he composed ''Ich ist ein anderer. Rimbaud''. From 1989 he concentrated on

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 ...

. In the late 90s, compositions in the field of literature & music followed. He worked together with the chanson singer . Heyn composes in all styles from Romantique to New Music. He is also an arranger of the works of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string instrument, string player. A composer of both Secular music, secular and Church music, sacred music, and a pioneer ...

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...

and

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

Scholarships, prizes and awards

Mendelssohn Scholarship The Mendelssohn Scholarship () refers to two scholarships awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom. Both commemorate the composer Felix Mendelssohn, and are awarded to promising young musicians to enable them to continue their development. Hi ...

of the Ministerium für Kultur of the DDR (1977/78 and 1978/79) * (1984) *

of the

Rundfunk der DDR Rundfunk der DDR (, 'GDR Broadcasting'; from about 1948 to 1972 Deutscher Demokratischer Rundfunk, 'German Democratic Broadcasting') was the collective designation for radio broadcasting organized by the State Broadcasting Committee in the East ...

(1987) * Scholarship of the

Körber Foundation The Körber Foundation (German: ''Körber-Stiftung'') is a nonprofit organization, established in 1959 by German businessman Kurt A. Körber. Its operational work is organised into seven subject areas: ‘Age and Demography’, ‘Education’, ...

Hamburg (1991/93)

Discography

* 1996: ''Gitarra poetica'' (Kreuzberg Records) * 1997: ''Nicht jeder Abschied macht klein'' (Mara Records) * 1997: ''ZooMusik – MusikZoo'' (Kreuzberg Records) * 1998: ''Hommage à Alfred Berghorn'' (Kreuzberg Records) * 2000: ''Liebsamen Beschäftigung'' (Kreuzburg Records) * 2000: ''Bach meets Schostakowitsch'' (Kreuzberg Records) * 2000: ''Freimaurer Gesänge'' (Kreuzberg Records) * 2001: ''Opus'' (Kreuzberg Records) * 2001: ''Leipziger Legende'' (Kreuzberg Records) * 2002: ''Florestan-Quartett'' (Kreuzberg Records) * 2002: ''Missae sine Verbis'' (Kreuzberg Records) * 2002: ''Lebensgruß'' (Kreuzberg Records) * 2003: ''Passionen'' (Kreuzberg Records)

Literature

Hermann Neef Hermann Neef (28 September 1936 – 24 August 2017) was a German musicologist and theatre scholar. Life Born in Berlin, Neef worked from 1960-1973 at the VEB Deutsche Schallplatten in Berlin. Since 1973 he was at the Komische Oper Berlin, and sin ...

: ''Der Beitrag der Komponisten

Friedrich Goldmann Friedrich Goldmann (27 April 1941 – 24 July 2009) was a German composer and conductor. Life Born on 27 April 1941 in Siegmar-Schönau (today a part of Chemnitz), Goldmann's music education began in 1951 when he joined the Dresdner Kreuzchor. ...

Paul-Heinz Dittrich Paul-Heinz Dittrich (4 December 1930 – 28 December 2020) was a German composer and academic teacher. Based in East Berlin, he focused on chamber music, with many works inspired by poetry. His works were performed earlier in the West than in the ...

und Thomas Heyn zur ästhetischen Diskussion der Gattung Oper in der DDR seit 1977''.''Der Beitrag der Komponisten Friedrich Goldmann, Friedrich Schenker, Paul-Heinz Dittrich und Thomas Heyn zur ästhetischen Diskussion der Gattung Oper in der DDR seit 1977''
on WorldCat Dissertation, Halle 1989 *

Ulrike Liedtke Ulrike Liedtke (''née'' Nehrdich,''Musikakademie Rheinsberg Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Rheinsberg''. In ''Handelsregister-Bekanntmachungen'' dated 4 February 1995. 17 November 1958) is a German musicologist and politician (Social De ...

: ''Walter Thomas Heyn''. In ''

Komponisten der Gegenwart The ''Komponisten der Gegenwart'' (KDG) is a music encyclopedia in the German language about composers of the 20th and 21st century. It is a looseleaf service with information on currently about 900 composers. Editors Hanns-Werner Heister and Wa ...

'' (KDG). Edition Text & Kritik, Munich 1996, . * ''Heyn, Thomas.'' In Brockhaus, ''

Riemann Musiklexikon The Riemann Musiklexikon (RML), is a music encyclopedia founded in 1882 by Hugo Riemann. The 13th edition appeared in 2012. History The Riemann Musiklexikon is the last undertaking of an individual to write a comprehensive encyclopedia in the fi ...

.'' CD-Rom, Directmedia Publishing, Berlin 2004, , . * ''Heyn, Walter Thomas.'' In Axel Schniederjürgen (ed.): ''Kürschners Musiker-Handbuch.'' 5th edition, Saur Verlag, Munich 2006, , .

References

External links

*
Walter Thomas Heyn
im Archiv Zeitgenössischer Komponisten der

Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden The Saxon State and University Library Dresden (full name in ), abbreviated SLUB Dresden, is located in Dresden, Germany. It is both the regional library () for the German State of Saxony as well as the academic library for the Dresden Universit ...

* * Walter Thomas Heyn, KDG – ''Komponisten der Gegenwart'', in Munzinger-Archi
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at Klassika
Walter Thomas Heyn
at Edition Margaux
Walter Thomas Heyn
at Hartmann & Stauffacher {{DEFAULTSORT:Heyn, Walter Thomas German record producers 20th-century German classical composers German music arrangers Literary editors German classical guitarists 1953 births Living people People from Görlitz