Herbert Willi (born ) is an Austrian composer of classical music, whose orchestral works, concertos and chamber music have been performed internationally and also recorded. Willi composed an opera, ''Schlafes Bruder'', for the Opernhaus Zürich.

Life

Willi was born in

Bludenz Bludenz (; Alemannic: ''Bludaz'') is a town in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is the administrative seat of the Bludenz District, which encompasses about half of the Vorarlberg's territory. Geography The town is located on the ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...

. He studied music pedagogy and theology at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...

, and simultaneously bassoon and piano at the Innsbruck conservatory. From 1983, he studied composition with Helmut Eder at the Salzburg

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Mo ...

, then with Boguslaw Schaeffer. He lives in

Sankt Anton im Montafon Sankt Anton im Montafon is a town in the Montafon valley in the district of Bludenz in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is a popular ski resort, and much of the population makes a living from tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or b ...

Work

Willi's work comprises an opera, orchestral works, and chamber music, including compositions for one player. Willi received a commission from the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

and the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Se ...

in 1991 for ''Konzert für Orchester''. The premiere was conducted by

Christoph von Dohnányi Christoph von Dohnányi (; born 8 September 1929) is a German conductor. Biography Youth and World War II Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to Hans von Dohnanyi, a German jurist of Hungarian ancestry, and Christine Bonhoeffer. His uncle ...

. In 1994/95, the Opernhaus Zürich commissioned the opera ''Schlafes Bruder'' on the occasion of Austria's millennial, with a libretto by

Robert Schneider Robert Peter Schneider (born March 9, 1971) is an American musician and mathematician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer of rock/pop band the Apples in Stereo and has produced and performed on albums by Neutral Milk H ...

, who had written the novel on which it is based, '' Schlafes Bruder''. It was premiered in 1996. In 1997/98, Willi composed ''Begegnung für Orchester'' on a commission by the

Wiener Philharmoniker 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. It ...

for the orchestra's 150th anniversary. He composed ''Montafon'', a concerto cycle containing the works ''Eirene'', a trumpet concerto; ''...geraume Zeit...'', a concerto for flute, oboe and orchestra; ''ego eimi'', a clarinet concerto; and ''Äon'', a horn concerto. A revised version of ''Schlafes Bruder'' was produced at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt in March 2008. Willi's works were performed in Carnegie Hall in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, the Royal Albert Hall in London, and at the Philharmonie Berlin, among others. They were played by the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

, Philadelphia Orchestra,

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra The ''Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra'' (''PSO'') is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. History The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an America ...

and

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 ...

, conducted by

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist who is the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Paris Opera. Early life Dudamel was ...

Manfred Honeck Manfred Honeck (born 17 September 1958, in Nenzing) is an Austrian conductor. He is currently the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Early life Honeck was born in Nenzing, Austria, near the border with Switzerland and Liechten ...

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti, (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale ...

and Seiji Ozawa. His works were recorded: the

WERGO WERGO is a German record label focusing on contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1962 by German art historian and music publisher (1903–1975) and the musicologist Helmut Kirchmeyer. Their first release, filed under "WER 60001", was ...

label published orchestral works including ''Eirene'', ''Räume'', ''Rondino'' after his opera ''Schlafes Bruder'', ''geraume Zeit'' and ''Begegnung'', and the Japanese label Camerata Tokyo released a CD with chamber music from 1984 to 2005.

Awards

Willi received scholarships and awards, and was

composer in residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

: * 1985, 1989: Austrian state scholarship for composers * 1987: Prize at the competition for string quartets of the

Wiener 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 ...

gesellschaft (for his ''Streichquartett 1986'' premiered by the Arditti Quartet) * 1989: * 1990: Rolf-Liebermann-Stipendium für Opernkompositionen * 1991: Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize * 1997:

Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst 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 ...

* 1998: Großes Verdienstzeichen des Landes

* 1992: Composer in residence at the

* 1996–1998: Composer in residence with the Camerata Academia * 2002/2003: Composer in residence with the

Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (), also known as the Wiener Musikverein (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by Joseph Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Thea ...

of the

Wiener 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 'Great ...

and the Wiener Concert-Verein * 2007: Composer in residence at the

Pacific Music Festival The Pacific Music Festival (パシフィック・ミュージック・フェスティバル) is an international classical music festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan. It was founded in 1990 by Leonard Bernstein, along with the London Symphony Or ...

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...

* 2008: Composer in residence at the International Summer Music Academy & Festival in Kusatsu

Works

Willi's works were published by and Schott Music, including:

Stage

*''Schlafes Bruder'', opera in a prologue, eight scenes and an epilogue (1994–1996, rev. 2006)

Orchestral and concertante

*''Der Froschmäusekrieg'' (UA 1989) after the epic *''Für 16'', small chamber concerto (1990) *''Konzert'' (1991/92) *''Flötenkonzert'' (1993) *''Begegnung'' (1997/98) *''Rondino'' (1999/2000) *''Eirene'', trumpet concerto (2001) *''...geraume Zeit...'', concerto for flute, oboe and orchestra (2002/03) *''ego eimi'', clarinet concerto (2005/06) *''Äon'', horn concerto (2007) *''ABBA-MA (Echo of Peace)'', for choir and orchestra – German text based on the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

(2011) *''Sacrosanto'', violin concerto (2011/12)

Chamber music

*''Stück'' for clarinet solo (1985), premiered by Alois Brandhofer *''Stück'' for flute solo (1985/86) *''Trio'' for violin, horn and piano (1992) *''Kairos im Kronos 1756/1956'' for violin, viola and cello (2005)

References

External links

* * (TV portrait) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Willi, Herbert Austrian male classical composers 20th-century classical composers Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize winners University of Innsbruck alumni Mozarteum University Salzburg alumni Living people 1956 births People from Bludenz 20th-century male musicians