Georges Lentz is a contemporary
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 ...
and
sound art
Sound art is an artistic activity in which sound is utilized as a primary medium or material. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art may be interdisciplinary in nature, or be used in hybrid forms. According to Brandon LaBelle, sound art ...
ist, born in
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
in 1965 and that country's internationally best known composer. Since 1990, he has been living in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Despite his relatively small
output
Output may refer to:
* The information produced by a computer, see Input/output
* An output state of a system, see state (computer science)
* Output (economics), the amount of goods and services produced
** Gross output in economics, the value of ...
and his reclusiveness, he is also considered one of Australia's leading composers. His music is inspired by the starry night sky in the Australian
Outback
The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
and by
Aboriginal art.
He is the creator of the
Cobar Sound Chapel
The Cobar Sound Chapel is a permanent site-specific sound installation, located 1.5 km west of the town of Cobar, in central Western New South Wales, Australia.
It is a multi-disciplinary artwork created by composer and sound artist Ge ...
.
Life
Born in
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...
on 22 October 1965, Lentz grew up in the Luxembourg town of
Echternach
Echternach ( lb, Iechternach or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in L ...
. He studied at the
Luxembourg Conservatoire and later at the
Paris Conservatoire
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
(1982–1986) and the
Musikhochschule Hannover (1986–1990). In 1989, he began working on a cycle of compositions titled ''
Caeli enarrant...''. His music is being recognised increasingly around the world, with performances at the
Berlin Philharmonie, the
Vienna Musikverein
The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.
The acoustics of the building's 'Gre ...
and
Konzerthaus,
Concertgebouw Amsterdam,
Wigmore Hall London,
Carnegie Hall New York,
Kennedy Center Washington,
Suntory Hall Tokyo,
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
. Many orchestras have performed his works, including the
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...
in London,
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisatio ...
,
Hallé Orchestra of Manchester, Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin,
Bamberger Symphoniker
The Bamberg Symphony (German: Bamberger Symphoniker – Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie) is a German orchestra based in Bamberg. It is one of the most prestigious orchestras in Germany. The orchestra was formed in 1946 mainly from German musicians ...
,
Kölner Philharmoniker,
Düsseldorfer Symphoniker,
Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra The Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra (NRSO) was a Dutch radio orchestra. It was founded in 1985 after a merger of the Promenade Orchestra and the Radio Orchestra (Omroep Orkest).
The orchestra participated in various operatic productions and ...
,
ORF Symphony Orchestra
The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (German: ''ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien'', or RSO Wien) is the orchestra of the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). Unlike most other Austrian orchestras, the RSO Wien has a sub ...
in Vienna,
Warsaw Philharmonic
The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra ( pl, Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Warszawie) is a Polish orchestra based in Warsaw. Founded in 1901, it is one of Poland's oldest musical institutions.
History
The orchestra was conceived on ...
,
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra,
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
The , also known as Tokyō (都響), is one of the representative symphony orchestras of Japan. The Orchestra was founded in 1965 by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, to commemorate the Tokyo Olympics (1964 Summer Olympics).
Currently Kazushi ...
,
New Japan Philharmonic
The is a symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1972 with Seiji Ozawa as honorary conductor laureate. The Philharmonic's primary concert venue is the Sumida Triphony Hall. From 2003 to 2013 its music director was Chr ...
,
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...
and
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008.
The MSO relies on f ...
among others. His orchestral work ''Guyuhmgan'', from part VII of the cycle ''Mysterium'' was the foremost recommended work at
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
's 2002
International Rostrum of Composers The International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) is an annual forum organized by the International Music Council that offers broadcasting representatives the opportunity to exchange and publicize pieces of contemporary classical music. It is funded by c ...
in Paris. His compositions include a work for
viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
, orchestra and
electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
called ''Monh'' written for
Tabea Zimmermann
Tabea Zimmermann (born 8 October 1966) is a German violist.
Born in Lahr, she began learning to play the viola at the age of three, and commenced piano studies at age five. At the age of 13, she studied viola with Ulrich Koch at the Conservat ...
, as well as ''Ingwe'' for solo electric guitar, written for the Australian guitarist
Zane Banks.
Being given to self-doubt and reclusiveness, Lentz rarely publishes new works and rarely accepts commissions. He is said to retire to an
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The conce ...
(
Clervaux Abbey
The Abbey of St. Maurice and St. Maurus of Clervaux ( lb, Benediktinerabtei hellege Moritz) (french: Abbaye Saint-Maurice et Saint-Maur de Clervaux), founded in 1890, is a Benedictine monastery in Clervaux, Luxembourg. It is a member of the Sole ...
in Luxembourg) or the
Australian desert
The deserts of Australia or the Australian deserts cover about , or 18% of the Australian mainland, but about 35% of the Australian continent receives so little rain, it is practically desert. Collectively known as the Great Australian desert, t ...
to find inspiration and compose, and only very rarely gives interviews. Lentz didn't attend the
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
APRA Classical Music Awards
Classical may refer to:
European antiquity
*Classical antiquity, a period of history from roughly the 7th or 8th century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E. centered on the Mediterranean Sea
*Classical architecture, architecture derived from Greek and ...
ceremony at the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
to accept that year's top prize for Best Composition by an Australian Composer, instead sending guitarist friend Zane Banks to pick up the award and read out his acceptance speech (21 September 2009).
A 40-minute documentary about the birth of ''Ingwe'' which appeared on YouTube in May 2010 shows Lentz for a total of about 30 seconds. In May 2022, the following note appeared on the composer's website: ''"About a year ago, I was persuaded to agree to interviews in the lead-up to the opening of the new Cobar Sound Chapel. I have pushed myself to go along with media requests I was very uncomfortable with. This has led me to a state of total mental exhaustion. I therefore regret to say there will be no more interviews."''
[http://www.georgeslentz.com/index.html]
In the 2012/13 season, Lentz was in residence at the
Internationales Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia in
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...
, Germany and collaborated with
Jonathan Nott
Jonathan Nott (born 25 December 1962, in Solihull, England) is an English conductor.
Biography
The son of a priest at Worcester Cathedral, Nott was a music student and choral scholar at St John's College, Cambridge, and also studied singing a ...
and the
Bamberger Symphoniker
The Bamberg Symphony (German: Bamberger Symphoniker – Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie) is a German orchestra based in Bamberg. It is one of the most prestigious orchestras in Germany. The orchestra was formed in 1946 mainly from German musicians ...
.
In January 2015, a new orchestral work, ''Jerusalem (after Blake)'', taking its inspiration from ''
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
'' by
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
, was premiered by the
Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra
The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra ( lb, Lëtzebuerger philharmoneschen Orchester, french: Orchestre philharmonique du Luxembourg), abbreviated to OPL, is a symphony orchestra based in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The orchestra formerly perfor ...
. In May 2015, a portrait concert of Lentz's music by the
Munich Chamber Orchestra
The Munich Chamber Orchestra (german: Münchener Kammerorchester, links=no, italic=no, or MKO) is a German chamber orchestra based in Munich. Its primary concert venue is the Prinzregententheater, Munich. The MKO also gives concerts in Munich at s ...
at the
Pinakothek der Moderne included the world premiere of the definitive version of ''Birrung'' (1997-2014) for 11 strings. In November 2016, the final version of ''Jerusalem'' was premiered at
Wien Modern
Wien Modern is a modern music festival in Vienna, Austria that was founded by Claudio Abbado in 1988. It was created with the intent of revitalizing the traditional music scene of Vienna. Friedrich Cerha, Johannes Maria Staud, Mark Andre, Wolfgan ...
.
In April 2022, a major new sound art project, the
Cobar Sound Chapel
The Cobar Sound Chapel is a permanent site-specific sound installation, located 1.5 km west of the town of Cobar, in central Western New South Wales, Australia.
It is a multi-disciplinary artwork created by composer and sound artist Ge ...
, opened in
Cobar
Cobar is a town in central western New South Wales, Australia whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier H ...
in
Outback
The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. It is a purpose-built venue to permanently house the
4-channel projection of Lentz's digital string quartet, the 372-minute / 24 hour composition ''String Quartet(s)'' (2000-2022), as well as the venue for a new annual String Quartet Festival Weekend. The Cobar Sound Chapel was designed by
Pritzker Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...
-winning Australian architect
Glenn Murcutt
Glenn Marcus Murcutt AO (born 25 July 1936) is an Australian architect and winner of the 1992 Alvar Aalto Medal, the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the 2009 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the 2021 Praemium Imperiale. Gle ...
in collaboration with the composer, with its architecture reflecting
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
ic and
structural
A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such ...
patterns found in ''String Quartet(s)''.
[http://www.cobarsoundchapel.com]
A new violin concerto, ''"...to beam in distant heavens..."'', is due to be premiered by German soloist
Arabella Steinbacher with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House in April 2023.
Lentz's music is published by
Universal Edition
Universal Edition (UE) is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, they originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market (which had until then been dominated by Leipzig-bas ...
in Vienna.
Music
Lentz's music expresses his fascination with
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
as well as his love of the Australian Outback and Aboriginal art (in particular the works of
Kathleen Petyarre
Kathleen Petyarre (born Kweyetwemp Petyarre; c. 1940 – 24 November 2018) was an Australian Aboriginal artist. Her art refers directly to her country and her Dreamings. Petyarre's paintings have occasionally been compared to the works of Ame ...
), and reflects his spiritual and
existential
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
beliefs, questions and doubts.
The
Vale of Glamorgan Festival
The Vale of Glamorgan Festival is a contemporary music festival based in and around the county of Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and held annually during May (formerly September). The festival was founded in 1969 by Welsh composer John Metcalf (composer ...
(UK), where Lentz was a featured composer in 2006, introduced his music as "...an awestruck and almost fearful response to the beauties and mysteries of the universe; a massive, personal creative undertaking from which this intense, almost obsessive composer is painstakingly extracting concert works...a unique voice whose music is genuinely moving despite its brittle austerity and unearthliness, and captures some of the most evocative silences imaginable."
Lentz's music shows the influence of the French
Spectralists and, to some degree, the
New Complexity movement (unusual instrumental combinations, extended playing techniques etc.). It is often soft, fluctuates between
polyphonic
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
intricacy and fragile
monody
In music, monody refers to a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italian song of ...
and sometimes contains extended silences.
Lentz's scores of recent years (''Mysterium'') are written in an unusual rhythmic system, where each bar contains four beats, but the beats can be of different lengths. While it is not clear why Lentz has adopted this idiosyncratic system, the textures and colours (occasionally with delicate layers of
computer-generated sounds) superimposed over the top of these rigid "grids" often give it a shimmering or 'twinkling' quality.
Another feature particularly of his orchestral works is a sense of harmony incorporating both
microtonality
Microtonal music or microtonality is the use in music of microtones—interval (music), intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Wes ...
and, now and then, an austere sense of 'twisted' tonality, with the occasional harmonic progression fleetingly reminiscent of
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
or
Bruckner
Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...
. However, these chorale-like fragments are always brief and buried in the texture of the music, giving the impression of something "long forgotten".
Lentz has said that in recent years he has been increasingly interested in, and influenced by, the practices of
musical improvisation
Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous ...
,
music technology
Music technology is the study or the use of any device, mechanism, machine or tool by a musician or composer to make or perform music; to compose, notate, playback or record songs or pieces; or to analyze or edit music.
History
The earlies ...
,
sound art
Sound art is an artistic activity in which sound is utilized as a primary medium or material. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art may be interdisciplinary in nature, or be used in hybrid forms. According to Brandon LaBelle, sound art ...
and
digital art
Digital art refers to any artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, or more specifically computational art that uses and engages with digital media.
Since the 1960s, various names ...
.
''Ingwe'' is a 60-minute work for solo electric guitar, possibly the longest solo composition ever written for the instrument. It contrasts sharply, in many ways, with Lentz's prior music and takes the electric guitar into dimensions previously unexplored in a 'classical' context. ''Ingwe'' also contains, for the first time in Lentz's output, a short section that relinquishes strict control over the musical material and gives some improvisational freedom to the performer.
Both ''Jerusalem (after Blake)'' and ''String Quartet(s)'' testify to Lentz's love of
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
's visionary epic
Jerusalem the Emanation of the Giant Albion
''Jerusalem'', subtitled ''The Emanation of the Giant Albion'' (1804–1820, with additions made even later), is the last, longest and greatest in scope of the prophetic books written and illustrated by the English poet, artist and engraver W ...
. Because of its vast cyclical structure, Lentz's work has been described by British musicologist
Chris Dench as "almost
proustian" in nature.
In the final analysis Lentz's music, born from ''"total silence and radical isolation – at the very real risk of hearing nothing at all"'' (composer's website), seems to be torn between feelings of awe and an over-riding struggle with spiritual doubt and
existential
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
loneliness.
Principal works
''Caeli enarrant...'' (1989 to date)
Recordings
•''"''Caeli enarrant''..." ''III'', "''Caeli enarrant''..." ''IV'', ''Birrung'' & ''Nguurraa''
Ensemble 24 /
Matthew Coorey
•Ingwe
Zane Banks
•Ngangkar & Guyuhmgan
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...
/
Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016), Artistic Partner with the S ...
,
ABC Classics
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
•Ngangkar, Guyuhmgan & Monh
Tabea Zimmermann
Tabea Zimmermann (born 8 October 1966) is a German violist.
Born in Lahr, she began learning to play the viola at the age of three, and commenced piano studies at age five. At the age of 13, she studied viola with Ulrich Koch at the Conservat ...
/
Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg /
Emilio PomaricoNgangkar, Guyuhmgan & Monh
Timpani Records
Awards
*Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize 1997 – ''"Caeli enarrant..." I''
*UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
International Rostrum of Composers The International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) is an annual forum organized by the International Music Council that offers broadcasting representatives the opportunity to exchange and publicize pieces of contemporary classical music. It is funded by c ...
, Paris, 2002: Top Recommended Composition – ''Guyuhmgan''
*APRA Awards of 2009
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2009 (generally known as APRA Awards) are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred o ...
: Best Composition by an Australian Composer – ''Monh''
References
External links
Georges Lentz's website
Georges Lentz
biography and works on the UE website (publisher)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lentz, Georges
1965 births
Living people
20th-century classical composers
20th-century Australian male musicians
20th-century Australian musicians
21st-century classical composers
21st-century classical violinists
21st-century Australian male musicians
21st-century Australian musicians
Australian classical composers
Australian classical violinists
Australian male classical composers
Luxembourgian composers
Luxembourgian emigrants to Australia
Male classical violinists
APRA Award winners
Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover alumni