Friedrich Cerha (born 17 February 1926) is an Austrian

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 Defi ...

, conductor and music educator.

Education and Career

Cerha was born in Vienna, Austria, and educated at the Viennese Music Academy (violin with

Váša Příhoda Váša Příhoda (22 August 1900Nicolas Slonimsky, ed. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 8th ed.26 July 1960) was a Czech violinist and minor composer. Considered a Paganini specialist, his recording of the Violin Concerto in A minor ...

, composition with

Alfred Uhl Alfred Uhl (5 June 1909 – 8 June 1992) was an Austrian composer, violist, music teacher and conductor. Biography Uhl was born in Vienna and studied with Franz Schmidt at the Vienna Music Academy, receiving a diploma in composition with ho ...

, music education) and received a doctorate from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

(musicology, German culture and language, philosophy). In 1958 he founded the ensemble "

die reihe ''Die Reihe'' () was a German-language music academic journal, edited by Herbert Eimert and Karlheinz Stockhausen and published by Universal Edition (Vienna) between 1955 and 1962 (). An English edition was published, under the original German ...

" with

Kurt Schwertsik Kurt Schwertsik (born 25 June 1935) is an Austrian contemporary composer. He is known for creating the "Third Viennese School" and spreading contemporary classical music. Life Schwertsik was born in Vienna. A pupil of Joseph Marx and Karl Schisk ...

, which was an important instrument for the spreading of contemporary music in Austria. In addition to composing, Cerha earned a reputation as an interpreter of the works of

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

and

Anton Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stea ...

. This work included the completion of Alban Berg's unfinished three-act opera''

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.'' Cerha orchestrated sections of the third act using Berg's notes as a reference. The opera was premiered by

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1979. Alongside his career as a composer, Cerha taught at the

University of Music and Performing Arts The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

in Vienna from 1959 and between 1976 and 1988 was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of Composition, Notation and Interpretation of New Music. Some of his notable students during this time include Georg Friedrich Haas,

Karlheinz Essl Karlheinz Essl (born 15 August 1960) is an Austrian composer, performer, sound artist, improviser, and composition teacher. Biography Essl was born in Vienna. His studies at the University of Music in Vienna included: composition (under Friedr ...

Petr Kotik Petr Kotik (surname originally Kotík) (born January 27, 1942, in Prague) is a composer, conductor and flutist living in New York City. He was educated in Europe (Prague Conservatory, graduated 1961; Vienna Music Academy, graduated 1966; AMU Prag ...

, Gerald Barry and Benet Casablancas. Cerha has produced both orchestral works and opera (among others, ''

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...

'', '' Der Rattenfänger'', and '' Der Riese vom Steinfeld'', the latter commissioned by the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

, with a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Peter Turrini Peter Turrini (born 26 September 1944 in Wolfsberg, Carinthia) is an Austrian playwright known for his socio-critical work and earlier folk-dramas. Born in Carinthia, Turrini has been writing since 1971, when his play ''Rozznjogd'' premiered at ...

). Premiere performances of some of his recent works took place in January 2006 (e.g. ''Impulse'' for large orchestra, dedicated to the

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its ...

on the occasion of its 150th anniversary) as well as in March 2006 (Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Orchestra, written in 2004). Cerha and his wife Gertraud Cerha, a music historian, were founder members of the

Joseph Marx Joseph Rupert Rudolf Marx (11 May 1882 – 3 September 1964) was an Austrian composer, teacher and critic. Life and career Marx was born in Graz and pursued studies in philosophy, art history, German studies, and music at Graz University, earni ...

Society in April 2006.

Wartime activities

Cerha was conscripted, aged 17, as a

Luftwaffenhelfer A ''Luftwaffenhelfer'', also commonly known as a ''Flakhelfer'', was any member of the auxiliary staff of the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Such terms often implied students conscripted as child soldiers. Establishment ''Luftwaff ...

and initially served in

Achau Achau is a town in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. History After the Anschluss in 1938, Achau became a part of Greater Vienna, but returned to Lower Austria after the war. Population Sport The Achau golf cours ...

, near Vienna. During this time, he participated in a number of acts of resistance against the fascist regime. After a semester at the University of Vienna, he was sent to an Officer's school in occupied Denmark. While there, he obtained a number of blank, but signed, marching order papers and deserted. These papers allowed him to remain undetected within German territory for some time as he could use them as proof that he was supposed to be there. However, after a period, he was forced to rejoin a military unit, during an advance by the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

forces near

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

. He deserted a second time and made his way to the west of Austria, where he lived in the mountains for several months, to avoid capture by the Allied forces, until he was eventually able to return Vienna.

Decorations and awards

* 1964:

Theodor Körner Prize The Theodor Körner Prize ( German: ''Theodor-Körner-Preis'') is a set of annual Austrian awards bestowed by the Theodor Körner Fund in recognition of cultural and/or scientific advances. The prize is awarded at the University of Vienna. The pri ...

* 1986:

Grand Austrian State Prize for Music The Grand Austrian State Prize () is a decoration given annually by Austria to an artist for exceptional work. The recipient must be an Austrian citizen with a permanent residence in Austria. It was originally created in 1950 by then education mi ...

* 1986: Gold Medal of the Province of Styria * 1986: Honorary Medal of Vienna in gold * 1988: Honorary Member of the

Vienna Konzerthaus The Konzerthaus is a concert hall located in Vienna, Austria, which opened in 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both traditional and ...

* 2005:

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

* 2006:

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

of the Venice Music Biennale * 2007: Honorary Member of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna * 2008: Gold Medal for services to the City of Vienna * 2010: Silver Commander's Cross of Honour for Services to the province of Lower Austria * 2011:

Salzburg Music Prize The Salzburg Music Prize (german: Musikpreis Salzburg, links=no) was an international composition prize awarded by the state government of Salzburg. The total prize money was €80,000 (€60,000 for the main prize and €20,000 for the advanceme ...

* 2012:

Ernst von Siemens Music Prize The Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (short: Siemens Music Prize, german: link=no, Ernst von Siemens Musikpreis) is an annual music prize given by the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste (Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts) on behalf of the Ernst v ...

Honorary doctorates

* 2017:

Universität Siegen The University of Siegen (german: Universität Siegen) is a public research university located in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia and is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, a society of Germany's leading research universities. The Univers ...

Notable works

Operas

* ''Netzwerk'', 1981 for singers, reciter, movement groups and orchestra * ''Baal'', 1974/81 – Text:

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

* ''Der Rattenfänger'', 1987 – Text:

Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. Life and career Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was t ...

* Komplettierung der Oper ''Lulu'' von Alban Berg, 1962–78 * ''Der Riese vom Steinfeld'', 2002 – Text:

, 2002 * ''Onkel Präsident'', 2013 – Text: Peter Wolf and Friedrich Cerha * Completion of 3rd act of Berg's

Other works

* ''Spiegel I,'' 1960 for movement groups, light objects, orchestra, and tape * ''Spiegel II–VII'', 1960–72 * ''Sinfonie'', 1975 * ''Requiem für Hollensteiner'', Text:

Thomas Bernhard Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard (; 9 February 1931 – 12 February 1989) was an Austrian novelist, playwright and poet who explored death, social injustice, and human misery in controversial literature that was deeply pessimistic about modern civilizati ...

1982/83, dedicated to Kurt Ohnsorg, commissioned by Austrian Musical Youth for the 25th anniversary of the Vienna Youth Choir. * ''Baal-Gesänge'', 1983 * ''Keintate I, II'', 1983 ff. * ''Momentum für Karl Prantl'', 1988 * ''Fünf Stücke für Klarinette in A, Violoncello und Klavier'', 1999–2000 * ''Konzert für Sopransaxophon und Orchester'', 2003–2004 * ''Konzert für Violine und Orchester'', 2004 * ''Quintett für Oboe und Streichquartett'', 2007 * ''Konzert für Schlagzeug und Orchester'', 2007–2008 * ''Like a Tragicomedy für Orchester'', 2008–2009 * ''Bruchstück, geträumt für Ensemble'', 2009 * ''Paraphrase über den Anfang der 9. Symphonie von Beethoven'', 2010 * ''Zebra-Trio'', for string trio, 2011 * ''Tagebuch für Orchester'', 2012 * ''Drei Sätze für Orchester'', 2015 * ''Fasce'' for orchestra, sometime before 1993 * ''Langegger Nachtmusiken I-III'', sometime before 1993 * ''Relazioni fragili'' for chamber ensemble, sometime before 1993

References

External links

Official WebsiteBiography Friedrich Cerha (Sabine Töfferl, New Academic Press 2017; German language)

Ensemble "die reihe"Friedrich Cerha
biography and works on the UE website (publisher)]
Laudation for Friedrich Cerha
by Karlheinz Essl Jr., Karlheinz Essl (16 March 2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerha, Friedrich 1926 births Living people Musicians from Vienna Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Recipients of the Grand Austrian State Prize Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Austrian male composers Austrian composers Male conductors (music) Pupils of Karlheinz Stockhausen Ernst von Siemens Music Prize winners Theodor Körner Prize recipients 21st-century Austrian conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian composers 20th-century Austrian male musicians 21st-century male musicians Luftwaffenhelfer German military personnel of World War II Austrian resistance members Deserters