Manfred Schmitz (25 April 1939 – 7 July 2014) 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 ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Biography

He received a degree in piano at the Franz-Liszt Academy in Weimar, where he later taught from 1968 to 1984. After 1984, Schmitz acted as a freelance composer and performer, then he moved to Berlin and taught at the Köpenick Music School. He was also involved with AMA-Verlag. a publishing house for mostly pedagogical music and recordings. He died in 2014 of cancer. Schmitz wrote numerous short educational pieces in contemporary styles, especially jazz. These include a musical, ''Max und Moritz'', widely popular in music schools in Germany. Schmitz also wrote two piano concertos, as well as an orchestra version of ''Der 13. Monat'' based on texts by

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including '' Emil and the Detectives''. He received ...

Notable works

* Die Neue Jazz Parnass – 155 Etueden, Stuecke und Studien zum kreativen Klavierspiel (''The New Jazz Parnass – 155 Etudes, Pieces and Studies for creative piano play)'' * Jugendalbum für Klavier (''Youth Album for Piano)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitz, Manfred 1939 births 2014 deaths German jazz composers 20th-century German composers German male composers Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar Male jazz composers 20th-century German male musicians 20th-century jazz composers