The University of Music and Theatre Munich (), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is the former ''Führerbau'' of the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

, located at Arcisstraße 12, on the eastern side of the Königsplatz. Teaching and other events also take place at Luisenstraße 37a,

Gasteig The Gasteig is a currently closed 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 ...

, the

Prinzregententheater The Prinzregententheater, or, as it was called in its first decades, the Prinz-Regenten-Theater, in English the Prince Regent Theatre, is a concert hall and opera house on Prinzregentenplatz in the Bavarian capital of Munich, Germany. Building ...

(theatre studies), and in Wilhelmstraße (ballet). Since 2008, the Richard Strauss Conservatory ( de), until then independent, has formed part of the university.

History

In 1846, a private institution called the Royal Conservatory of Music (''Königliches Conservatorium für Musik'') was founded, and in 1867, at the suggestion of

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 ...

, this was transformed by King Ludwig II into the Royal Bavarian Music School (''Königliche bayerische Musikschule''), financed privately by Ludwig II until gaining the status of a state institution in 1874. It has since been renamed several times: to the Royal Academy of the Art of Music (''Königliche Akademie der Tonkunst''), the State Academy of Music (''Staatliche Akademie der Tonkunst''), the University for Music (''Hochschule für Musik'') and finally to the present name in 1998. Its original location, the ''Odeonsgebäude'', was destroyed in 1944. The current building was constructed for the Nazi party by Paul Troost and was called the '' Führerbau''. Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler signed the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

in this building in 1938. Hitler's office, on the second floor above the main entrance, is now a rehearsal room, but has been changed little since it was built. In 1974, the Bavarian University Act placed the Munich college, as well as all other Bavarian music colleges, on an educational par with art colleges.

Programmes

The university offers study programmes in performing and teaching in all music subjects and ballet, as well as joint study programmes with the

Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding The Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding (Bavarian Theatre Academy August Everding) at the Prinzregententheater in Munich, was founded by August Everding in 1993. The academy offers theatrical students eight different programs and through th ...

covering operatic performance, acting, directing, musicals, make-up for the theatre and lighting design.

Music Programs

HMTM offers comprehensive training in various musical disciplines: * Instrumental Performance: Programs covering orchestral instruments, keyboard instruments, and other instrumental studies. * Vocal Performance: Courses in solo singing, opera, and ensemble performance. * Conducting and Composition: Studies in orchestral and choral conducting, as well as composition. * Jazz and Popular Music: Programs focusing on jazz performance and related genres. * Historical Performance Practice: Training in early music and period instruments. * Church Music: Programs for both Catholic and Protestant church music traditions. * Music Education: Degrees aimed at preparing students for teaching music in schools and other educational settings. * Musicology: Academic study of music history, theory, and analysis. * Arts Management and Media: Programs in cultural management, music journalism, and media studies. These programs are structured to provide both practical performance experience and theoretical knowledge.

Theatre and Performance Programs

In collaboration with the Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding, HMTM offers programs in: * Acting: Training in stage and screen acting techniques. * Directing: Courses in theatre and opera direction. * Musical Theatre: Programs combining singing, acting, and dance. * Stage Design and Make-up: Studies in scenography, costume design, and theatrical make-up. These programs integrate academic coursework with practical stage experience, often in cooperation with Munich's professional theatres.

Research

The University of Music and Theatre Munich (HMTM) engages in a diverse range of research activities encompassing both scholarly inquiry and artistic exploration. The institution's research endeavors are organized into several key areas, supported by dedicated institutes and collaborative projects.

Main Research Areas

* Music and Dictatorship: This area investigates the role of music under authoritarian regimes, focusing on composers affected by political oppression. The Ben-Haim Research Centre, named after composer Paul Ben-Haim, is central to this field. * Interpretation Research: Studies in this domain analyze performance practices and the interpretative processes in music. * Music Pedagogy and Psychology: Research here explores educational methodologies and the psychological aspects of music learning and performance. * Music Ethnology: This field examines music within cultural and social contexts, studying diverse musical traditions. HMTM * Musician's Medicine: Research focuses on the health and well-being of musicians, addressing physical and psychological challenges. * Artificial Intelligence in the Cultural Sector: This area explores the integration of AI technologies in music and the arts, including creativity and production processes. * Audiovisual Media: Studies investigate the interplay between sound and visual media, encompassing film, digital platforms, and multimedia art.

Research Infrastructure

HMTM supports its research activities through various facilities and initiatives: * Open Music Academy (OMA): An open educational platform providing resources for music learning and teaching, promoting accessibility and innovation in music education. * Wavelab: An innovation lab fostering interdisciplinary projects at the intersection of music, arts, and media, encouraging experimentation with new technologies. * Collaborations: HMTM collaborates with institutions such as the Munich Center for Digital Sciences and AI (MUC.DAI) to explore the applications of machine learning in the arts.

Research Governance

The university's research activities are overseen by a dedicated Research Commission and supported by a Research Fund, ensuring the advancement of scholarly and artistic projects.

Former and present staff

Josef Rheinberger Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (17 March 1839 – 25 November 1901) was an organist and composer from Liechtenstein, residing in Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavaria for most of his life. As court conductor in Munich, he was responsible for the music in the ...

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, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

composition from 1905 to 1906 *

Fritz Lehmann Fritz Lehmann (17 May 190430 March 1956) was a noted German conductor, whose career was cut short by his early death at the age of 51. His repertoire ranged from the Baroque through to contemporary works, in both the concert hall and the opera ...

1953–1956 *

Fritz Schieri Fritz Franz Schieri (27 March 1922 in Munich – 24 February 2009 in Dachau, Bavaria, Dachau) was a German composer, conductor (music), conductor and professor. After Schieri left school in Munich 1940, he started his study at the Musikhochschule M ...

chorus line, composition and music theory from 1959 to 1990 * Ernst Haefliger 1971–1988 voice *

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 so ...

1973–1992 composition * Diethard Hellmann 1974 choral conducting, 1981–1988 director *

Max Beckschäfer Max Beckschäfer (born 23 February 1952 in Münster) is a German organist, composer and academic who taught at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and the Hochschule für Musik Augsburg-Nürnberg. He received commissions from the Munic ...

1988–2001 composition theory * Margarita Höhenrieder piano since 1991 *

Rudi Spring Rudi Spring (born 17 March 1962) is a German composer of classical music, pianist and academic. He is known for vocal compositions on texts by poets and his own, and for chamber music such as his three Chamber Symphonies. Career Born in Lindau ...

since 1999 Lied interpretation * Miku Nishimoto-Neubert, piano accompaniment since 2002 *

Siegfried Mauser Siegfried Mauser (born 3 November 1954) is a German pianist, academic and music manager. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, German courts convicted him as a multiple sex offender.Ralf Wiegand/Susi Wimmer, ''Professor Unrat.'' In: ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'', n ...

, Rektor 2003–2007; 2007–2014 * Talia Or (born 1977), singing * Christoph Poppen since 2003 violin and chamber music *

Bernd Redmann Bernd Redmann (born 10 May 1965 in Bamberg) is a German composer, music theorist, and musicologist. Career Born in Bamberg, Bernd Redmann studied at the University of Music and Theatre Munich, music pedagogy and composition with Dieter Acker ...

since 2005 music theory and ear training * Jan Müller-Wieland since 2007 composition * Julia Fischer since 2011 violin * Bernhard Haas since 2013 organ * Marcus Bosch (from 2016), conducting

Alumni

* Laura Aikin *

Benjamin Appl Benjamin Appl (born 26 June 1982) is a German-British lyric baritone, a classical singer who has appeared world-wide in opera houses and concert halls, particularly known as a Lieder singer. Early life and education Born in Regensburg, Appl ha ...

* Valentina Babor * Noah Bendix-Balgley * Jason Barry-Smith * Nélida Béjar * Martin Bernheimer * Winfried Bönig * Milana Chernyavska *

Annette Dasch Annette Dasch (born 24 March 1976) is a German soprano. She has performed in opera and concerts internationally, often portraying List of operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart characters such as Elvira in ''Don Giovanni'' at La Scala, Aminta ...

* Gabriel Dessauer * Jurgita Dronina *

Christoph von Dohnányi Christoph von Dohnányi (; born 8 September 1929) is a German conducting, 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 von Dohnan ...

Claudia Eder Claudia Eder (born 7 February 1948) is a German mezzo-soprano in opera and concert, and an academic at the Hochschule für Musik Mainz. Career Claudia Eder was born in Augsburg, Germany. She studied voice and cello at the Hochschule für Musi ...

Harold Faltermeyer Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeyer (born 5 October 1952) is a German musician, composer and record producer. Faltermeyer is best known for composing the " Axel F" theme for the feature film '' Beverly Hills Cop'', an influential synth-pop hit in the ...

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (born Rafael Frühbeck; 15 September 1933 – 11 June 2014) was a Spanish conductor and composer. Frühbeck was born in Burgos, Spain to a family of German ancestry. He first took up conducting while on military serv ...

* Mihoko Fujimura * Ricardo Gallen * Christian Gerhaher *

Thomas Guggeis Thomas Guggeis (born 1993) is a German conductor and pianist. He is ''Generalmusikdirektor'' of the Oper Frankfurt. Life and career Born in Dachau, Bavaria, Guggeis studied conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and the Mi ...

* Claus Guth * Anna Handler *

Hildegard Heichele Hildegard Heichele (; born September 1947) is a German soprano in opera, concert and recital. A member of the Oper Frankfurt from 1974, she has appeared in major European opera houses, concert halls and international festivals. She is known for ...

* Gerold Huber * Nicolaus A. Huber *

Anna Korsun Anna Korsun (, born 1986) is a Ukrainian singer, pianist, organist, conductor, composer and academic teacher, based in Germany. Her works have been performed at major European festivals. Life Born in Donetsk, Korsun studied at the Kyiv Conse ...

Horst Laubenthal Horst Laubenthal (born 8 March 1939), real name Horst Neumaier, is a German operatic tenor and academic voice teacher. He is known internationally, both as an opera singer especially in Mozart roles such as Belmonte, Don Ottavio and Tamino, an ...

* Elisabeth Lindermeier *

Nick McCarthy Nicholas John McCarthy (born 13 December 1974) is an English-German musician. His main focus is on songwriting and song production. He is also a guitarist, singer and keyboard player. McCarthy was a founding member of the Glasgow-based band Fr ...

* Gerhard Merkl * Nils Mönkemeyer *

Carl Orff Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, who composed the cantata ''Carmina Burana (Orff), Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Orff Schulwerk, Schulwerk were influential for ...

* Helga Pogatschar * Bernd Purkrabek *

Pichu Sambamoorthi Pichu Sambamoorthi (1901–1973) was an Indian musicologist, writer and the professor of musicology at the Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. He was the author several books on music, including ''A Dictionary of South Indian Music and Musici ...

Hanns-Martin Schneidt Hanns-Martin Schneidt (6 December 1930 – 28 May 2018
retrieved 5 June 2018) was a German c ...

* Kirill Troussov * Jörg Widmann * Heinz Winbeck * Carl Valentin Wunderle *

Karl Maria Zwißler Karl Maria Zwißler (12 August 1900 – 15 September 1984) was a German conductor, and academic. He was for decades the Generalmusikdirektor and Intendant of the Staatstheater Mainz. He taught conducting at the music universities of Stuttgart and ...

Jonas Kaufmann Jonas Kaufmann (born July 10, 1969) is a German- Austrian tenor opera singer. He is best known for the versatility of his repertoire, performing a variety of opera roles in multiple languages in recital Tommasini, Anthony (21 February 2014)"A Teno ...

Honorary doctorates

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

2004 * * Gernot Gruber 2011

References

External links

*
University of Music and Performing Arts Munich
at study-in-Bavaria.de

at muenchen.de
University of Music and Performing Arts Munich
at Facebook.com
THE UNIVERSITY OF MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS MUNICH
at wdc-award.org

at 4icu.org

at university-directory.eu
Bayerische Theaterakademie August EverdingEffects of the Bologna Declaration on Professional Music Training in EuropeEuropean Association of Conservatoires (AEC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Munchen Universities and colleges established in 1846 Music schools in Germany Universities and colleges in Munich Nazi architecture Maxvorstadt 1846 establishments in Bavaria Arts organizations established in 1846