The Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber (or Dresden University of Music Carl Maria von Weber; also/formerly known as Dresden Conservatory or Dresden Royal Conservatory) is a university of music in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, Germany.

History

The Hochschule opened on 1 February 1856 and is one of the oldest German conservatoires.

Francesco Morlacchi Francesco Giuseppe Baldassare Morlacchi (14 June 1784 – 28 October 1841) was an Italian composer of more than twenty operas. During the many years he spent as the royal Royal Kapellmeister in Dresden, he was instrumental in popularizing the Ita ...

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...

and

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

made reference to the necessity of establishing institutional training for musicians in Dresden. On 1 February 1856, a violinist of the Royal Orchestra, Friedrich Tröstler, founded the first music school in Dresden. In 1881 the title "royal" was granted, and it changed its name to "Royal Conservatoire", although it was a private institution. From 1881 till 1918 was an institution under royal patronage and from 1937 onwards under the municipal authority. The original building of the hochschule was destroyed during World War II and all teaching activities were moved to Mendelssohnalle 34. At first the university was an educational institution where the future instrumentalists of the town's orchestra were trained. It became the Hochschule für Musik; named after

in 1959.

Studies

All

orchestral instruments 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: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

, voice, piano, conducting,

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 ...

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

and

accompaniment Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of m ...

, as well as popular music/jazz/rock specialties can be studied at the music university. There are also different courses about Instrumental and Voice Pedagogy and Teacher Training in Music. Particular emphasis is placed on the education of singers and orchestral musicians. This is because of the especial relationship of the school and the

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Th ...

Staatskapelle Dresden The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (), or Saxon State Orchestra Dresden, is one of the oldest orchestras in the world, created by order of Maurice, Elector of Saxony in 1548. Under communist East Germany and until 1992 it was called Staatskap ...

, and the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra. The formation of singers and orchestral musicians was strongly determined by members of the Saxon State Opera, The Staatskapelle and Philharmonic orchestras working as teachers on an honorary basis. There are c. 250 public events organized and realized by students and staff and guests lecturers every year.

Facilities

The main building is located at 13 Wettiner Platz. It has all the facilities of a modern conservatoire, a large recital hall and several smaller ones, rehearsal and practice rooms, teaching studios, a canteen, a library and offices. A new extension to the main building, finished in 2008, houses a new 450-seat concert hall and several rehearsal and teaching rooms.

Public performances

With more than 300 public concerts and opera performances every year, the Hochschule contributes greatly to the region's cultural life and offers its students at the same time a practical artistic training. Regular artistic projects are realized especially by the Opera Class and the bigger ensembles like the hochschule's

Symphony 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: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

, the School's

Choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

and the

Bigband A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

. The special image of the Hochschule für Musik is fundamentally shaped by the close connection to Dresden's two big orchestras, the

Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (), or Saxon State Orchestra Dresden, is one of the oldest orchestras in the world, created by order of Maurice, Elector of Saxony in 1548. Under communist East Germany and until 1992 it was called Staatskap ...

and the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra. Furthermore, the Opera Class has a location at its disposal, which enables performances under professional conditions.

High School of Music "Carl Maria von Weber"

Founded in 1965, but working as a different organization since 1945, the High School of Music "Carl Maria Von Weber" () is a specialist music school for school-age children, located in

. The school imparts the regular school program but great emphasis is put on individual music training, music theory classes and orchestral playing. Most instrumental teachers are also professors at the Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" or play in one of the professional orchestras of the city. Among the former presidents of the school was the English conductor

Sir Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

. Previous patrons include

Sir Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

Some distinguished alumni and staff

Mark Andre Mark Andre (born 10 May 1964) is a French composer living in Germany. He was known as "Marc André", his birth name, until 2007, when he formally revised the spelling. He lives in Berlin. Andre's compositions ''durch'' (2006), ''...auf... III'' (2 ...

(composer) *

Olaf Bär Olaf Bär (born 19 December 1957) is a German operatic baritone. Life Bär received his musical training in his home city of Dresden, studying at the city's Hochschule für Musik. His career has concentrated on lieder and on the lyric baritone ...

(singer) *

Andreas Bauer Kanabas Andreas Bauer Kanabas is a German classical bass in opera and concert. Prior to December 2018, he performed under the name Andreas Bauer. A member of the Oper Frankfurt, he has performed major roles at German and international opera houses. Besid ...

(bass) *

Conny Bauer Konrad "Conny" Bauer (born 4 July 1943) is a German free jazz trombonist. He is the brother of the trombonist Johannes Bauer. As a student at senior high school in Sonneberg between 1957 and 1961, he was enthusiastic about modern music and dan ...

(jazz trombonist) *

Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () (h ...

(composer) *

Theodor Blumer Theodor Anton Blumer (24 March 1881 – 21 September 1964) was a German composer and conductor. Blumer was born in Dresden. He studied composition with Felix Draeseke and W. Brookman at the Dresden Conservatory. In 1931 he became the conduct ...

(conductor) *

Roland Bocquet Roland Bocquet (3 June 1878 – 16 October 1956) was a British composer, pianist and teacher who for most of his career was based in the city of Dresden, and is chiefly associated with the composition of German Lieder. For the most part his wor ...

(composer) *

Kurt Böhme Kurt Böhme (5 May 1908 – 20 December 1989) was a German bass. He was born in Dresden, Germany, where he studied with Adolf Kluge at the Dresden Conservatory. He made his debut in 1930 in Bautzen in Der Freischütz, singing both Kaspar (a ...

(singer) *

Helmut Branny Helmut Branny (born 1957) is a German conductor, double bassist and professor of chamber music at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden. He is a member of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, musical director of the Dresdne ...

(conductor, double bassist and professor) * Arthur Bruhns (composer) *

Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a Prussian-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Aa ...

(conductor) *

Felix Draeseke Felix August Bernhard Draeseke (7 October 1835 – 26 February 1913) was a composer of the " New German School" admiring Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. He wrote compositions in most forms including eight operas and stage works, four symphonie ...

(composer) * Carl Ehrenberg (composer) *

Franz Eckert Franz Eckert (5 April 1852 – 6 August 1916) was a German composer and musician who composed the harmony for Japan's national anthem, "Kimigayo" and the national anthem of the Korean Empire, " Aegukga". Early life and education Eckert was ...

(composer) *

Alberto Franchetti Alberto Franchetti (18 September 1860 – 4 August 1942) was an Italian composer and racing driver, best known for the 1902 opera ''Germania''. Biography Alberto Franchetti was born in Turin, a Jewish nobleman of independent means. He studied ...

(composer) *

Johannes Fritzsch Johannes Fritzsch (born 1960 in Meissen, East Germany) is a German conductor. Biography Fritzsch's father, a cantor and organist, was his first music teacher, in piano and organ. His brother Georg Fritzsch (born 1963) is also a conductor. His ot ...

(conducting) *

Siegfried Geißler Siegfried Rudolf Geißler (26 March 1929 – 10 July 2014) was a German composer, conductor, hornist and politician.Tobias BrökeSiegfried Geißler/ref> He founded the Thüringen Philharmonie Suhl in 1979. After the Wende, he was a member of the ...

(composer, conductor, hornist and politician) *

Hartmut Haenchen Hartmut Haenchen (born 21 March 1943) is a German conductor, known as a specialist for the music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and for conducting operas in the leading opera houses of the world. Career Born in Dresden, Haenchen began his music ...

(conductor) * John Holloway (baroque violinist) *

Annette Jahns Annette Jahns (24 June 195811 September 2020) was a German operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto, and opera director, based at the Semperoper in Dresden. She appeared at international opera houses and festivals, with a focus on contemporary music ...

(mezzo-soprano and opera director) *

Vladimir Jurowski Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski (;() born 4 April 1972) is a Russian conducting, conductor resident in Germany. He is the son of conductor Michail Jurowski, and grandson of Soviet film music composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski. Early life B ...

(conductor) *

Herbert Kegel Herbert Kegel (29 July 1920 – 20 November 1990) was a German conductor. Kegel was born in Dresden. He studied conducting with Karl Böhm and composition with Boris Blacher at the Dresden Conservatory from 1935 to 1940. In 1946 he began con ...

(conductor) *

Ekkehard Klemm Ekkehard Klemm (born 1958), is a German conductor. Biography Klemm was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Ge ...

(conductor) *

Tibor Kozma Tibor Kozma (1909 - 24 March 1976) was an American conductor, pianist, accompanist, and vocal coach of Hungarian birth. He began his career as an opera conductor in Europe and Ecuador before emigrating to the United States in 1941; ultimately bec ...

(conductor) * Hermann Ludwig Kutzschbach (conductor) *

Otto Lohse Otto Lohse (21 September 1859 – 5 May 1925) was a German Conductor (music), conductor and composer. Biography Born in Dresden, Saxony, Lohse studied with Hans Richter (conductor), Hans Richter and Felix Draeseke at the Dresden Conservatory. In 1 ...

(conductor) * Claudia Mahnke (mezzo-soprano) *

Nils Mönkemeyer Nils Mönkemeyer (born 1978) is a German violist and academic teacher. He has recorded several CDs, of viola literature and arrangements for the viola, making it a respected solo instrument. He has been awarded several international prizes. Car ...

(violist) *

Ike Moriz Eike Moriz (born May 14, 1972), better known as Ike Moriz, is a German-South African singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and actor. He has released 20 albums in the indie rock, pop, Latin, easy listening, dance, lounge, blues, jazz and ...

(singer) * Jean Louis Nicodé (pianist and conductor) *

Egon Petri Egon Petri (23 March 188127 May 1962) was a Dutch-American pianist. Life and career Petri's family was Dutch. He was born a Dutch citizen in Hanover, Germany, and grew up in Dresden, where he attended the Kreuzschule. His father, a professi ...

(pianist) *

Stefan Prins Stefan Prins (born 20 May 1979) is a Belgian composer and performer. Biography Studies Born in Kortrijk, Stefan Prins studied composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp from which he holds a master's degree (2009) and specialized i ...

(composer) *

Ludger Rémy Ludger Rémy (4 February 1949 – 21 June 2017) was a German harpsichordist, conductor and musicologist. Biography Born in Kalkar, Ludger Rémy studied the harpsichord in Freiburg im Breisgau and continued his studies with Kenneth Gilbert in Par ...

(harpsichordist and conductor) *

Elisabeth Rethberg Elisabeth Rethberg ( Lisbeth Sättler; 22 September 1894 – 6 June 1976) was a German operatic spinto soprano singer who was active from the period of the First World War through the early 1940s. After Richard Strauss assigned the role of the ...

(singer) * Karl Richter (harpsichordist and conductor) *

Peter Rösel Peter Rösel (born February 2, 1945, in Dresden) is a German concert pianist. Appearances Rösel has appeared for years at international festivals (Salzburg, Edinburgh, London Proms, Perth, Hollywood Bowl, Hong Kong) and with many major orchest ...

(pianist) * Petko Staynov (composer) *

Paul Schöffler Paul Schöffler (15 September 1897 – 21 November 1977) was a German operatic baritone, particularly associated with Mozart, Wagner, and Strauss roles. Born in Dresden, he studied at the Music Conservatory there with Rudolf Schmalmauer and Wald ...

(singer) * Hanns-Herbert Schulz (singer and teacher) *

Günter Sommer Günter "Baby" Sommer (born 25 August 1943) is a German jazz drummer. Career Sommer was born in Dresden on 25 August 1943. His first instrument was the trumpet, which he studied at school. He started playing the drums aged 15 or 16. He studie ...

(drummer) *

Sybille Specht Sybille Specht, also Sybille Philippin, (born 12 October 1970) is a German operatic mezzo-soprano. She was a member of the Theater Bremen and the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich and has appeared internationally. Since 2010 she has worked ...

(mezzo-soprano) *

Nadja Stefanoff Nadja Stefanoff (born 22 July 1976) is a German operatic soprano based at the Staatstheater Mainz. She began her career as a mezzo-soprano. She has performed leading roles there and as a guest at major opera houses in Europe, such as Marta in Wei ...

(soprano) * Carl David Stegmann (singer) * Johannes Paul Thilman (composer) *

Thomas Thomaschke Thomas Thomaschke (born 2 August 1943) is a German bass singer in opera and concert. He has appeared in parts such as Hunding in Wagner's ''Die Walküre'' and Sarastro in Mozart's ''Die Zauberflöte'' in major opera houses in Europe and internatio ...

(bass singer) *

Hans Tutschku Hans Tutschku (born 1966) is a German composer. Tutschku was born in Weimar, East Germany. He has been a member of the Ensemble for Intuitive Music Weimar since 1982. He studied composition of electronic music at the Hochschule für Musik Carl M ...

(composer) * Annette Unger (violinist) * Siegfried Vogel (operatic bass) *

Amadeus Webersinke Amadeus Webersinke (1920–2005) was a German pianist and organist. Webersinke studied from at the Institut für Kirchenmusik in Leipzig with Karl Straube, Johann Nepomuk David, and Otto Weinreich. He was a lecturer at the Felix Mendelssohn Co ...

(pianist) *

Jeanne You Jeanne You, also You Ji-yeoun, (born August 23, 1978 in Yeosu) is a South Korean classical pianist. Education and professional career She began studying the piano at the age of five. After attending Yewon Art School in Seoul she became a student ...

(pianist) *

Udo Zimmermann Udo Zimmermann (6 October 1943 – 22 October 2021) was a German composer, musicologist, opera director, and conductor. He worked as a professor of composition, founded a centre for contemporary music in Dresden, and was director of the Leipzig ...

(composer, musicologist, opera director and conductor) *

Amir Shpilman Amir Shpilman (; born December 4, 1980) is an Israeli composer. Education and career Shpilman was born in Tel Aviv where he started his composition studies at the age of 17. After three years in Paris where he studied solfege, harmony piano and ...

(composer)

Principals

Karl Laux Karl Laux (26 August 1896 in Ludwigshafen – 27 June 1978 in Dresden) was a German Musicology, musicologist, Music criticism, music critic and Rector (academia), rector. Selected publications * ''Joseph Haas. Portrait eines Künstlers – B ...

(1952–1963) * Hans-Georg Uszkoreit (1963–1968) * Siegfried Köhler (1968–1980) * Max Gerd Schönfelder (1980–1984) * Dieter Jahn (1984–1990) * Monika Raithel (1990–1991) * Wilfried Krätzschmar (1991–2003) * Stefan Gies (2003–2010) * Ekkehard Klemm (2010-2015) * Judith Schinker (2015–2018) * Axel Köhler (2019-2023) * Lars Seniuk (2024-

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hochschule Fur Musik Carl Maria Von Weber Dresden Music schools in Germany Universities and colleges established in 1856 Education in Dresden Universities and colleges in Saxony Tourist attractions in Dresden Public universities and colleges in Germany 1856 establishments in the Kingdom of Saxony Carl Maria von Weber Semperoper Staatskapelle Dresden

History

Studies

Facilities

Public performances

High School of Music "Carl Maria von Weber"

Some distinguished alumni and staff

Principals

See also

References

External links