Christian Jost (born 17 October 1963) is a German composer and conductor. He has served as

composer-in-residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

for several German

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

s; in 2003, he was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Composers Prize. In 2009, Jost was described by ''

Musical Opinion ''Musical Opinion'', often abbreviated to ''MO'', is a European classical music journal edited and produced in the UK. It is currently among the oldest such journals to be still publishing in the UK, having been continuously in publication sinc ...

'' as "one of the most exciting young composers at work in Germany today."

Biography

Born in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, Jost studied in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

from 1983 to 1988 and at the

San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodg ...

from 1988 to 1989. Between 1996 and 1998, he frequently visited China, where he collaborated with a number of orchestras. He has been composer in residence of the

Beethoven Orchester Bonn The Beethoven Orchester Bonn is a German symphony orchestra based in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia. It dates back to 1907, when a professional orchestra was established. Named for Ludwig van Beethoven, who was born in Bonn, the orchestra's princ ...

, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the

Deutsche Oper am Rhein The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its Music Director since 2009. The resident orchestra, t ...

, the

Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz The Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate) is the largest and leading symphony orchestra of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, based in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. It gives concerts in Rhineland-Palatin ...

, the National Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan, the

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (NedPhO; nl, Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest) is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Amsterdam. History The NedPhO was formed in 1985 from the merger of three orchestras: the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestr ...

, and the Grafenegg Festival. Jost is the composer of nine operas and numerous symphonic works, which have been performed by some of the world's leading opera houses and orchestras, including the

Zürich Opera Zürich Opera (Oper Zürich) is a Swiss opera company based in Zürich. The company gives performances in the Zürich Opera House. History The first performance at the current theatre occurred on 30 September 1891, with a production of Wagner's ' ...

, the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

, the Grafenegg Festival, the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

. His opera ''Hamlet'', commissioned by the

Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, al ...

in 2008 and premiered there in 2009, was voted "World Premiere of the Year" by the German music magazine ''

Opernwelt ''Opernwelt'' (''Opera World'') is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet. It includes news about current performances, portraits of composers and performers, articles about opera houses, performance spaces, and contemporary and ...

''. In 2020, his opera ''Egmont'' was premiered at the Theater an der Wien as part of the theatre's Beethoven Year.

Family

Jost was married to the German mezzo-soprano Stella Doufexis, who died in 2015. His reworking of Robert Schumann's ''

Dichterliebe ''Dichterliebe'', "A Poet's Love" (composed 1840), is the best-known song cycle by Robert Schumann ( Op. 48). The texts for the 16 songs come from the ''Lyrisches Intermezzo'' by Heinrich Heine, written in 1822–23 and published as part of Heine' ...

'', conceived for her before her death, was released by

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

in 2019.

References

External links

Christian Jost official websiteProfile
at Schott Music website German classical composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers San Francisco Conservatory of Music alumni 1963 births Living people German male classical composers 20th-century German composers Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize winners 20th-century American composers 21st-century German composers Male classical pianists 21st-century classical pianists {{classical-pianist-stub