Christian Münch (born 11 April 1951) is a German composer, organist, pianist and conductor.

Life

Münch was born in

Freiberg Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage c ...

in 1951 in a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

's family. With his father he learned

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

and

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

. Since his childhood he received piano and

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

lessons at the music school in Freiberg. From 1971 to 1976 he studied

musical 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 Manfred Weiss and Wilfried Krätzschmar,

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...

with Rudolf Neuhaus and piano with Günter Händel at the

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

. From 1983 to 1985 he was with

Georg Katzer Georg Katzer (; 10 January 1935 – 7 May 2019) was a German composer and teacher. The last master student of Hanns Eisler, he composed music in many genres, including works for the stage. Katzer was one of the pioneers of electronic new music ...

at the

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) 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 fo ...

. During this time he was engaged in

electroacoustic music Electroacoustic music is a genre of popular and Western art music in which composers use technology to manipulate the timbres of acoustic sounds, sometimes by using audio signal processing, such as reverb or harmonizing, on acoustical instrumen ...

. Subsequently Münch worked as

répétiteur A (from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. A feminine form, , also appears but is comparatively rare. Opera In opera, a is the person ...

at the

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

in Dresden. He conducted 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 ...

, the "musica-viva-ensemble dresden" and the "Ensemble für Neue Musik Berlin" as well as a guest conductor at the

Staatsoper Unter den Linden The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

. Münch has conducted more than 100 world

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

s. His compositions, including a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, have been performed by the

Dresden Philharmonic The Dresdner Philharmonie (Dresden Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Dresden. Its principal concert venue is the ''Kulturpalast''. The orchestra also performs at the Kreuzkirche, the Hochschule für Musik Dresden, and the ...

, the

Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden The Staatskapelle Dresden (known formally as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden) is a German orchestra based in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. Founded in 1548 by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, it is one of the world's oldest and most highly re ...

and the

Dresdner Kreuzchor The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, Germany. It has a seven-century history and a world-wide reputation. Today, the choir has about 150 members between the ages of 9 and 19, from Dresden and the surroundin ...

, among others. Münch has taught at the Dresden Academy of Music since 1976 and was

honorary professor Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

there from 2002 to 2016. He taught performance practice of

Neue Musik Neue Musik (English ''new music'', French ''nouvelle musique'') is the collective term for a wealth of different currents in composed Western art music from around 1910 to the present. Its focus is on compositions of 20th century music. It is char ...

. In 2018 he donated his

Nachlass ''Nachlass'' (, older spelling ''Nachlaß'') is a German word, used in academia to describe the collection of manuscripts, notes, correspondence, and so on left behind when a scholar dies. The word is a compound in German: ''nach'' means "after" ...

to the music department of

Saxon State and University Library Dresden The Saxon State and University Library Dresden (full name in german: Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden), abbreviated SLUB Dresden, is located in Dresden, Germany. It is both the regional library (german: ...

Awards

* Kritikerpreis der Stadt Berlin (1980) * Hanns-Eisler-Preis des Deutschlandsender Kultur (1990) * Kunstpreis der Hanna Johannes Arras Stiftung (2000)

Compositions

* Flüsterstück ''Briefe aus dem Gefängnis'' für Mezzosopran, Fl, Vla, Perk (1979) * Klaviervariationen (1980) * The weak power, (Ballet, 1982/86) * ''geträumt'' (1988) * ''In schöner Trägheit'' (1989) * ''Dakrion ... Dakrion'' (1992) * Canto LXXVL by

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

, (Oratorium, 1994) * Unschlüssig (conzert, 1999) * All things lovely (Choral music, 1999) * ''ein vliessende lieht miner gotheit'' für Solisten, Chor und Ensemble (2000) * ''Jemand'', Lieder nach

Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

für Soli, Chor und Orchester (Oratorium, 2001) * Gesang der Königin, Klaviertrio * Musik für die wiederaufgebaute Dresdner Frauenkirche "als Gabe" (2006) * ''glühend'' für Alt und Klavier (2007) * Gesänge und Harmonien (Kammermusik, 2007) * ''verstummen'' für 2 Vl, Vla, Vcl (2008) * ''durchtanzen'' für Frauen- und Männerstimmen (2009) * ''unmögliche Duos'' für Tenor, Pos, Vl, Vla, Vcl, Kb, Pn (2010) * ''Klangmoment'' für Orgel, Perk (2010) * ''die Hexe, die ich meine, lacht?'' für Sopran, 2 Vl, Vla, Vcl (2011) * ''niemandem'' für 2 Klaviere, Chor und großes Orchester (2011) * ''himmlisch'' für Celesta, Sopran solo und großes Orchester (2011) * ''huldvoll gnadenreich'' für Soli, Chor (SATB), Kinderchor, Pn, Org und kleines Orchester (2012) * ''es sind die Töne'' für Orgel (2013) * ''Flöte und Fellinstrumente'' für Fl, Perk (2018) * ''Flötenkonzert (vor der Verdunklung)'' für Fl solo, Trp, Hrn, Pos, Tb, 2 Vl, 2 Vla, 2 Vc, 2 Kb, Perk (2019) * ''Frauenstimme und Trommler'' für Sopran, Drumset (2019) * ''Traum'' (mit einem Text von Franz Kafka) für Kinder- oder Frauenchor, Pn, 2 Vl, 4 Perk (2019)

Literature

* Münch, Christian. In Wilfried W. Bruchhäuser: ''Komponisten der Gegenwart im Deutschen Komponisten-Interessenverband. Ein Handbuch.'' 4th edition, Deutscher Komponisten-Interessenverband, Berlin 1995, , . *

Christoph Sramek Christoph Sramek (born 6 September 1950) is a German music historian and music critic. Life Born in Chemnitz, Sramek passed his Abitur in 1969 in Burgstädt. He also obtained a skilled worker degree as bricklayer. From 1969 to 1973 he studied ...

: ''Münch, Christian.'' In ''Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.'' 20 August 2012. * Christoph Sramek: ''Christian Münch''. In ''

Komponisten der Gegenwart The ''Komponisten der Gegenwart'' (KDG) is a music encyclopedia in 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 Walter ...

'' (KDG). Edition Text & Kritik, Munich 1996, . * Christoph Sramek: ''Münch, Christian''. In

Ludwig Finscher Ludwig Finscher (14 March 193030 June 2020) was a German musicologist. He was a professor of music history at the University of Heidelberg from 1981 to 1995 and editor of the encyclopedia ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart''. He is respecte ...

(ed.) ''

Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...

'' (MGG). Supplement, Bärenreiter, Kassel

Saur Saur may refer to: * Saur (company) a French utility company * Saur (restaurant), Michelin starred restaurant in The Hague, Netherlands * Dog king - a Scandinavian tradition * Saur 1 - an APC developed by ROMARM * K. G. Saur Verlag, German publ ...

Verlag, Munich 2006, , . * Über Münch-Aufführungen des Dresdner Kreuzchores, in Matthias Herrmann (ed.): ''Dresdner Kreuzchor und zeitgenössische Chormusik. Ur- und Erstaufführungen zwischen Richter und Kreile''.''Dresdner Kreuzchor und zeitgenössische Chormusik : Ur- und Erstaufführungen zwischen Richter und Kreile''
on WorldCat Marburg 2017, (writings of the Dresdner Kreuzchor, vol. 2)

References

External links

*
Christian Münch
im Archiv Zeitgenössischer Komponisten der

Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden The Saxon State and University Library Dresden (full name in german: Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden), abbreviated SLUB Dresden, is located in Dresden, Germany. It is both the regional library (german: ...

Kompositionen von Christian Münch
im Internationalen Quellenlexikon der Musik (RISM)
Christian Münch on Munzinger

Christian Münch
on Kalliope {{DEFAULTSORT:Munch, Christian German conductors (music) 20th-century classical composers 20th-century German composers Ballet composers 1951 births Living people Musicians from Freiberg