After early childhood in Munich, his parents moved to Leipzig in 1935. Due to his very conservative family he only was introduced to music of Classical Period and German
Romantic Music
Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...
up to
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
with the complete lack of contemporary music. The composer Felix Petyrek who gave the young Sauter piano lessons in his home was the first to introduce him to new music. Sauter then joined the famous
Thomasschule
St. Thomas School, Leipzig (german: Thomasschule zu Leipzig; la, Schola Thomana Lipsiensis) is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools ...
where the so-called "Bachpflege" as part of his musical lessons sensitized his hearing. At war end in 1945 on the run back to Munich nearly all of his first compositions were destroyed or lost. The composition "Saitenspiel" was one of the few rescued compositions.
In 1947 after passing his university entrance diploma Sauter began studying piano at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich. Unfortunately he had to abandon his studies due to financial reasons. He continued taking private piano lessons with Maria Landes-Hindemith where he was introduced to her husband
Rudolf Hindemith
Rudolf Hindemith, since 1951 officially Paul Quest, pseudonym Hans Lofer (9 January 19007 October 1974) was a German cellist, composer and conductor. He was solo cellist of the Vienna State Opera, and played chamber music in the Amar Quartet. He ...
(of
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...
's brother) who gave him new motivation to start composing again. Over time this influence was too less progressive and led to a discord based on Hindemiths criticism of the
musica viva
Musica Viva was founded in 1945 by Romanian-born violinist Richard Goldner, with the aim of bringing chamber music to Australia. The co-founder was a German-born musicologist, Walter Dullo. At its inception, Musica Viva was a string ensemble per ...
concert series founded by Karl Amadeus Hartmann in 1945.
In the late fifties Sauter discovered the
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 ...
genre and joined the Junge Ballett Compagnie (JBC, Deutsches Ballett-Theater, Bonn) where he first did arrangements "Es war eine köstliche Zeit" broadcast by the Bayerischer Rundfunk and instrumentations (Bizet, Jeux d’enfants). Sauter composed his first ballet "Blue Jeans" for the JBC which was broadcast by the
Saarländischer Rundfunk
Saarländischer Rundfunk (SR; ''Saarland Broadcasting'') is a public radio and television broadcaster serving the German state of Saarland. With headquarters in the Halberg Broadcasting House in Saarbrücken, SR is a member of the ARD consort ...
The closure of the JBC led to a mental and financial crisis for Sauter which in succession let his self-criticism destroy some of his non published compositions.
In 1965 Sauter got an offer from
Yvonne Georgi
Yvonne Georgi (29 October 1903 – 25 January 1975) was a German dancer, choreographer and ballet mistress. She was known for her comedic talents and her extraordinary jumping ability. In her roles as a dancer, choreographer, and ballet mistres ...
the head of the ballet at the Staatsoper Hannover to write the music for a new ballet called "Finale". Despite a successful performance the collaboration with Georgi had to end due to her sudden retirement. In 1976 he wrote a quadrophonic scenic music ("Remontage") which had its debut performance at the "Tage der neuen Musik" in Hannover in 1977. The "Requiem für eine Tänzerin" a "Tape Music for Dancers" produced by Germinal Casado followed in 1978 and was a long running great success
Sauter had concerns to be rated solely as a ballet composer. This and his wish to be independent and perhaps also the desire to "be somewhere else" led to the decision to relocate to the South of France. Thanks to the support of his friends, foremost of the conductor
George Alexander Albrecht
George Alexander Albrecht (15 February 1935 – 21 December 2021) was a German conductor and composer, who also worked as a musicologist and academic teacher. A prolific composer at a young age, he was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the Staatsope ...
, Sauter was able to get to work in the solitude and quietness of the
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
without losing the connection to the outside world. There in 1983/84 the first feature-length piece, a ballet "Till Eulenspiegel" based on de Costers novel '' La Légende d’Ulenspiegle'' was created. Again a commissioned work for the Staatsoper Hannover. In 1986 Sauter choose Suzette a small village in the Dentelles near
Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
and Orange as new residence. There he composed his first piano concerto ("Concerto Russe") devoted to
Gerhard Oppitz
Gerhard Oppitz (born 5 February 1953, Frauenau) is a German classical pianist.
He studied with Paul Buck, Hugo Steurer and Wilhelm Kempff. In 1981 he was appointed professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater MünchenTchaikovski year 1993 in Hanover.
The wish to create his own sphere let him organize an annual summer festival called "Festival MUSIQUE D ÉTÉ À SUZETTE" for chamber music ensembles in the small church of Suzette. It was his goal to present not only classical pieces to the interested audience but also pieces of contemporary composers like
Penderecki
Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', ''A ...
Schnittke
Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, link=no, Alfred Garriyevich Shnitke; 24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer of Jewish-German descent. Among the most performed and re ...
etc. After several years of groundwork Sauter was able to compose own pieces for the festival and have them performed by artists of international reputation. The 3 string trios devoted to and performed by the "Deutsches Streichtrio" and "Verrà La Morte" for soprano and string quartet performed by Christina Ascher and the Szymanowski-Quartet are vivid examples.
Selected works
;Stage
* ''Blue Jeans Story'', ballet for the "Junge Ballett-Compagnie" (1960); TV-recording at
Saarländischer Rundfunk
Saarländischer Rundfunk (SR; ''Saarland Broadcasting'') is a public radio and television broadcaster serving the German state of Saarland. With headquarters in the Halberg Broadcasting House in Saarbrücken, SR is a member of the ARD consort ...
* ''Finale'', ballet (1963)
* ''Till Eulenspiegel'', feature-length ballet (1984); commissioned work for the Staatsoper Hannover
;Orchestral
* ''Variations Classique'' (1960)
;Concertante
* ''Concert Russe'', Concert for piano and orchestra (1991); commissioned work for the Niedersächsische Staatsorchester, Hannover, dedicated to
Gerhard Oppitz
Gerhard Oppitz (born 5 February 1953, Frauenau) is a German classical pianist.
He studied with Paul Buck, Hugo Steurer and Wilhelm Kempff. In 1981 he was appointed professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater MünchenHochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover
Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (german: Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, italics=unset, abbreviated to HMTMH) is a university of performing arts and media in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. Dating ...
* ''Métrages'' for flute, harp and percussion (1982); soundtrack to an abstract movie directed by Kurt Kranz
* ''Essai sur "l'accord prométhéen"'' for viola solo and string trio (1988)
* String Trio (1999)
* ''Ballade'' for violin, viola and cello (2001)
* ''Musique Romantique'' for cello solo and string trio; "À la mémoire d'Arenski" (2005)
* Trio No. 3 for violin, viola and cello (2007)
;Piano
* ''Drei Studien'', inspired by the ''51 Exercises'' for two pianos by
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
(1981)
* ''Toccata sur le nom B-A-C-H'' for piano (2000)
;Vocal
* ''Saitenspiel'', 6 short choral pieces based on Japanese lyrics (1945); translated by Manfred Hausmann
* ''Verrà la morte'', Music for mezzo-soprano and string quartet (1997); words by Cesare Pavese
All published compositions by Ernest Sauter are archived at the German Composer Archive
*1984 ''Till Eulenspiegel Notizen nach getaner Arbeit''; Edition Kunzelmann GmbH, Adliswil/Zürich
*1972 ''Instrumentation, ein Versuch über die Arbeit mit dem Klang'', script for a broadcast series at Bayerischer Rundfunk; also available as printed copy from Verlag Walter Wollenweber
Sources
*1967 NZ, Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, February 2, S.54, Hannover, Ballett-Uraufführung(Erich Limmert)
*1978 Neue Hannoversche/Hannoversche Presse Nr.24 v.28:/29. Januar 1978 Zur Person (RH)
*1984 Theaterzeitung Mai Till Eulenspiegel Uraufführung (W.K.)
*1992 Judith G. Prieberg, Der Komponist Ernest Sauter, Beobachtungen und Notizen in: Werkverzeichnis Ernest Sauter, Verlag Albert Kunzelmann, Lottstetten
*1993 Theater-Magazin der Niedersächsischen Staatstheater Hannover, Februar 5. Konzert (B.W.)
*2003 Helmut Rohm, "Abseits der Eitelkeiten, der Komponist Ernest Sauter", Bayern2Radio first broadcast July 28, 2003, Bayerischer Rundfunk 2003
*2011 Roland Spiegel, alpha-Forum: Interview with the composer Ernest Sauter. First broadcast February 14, 2011, Bayerischer Rundfunk 2011