Matthias Keller (born 1956 in Bremen) is a German composer, music critic,

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

, conductor, and

radio producer A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. The job title covers several different job descriptions: *Content producers or executive producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature. The content producer might organize music cho ...

. For many years he has been a juror for the

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...

. He has been commissioned to compose or arrange works for the

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has also ...

, the

Capella Istropolitana The Cappella Istropolitana is a Slovak chamber orchestra based in Bratislava, Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is b ...

, the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, the

Munich Symphony Orchestra The Munich Symphony Orchestra (Münchner Symphoniker) is a German orchestra based in Munich but active statewide in Bavaria. It gives subscription concerts at the Herkulessaal and the Prinzregententheater and, to a lesser degree, at the Philha ...

, the

Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (North West German Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Herford. It was founded in 1950 and, along with Philharmonie Südwestfalen and Landesjugendorchester NRW, is one of the 'official' orchestr ...

, and the Polish Chamber Philharmonic among others. He notably composed the music for the closing ceremonies of the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

which was performed simultaneously by the

Munich Philharmonic Orchestra The Munich Philharmonic (german: Münchner Philharmoniker, links=no) is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Rad ...

, 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 ...

and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra with conductors

Christian Thielemann Christian Thielemann (born 1 April 1959) is a German conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden. He was artistic director of the Salzburg Easter Festival from 2013 to 2022, and a regular conductor at the Bayreuth Fe ...

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the fou ...

, and

Mariss Jansons Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian conductor best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he w ...

, and soloists

Diana Damrau Diana Damrau (; born 31 May 1971) is a German soprano who achieved international fame for her performances, primarily in opera, but also in concert and lieder. She has been successful in coloratura soprano roles since her early career, and gradua ...

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

and

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in China, North America, Europe, and elsewhere. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, ...

. Keller received his musical education at the Osnabrück Conservatory and 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 ...

where his chief areas of interest were the organ, music education, and church music. In 1974 he released his first solo album as an organist. He has also made several recordings with flutist Ulrich Herkenhoff on the Thorofon, Koch/Universal, and Oehms Classics labels. He has worked actively as a church organist and choirmaster throughout his career. As a writer, Keller has written musical criticism for '' Fono Forum'', '' Klassik Heute'', ''

Opernwelt ''Opernwelt'' (''Opera World'') is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet. It includes news about current performances, portraits of composers and performers, articles about opera houses, performance spaces, and contemporary and ...

'', ''"DU"'', and '' Sueddeutsche Zeitung'' among other publications. Since 2004 he has served as the editor/producer of ''Bayern 4 Klassik''. He is the author of the music encyclopedia ''

Komponisten der Gegenwart The ''Komponisten der Gegenwart'' (KDG) is a music encyclopedia in German language about composers of the 20th and 21st century. It is a looseleaf service with information on currently about 900 composers. Editors Hanns-Werner Heister and Walter ...

'' and several books related to

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

composition and film score composers. He has worked extensively as a writer and producer for various radio stations in Germany, including the

Bayerischer Rundfunk Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR; "Bavarian Broadcasting") is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcas ...

and the

Hessischer Rundfunk Hessischer Rundfunk (HR; "Hesse Broadcasting") is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, ARD. Studios Do ...

References

External links

Official Website of Matthias Keller
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Matthias 1956 births Living people German composers German music critics German male conductors (music) German male non-fiction writers 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians