Günter Bialas (19 July 1907 – 8 July 1995) was a German

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 ...

Life

Bialas was born in Bielschowitz (today Bielszowice, a subdivision of

Ruda Śląska Ruda Śląska (formerly ) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is a district in the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of two million. It is in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica River (t ...

) in

Prussian Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

. His father was the business manager of a German theatre, and his musical aesthetic was influenced by the personal experiences and connections he made while spending time at that theatre in his youth. The adolescent Bialas received lessons in

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

from Fritz Lubrich, a former student of

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

, in Kattowitz (Katowice) between 1922 and 1925. After graduating from the German

Minority Minority may refer to: Politics * Minority government, formed when a political party does not have a majority of overall seats in parliament * Minority leader, in American politics, the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative b ...

- Gymnasium in Kattowitz in 1926, he studied

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

Germanistics The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

, and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau from 1927 to 1931. He then proceeded to study music at the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and subsequently taught at the

Ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they t ...

Girls' School in Breslau-Karlowitz from 1934 to 1937. He pursued further studies in

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

with

Max Trapp Hermann Emil Alfred Max Trapp (November 1, 1887 – May 31, 1971) was a German composer and teacher. A prestigious figure in the Berlin cultural scene during the 1930s, Trapp, amongst others in the Nazi influenced scene, was regularly invited t ...

in Berlin. Through some of his Romanian friends, he made the acquaintance of

Sergiu Celibidache Sergiu Celibidache (; 14 August 1996) was a Romanian conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over five decades, including tenures as ...

and prepared for the entrance examination to the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

. In 1939, he became a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

and

at the Institute for Music Education at Breslau University. After his German military service and Allied captivity from 1941 to 1945, he and his wife, the singer Gerda Specht, had to flee Silesia. They settled in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

in 1946 and Bialas found work

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 ...

the Munich Bach-Verein. From 1947 to 1959, he taught composition at the Nordwestdeutschen Musikakademie, now the

Hochschule für Musik Detmold The Hochschule für Musik Detmold is a university-level music school situated in Detmold, Germany. Academics The Hochschule offers performance degrees in composition, all orchestral instruments, piano, voice, opera, art-song, conducting, as we ...

. He transferred to become a professor at the State Academy of Music in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

in 1959, where he remained until his retirement in 1972. For his compositions, Bialas was recognized with many prizes and honors, including the ''Großer Preis für Musik des Landes NRW'' (1954), the ''Münchner Musikpreis'' (1962), the '' Johann-Wenzel-Stamitz-Preis'' (1964), the ''Musikpreis der

Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste in München (Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts) is an association of renowned personalities in Munich, Bavaria. It was founded by the Free State of Bavaria in 1948, continuing a tradition established in 1808 by ...

'' (1967, elected to the Akademie in 1971), the ''Plöner Musikpreis'' (1988), and the '' Bayerischer Maximiliansorden für Wissenschaft und Kunst'' (1991). After his death in 1995, a street in his adopted hometown of

Glonn Glonn is a market town in the Ebersberg district in Upper Bavaria, Germany, about southeast of Munich. Geography The market town of Glonn is a health spa (''Erholungsort''), and the Glonn Valley is ringed by wooded hills, carved by the former ...

was named ''Bialas-Straße'' in his honor and marked with a sign bearing his biographical details. Bialas is considered to have been one of the most influential composition instructors in postwar Germany. The legacy of his open, liberal, and undoctrinaire attitudes to teaching may be appreciated in the stylistic variety of those who were his students or mentorees, including

Nicolaus A. Huber Nicolaus A. Huber (born 15 December 1939) is a German composer. Education Huber was born in Passau. From 1958 to 1962 he studied music education at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and subsequently composition with Franz Xaver Lehn ...

Peter Michael Hamel Peter Michael Hamel (born 15 July 1947 in Munich) is a German composer. His works have been associated with the minimalist style of composition, and in the late 1970s with the New Simplicity movement. He is the son of the film director Peter ...

Wilfried Hiller Wilfried Hiller (born 15 March 1941) is a German composer. He became known above all for his stage works for families, children and young people. Life and work Hiller was born the son of the teacher August Hiller and his wife Josepha Hiller, n� ...

Heinz Winbeck Heinz Winbeck (11 February 1946 – 26 March 2019) was a German composer, conductor and academic teacher. He is known for five large-scale symphonies, which he programmatically subtitled, such as " Tu Solus" and " De Profundis". As a composition ...

Ulrich Stranz Ulrich Stranz (10 May 1946 – 27 April 2004) was a German teacher and composer. Life Born in Neumarkt-Sankt Veit, Upper Bavaria, Stranz grew up in Munich, obtaining the Abitur at the Musisches Gymnasium in 1966. He studied composition wi ...

Michael Denhoff Michael Denhoff (born 25 April 1955 in Ahaus) is a German composer and cellist. Life Denhoff has lived and worked in Bonn since 1982. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, where his teachers included Günter Bialas and Hans We ...

, , and

Gerd Zacher Gerd Zacher (6 July 1929 – 9 June 2014) was a German composer, organist, and writer on music. He specialized in contemporary compositions, many of which feature extended techniques, and are written in graphic or verbal scores. He interpreted th ...

Selected works

;Opera * ''Hero und Leander'' (premiered 1966, Mannheim) * ''Die Geschichte von Aucassin und Nicolette'' (premiered 1969, Munich) * ''Der Gestiefelte Kater'' (premiered 1976,

Schlosstheater Schwetzingen Schlosstheater Schwetzingen (Schwetzingen palace theater) is a court theater in Schwetzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The historic building, opened in 1753, is part of Schloss Schwetzingen and since 1952 the principal venue of the Schwetzing ...

) * ''Aus der Matratzengruft'' (premiered 1992, Kiel) ;Ballet * ''Meyerbeer-Paraphrasen'' (premiered 1974, Hamburg) ;Oratorio * ''Im Anfang'' (1961), interpretation of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

based on text by

Martin Buber Martin Buber ( he, מרטין בובר; german: Martin Buber; yi, מארטין בובער; February 8, 1878 – June 13, 1965) was an Austrian Jewish and Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism c ...

, for three echoic voices,

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

, and

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 ...

* ''Lamento di Orlando'' (1983–85) for

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

, mixed choir, and orchestra ;Cantata * ''Indianische Kantate'' (1949), based on the composer's original poems, for baritone, chamber choir, 8 instruments, and

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s * ''Preisungen'' (1964), based on text by Martin Buber, for baritone and orchestra ;Orchestra * ''Romanzero'' (1955) * ''Seranata'' (1955) * ''Sinfonia Piccola'' (1960) * ''Waldmusik'' (1977) * ''Der Weg nach Eisenstadt'' (1980),

fantasies Fantasy is a genre of fiction. Fantasy, Fantasie, or Fantasies may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Fantasia (music), a free-form musical composition * ''Fantasie'' (Widmann), a 1993 composition for solo clarinet by Jörg Widmann * ...

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

* ''Marsch-Fantasie'' (1987) * ''Ländler-Fantasie'' (1989) ;Concertante * ''Concerto Lirico'' (1967) for piano and orchestra * ''Introitus - Exodus'' (1976) for

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 ...

and orchestra * Music for Piano and Orchestra (1990) *

Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

No. 2 (1992) * ''Trauermusik'' (Funeral Music) for viola and orchestra (1994) ;Chamber music * Music for Eleven

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

(1970) * 5

String Quartets The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

(1935, 1949, 1968, 1986, 1991) * Harp

Quintet A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...

(1983) * 2

Saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

Quartets (Six

Bagatelles Bagatelle (from the Château de Bagatelle) is a billiards-derived indoor table game, the object of which is to get a number of balls (set at nine in the 19th century) past wooden pins (which act as obstacles) into holes that are guarded by wooden ...

, 1986; ''Kunst des Kanons'', 1991) *

Piano Trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

(1981) * ''Herbstzeit'' (1982) for

string trio A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cell ...

and piano * Nine Bagatelles (1984) for

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

trio, string trio, and piano * ''Fünf Duette'' (5 Duets) for viola and cello (1988) ;Piano * ''Lamento, vier Intermezzi und Marsch'' (1986)

References

* ''Komponisten in Bayern, Band 5: Günter Bialas''. Verlag Schneider-Tutzing, 1984. . * ''Kein Ton zuviel – Günter Bialas in Selbstzeugnissen und im Spiegel seiner Zeit''. Bärenreiter-Verlag, 1997. . * Meyer, Gabriel E. ''Günter Bialas Werkverzeichnis''. Bärenreiter-Verlag, 2003. .

External links

Biography and work list (Bärenreiter-Verlag)
*Denhoff, Michael.

("Günter Bialas on his 80th birthday"; 1987). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bialas, Gunter 1907 births 1995 deaths People from the Province of Silesia People from Ruda Śląska 20th-century classical composers German classical composers German classical pianists Male classical pianists German male conductors (music) German music educators University of Breslau alumni University of Breslau faculty German prisoners of war in World War II Hochschule für Musik Detmold faculty 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century classical pianists German male classical composers 20th-century German composers German male pianists 20th-century German male musicians German military personnel of World War II