Max Beckschäfer (born 23 February 1952 in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

) is a German organist, composer and academic.

Professional career

Beckschäfer took classes at the

Richard Strauss Conservatory The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater München), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is t ...

in Munich in organ, piano, violin and choral conducting. He studied church music at the

Musikhochschule München The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater München), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is t ...

and continued studying composition with

Wilhelm Killmayer Wilhelm Killmayer (21 August 1927 – 20 August 2017) was a German composer of classical music, a conductor and an academic teacher of composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München from 1973 to 1992. He composed symphonies and son ...

. He was a Kantor in Munich from 1976 to 1987. On the initiative of

Gabriel Dessauer Gabriel Dessauer (born 4 December 1955) is a German cantor, concert organist, and academic. He was responsible for the church music at St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden from 1981 to 2021, conducting the Chor von St. Bonifatius until 2018. He is an inte ...

, who wanted to make a performance of Reger's

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

possible, Beckschäfer wrote an organ version of the short work, which the composer had scored for a huge orchestra and a choir to match. The organ version was premiered in 1985 in the Marktkirche Wiesbaden by the

Reger-Chor The Reger-Chor is a German-Belgian choir. It was founded in Wiesbaden in 1985 and has been conducted by Gabriel Dessauer in Wiesbaden. Since 2001 it has grown to Regerchor-International in a collaboration with the organist Ignace Michiels of the ...

, formed for the occasion, and Beckschäfer as the organist, conducted by Dessauer. In 1987 Beckschäfer received the Rompreis for composition and a fellowship of the

Villa Massimo Villa Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo ( it, Accademia Tedesca Roma Villa Massimo), is a German cultural institution in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo. The fellowship of the German Academy in Rom ...

in Rom. From 1988 to 2001 he was a teacher for music theory at the

Hochschule für Musik und Theater München The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater München), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is t ...

. Since 2001 he has been teaching at the Hochschule für Musik Augsburg-Nürnberg, since 2007 in Nürnberg. In 2009 he received a scholarship of the "Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani" in Venice. Beckschäfer was awarded the ''Förderpreis für Musik der Stadt München'', among others. Works have been commissioned by the

Munich Biennale The Munich Biennale (german: Münchener Biennale) is a contemporary opera and music theatre festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is ''Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater'', literally: International Festival for New Musi ...

, the concert series

Klangspuren Klangspuren, also Klangspuren Schwaz, subtitled Tiroler Festival für Neue Musik, is an annual festival for contemporary music in Schwaz in Tyrol, founded in 1994. The title literally translates to "traces of sound". It commissioned around 200 or ...

of the

Bavarian State Orchestra The Bavarian State Orchestra (german: Bayerisches Staatsorchester, italic=no) is the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Germany. It has given its own series of concerts, the , since 1811. Profile On 9 December 2011, this ensemble c ...

, ''Musica Viva'' Ingolstadt, the

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 ...

, the

Dresdner Kreuzchor The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, Germany. It has a seven-century history and a world-wide reputation. Today, the choir has about 150 members between the ages of 9 and 19, from Dresden and the surroundin ...

and the Palucca-Ballettschule Dresden. He has concentrated on vocal music and choral music. For the vocal sextet

Die Singphoniker is a German male classical vocal ensemble based in Munich, founded in 1980 by six students of the , after the model of the Comedian Harmonists. They sing a broad repertory, from Gregorian chant to contemporary music, including Volkslieder, Christ ...

he wrote new works and arrangements. He participated in the educational violin collection ''Augsburger Violinbuch''. His piano composition ''Lichte Gedanken'' was premiered in 2010 by Andreas Skourasat at the

Gasteig Gasteig is a cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig. Most of the events of the Fi ...

. His vocal and chamber music was recorded on CDs, including a Portrait-CD.

Selected recordings

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 ...

: '' Hebbel-Requiem'', organ works, Reger-Chor-International, conductor

(2001, recorded live in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden) * ''Max Beckschäfer'', Michelangelo-Fragmente, Sappho-Gesänge, Arion-Kantate, Cavalli Records (2003

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckschafer, Max German classical composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers University of Music and Performing Arts Munich alumni Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich Living people People from Münster 1952 births German male classical composers 20th-century German composers 21st-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians 21st-century German male musicians