Reiner Bredemeyer (Composer)

Born: February 2, 1929 - Vélez, Santander, Colombia
Died: December 5, 1995 - Berlin, Germany

The German composer, Reiner Bredemeyer, went to school in Breslau. In 1944 he began his military service. After World War II he met Karl Amadeus Hartmann. From 1949 to 1953 he studied composition with Karl Höller at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich. In 1954 Paul Dessau took him to East Germany, where Bredemeyer became a master student of Rudolf Wagner-Régeny at the Akademie der Künste in East Berlin (1955-1957).

Reiner Bredemeyer taught at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin and worked together with Bertold Brecht, Walter Felsenstein and Ernst Busch. From 1957 to 1960 he was arts director at the Theatre of Friendship in Berlin and from 1961 kapellmeister and composer at the German Theatre in East Berlin. His composers generation (among Friedrich Goldmann, Georg Katzer und Friedrich Schenker) broke with socialist realism and looked for orientation in western Avant-garde. In 1978 he became a member of the Akademie der Künste and in 1988 he was appointed professor. Until 1989 he served as a board member of the GDR's composers and musicologists Union. Bredemeyer's grave is at Cemetery Pankow III, where a lot of famous people are buried.

In his music Reiner Bredemeyer was an astute experimenter, but he adhered to the tenets of classical forms and avoided the extremes of modernism. His awards include: Art Prize of the FDGB (1969); Banner of Labor (1969); Art Prize of East Germany (1975); National Prize of East Germany (1983); FIPRESCI Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival (1983); Composition Award at the National Film Festival of the GDR (1986); Order of Merit for the Fatherland (1989).

Works

Dramatic:
Leben der Andrea, opera after Brecht's Gali/eo (1971)
Die Galoschenoper, after Tbe Beggar's Opera (1978)
Candide, after Voltaire, (1981-1982; Halle, January 12, 1986)

Orchestral:
Integration (1961)
Variante (1962)
Violin Concerto (1963)
Komposition for 56 Strings (1964)
Spiel (1964)
Schlagstuck 3 for Orchestra & 3 Percussion Groups (1966)
Bagatellen fur B. for Piano & Orchestra (1970)
Spiel zu 45 (1970)
Piano und . . . , piano concerto (1972)
Oktoberstuck (1973)
Sym. (1974)
Anfangen-aujhoren (1974)
Double Concerto for Harpsichord, Oboe, & Orchestra (1974)
2 tempi for Flute, Recorder, & Strings (1976)
Aufiakte for 3 Orchestral Groups (1976)
Concerto for Oboe & Strings (1977)
4 Pieces (1979)
9 Bagatelles for Strings (1984)
3 Pieces for 2 Orchestra Groups (1986)
Horn Concerto (1986)
Sonatas I-III (1988)
Vermasseltes Doppel, NOK, oboe concerto (1994)

Chamber:
Quintet for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, & Double Bass (1956)
Concertino for 12 (1957)
Octet (1959)
2 woodwind quintets (1959, 1969)
Schlagstück 1 for Percussionist (1960), 2 for Piano & Percussion (1965), and 5 for Piano & Percussion (1970)
3 string quartets (1961, 1968, 1983)
String Quintet (1962)
5 Pieces for Oboe & 3 Bassoons (1964)
6 Serenades for various instrumental combinations (1966-1980)
Pointing for 18 String Instruments (1966)
Sonata for Violin, Viola, & Piano (1967)
Schlagquartett for Piano, Double Bass, & 2 Percussionists (1967)
Ab 14 for Piano & 13 String Instruments (1971)
(Cello)² for Cello & Tape (1971)
8 Pieces for String Trio (1971)
6 Solos for Various Instruments (1973-1980)
(Oboe)² for Oboe & Tape (1975)
Grosses Duet for 2 Instrumental Groups (1975)
Piano und . . .5 for Piano, Flute, Horn, Trombone, Cello, & Double Bass (1976)
Interludium for Soprano Saxophone, Flute, Cello, Double Bass, & Percussion (1977)
Piano und. . .6 for Piano, 2 Cellos, Wind Instrument, & 3 Percussionists (1977)
Still Leben? mit Gitarre for Guitar & 4 Trombones (1978)
5 Blechstucke for 2 Trumpets & 2 Trombones (1979)
D fur Paul Dessau for 15 String Instruments (1980);
Septet 80 for 2 Oboes, Cello, Double Bass, Percussion, Trombone, & Harpsichord (1980)
Septet 87 for 2 Guitars, Percussion, & String Quartet (1987)
Vorwabl522 (Kein Anschluss unter dieser Nummer?) for Chamber Ensemble (1989)

Vocal:
Cantata for Alto & Women's Chorus (1961)
Wostock for Chorus & Orchestra (1961)
Karthago for Chorus & Chamber Ensemble (1961)
Satze und Sentenzen for Chorus & Orchestra (1963)
Canto for Alto, Men's Chorus, & 10 Instruments (1965)
Synchronisiert-Asynchron for Soprano, Oboe, Bassoon, Cello, Piano, Percussion, & Tape (1975)
Zum 13. 7. (Für Schonberg) for Woman's Voice, Clarinet, Saxophone, & Percussion (1976)
Cantata 2 for 16 Voices & 16 Instruments (1977)
Madrigal, Rezitativ und Arie for Tenor & 8 Instruments (1979)
Das Alltagliche for Soprano, Tenor, & Orchestra (1980)
Musica Vivarese for Soprano, Bass Chorus, & Instruments (1982)
Die Winterreise for Baritone, Horn, & Piano, after Wilhelm Müller (1984)
Lieder auf der Flucht for Mezzosoprano & Piano (1986)
Die schöne Miillerin for Baritone, String Quartet, & Horn Quartet, after Müller (1986; Berlin, February 21, 1987)
Post-modern for Chorus & 4 Horns (1988)

Source: Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997); Wikipedia Website (July 2011)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (August 2011)

Reiner Bredemeyer: Short Biography | Arrangements/Transcriptions: Works | Recordings

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