Siegfried Matthus (13 April 1934 – 27 August 2021) was a German composer, conductor, and festival founder and manager. Some of his operas, such as '' Judith'', were premiered at the

Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, a ...

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

. In 1991, he founded the chamber opera festival Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg and directed it until 2018. In 2005, he composed a Te Deum for the reopening of the

Dresden Frauenkirche The Dresden Frauenkirche (german: Dresdner Frauenkirche, , ''Church of Our Lady'') is a Evangelical Church in Germany, Lutheran church in Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony. Destroyed during the Allied Bombing of Dresden in Wo ...

. Matthus is considered one of Germany's most often performed contemporary composers.

Biography

Matthus was born in ,

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

. His father was a farmer and played for entertainment and dancing. His father made sure that the son received piano lessons. In 1944, his parents fled with him to in the Ruppin district. Matthus attended secondary school in

Rheinsberg Rheinsberg () is a town and a municipality in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on lake and the river Rhin, approximately 20 km north-east of Neuruppin and 75 km north-west of Berlin. History Fre ...

, followed by studies at the

Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

in Berlin. After graduating, he continued his studies in composition with

Rudolf Wagner-Régeny Rudolf Wagner-Régeny (28 August 1903, Szászrégen, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Reghin, Romania) – 18 September 1969, Berlin) was a composer, conductor, and pianist. Born in Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary ...

and

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was an Austrian composer (his father was Austrian, and Eisler fought in a Hungarian regiment in World War I). He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artisti ...

, and was shortly thereafter made the youngest composer in residence in the history of the

Walter Felsenstein Walter Felsenstein (30 May 1901 – 8 October 1975) was an Austrian theater and opera director. He was one of the most important exponents of textual accuracy, productions in which dramatic and musical values were exquisitely researched and ba ...

Stage works

Matthus composed more than a dozen stage works. The opera ''Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke'' (''Cornet Christoph Rilke's song of love and death '') after

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...

was completed in 1983, first performed in Dresden in 1985, and performed also by the Glyndebourne Touring Opera in 1993. The opera ''Graf Mirabeau'' (1987–88) is set during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. It was commissioned for the 200th anniversary of

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

and enjoyed simultaneous productions in both East and West Germany as well as

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and France. The opera was recorded by the

Berlin State Opera The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

. Other opera recordings include his

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

-based "opera vision" '' Judith'' (1984) by Komische Oper Berlin and ''Der letzte Schuss'' with 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 ...

. In 2003 he composed music for both a ballet and an opera adaptation of Michael Ende's ''

The Neverending Story ''The Neverending Story'' (german: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. The novel was later adapted into several f ...

''.

Orchestral music

Matthus was a prolific composer of works for orchestra as well as chamber and recital compositions. In 1979, ''Responso'', a four-movement

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

was played by the

Dresdner Staatskapelle The Staatskapelle Dresden (known formally as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden) is a German orchestra based in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. Founded in 1548 by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, it is one of the world's oldest and most highly re ...

in front of the UN in New York City with a worldwide broadcast. He enjoyed a close working relationship with conductor

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus O ...

who presented many world premieres of his music. Masur also conducted what Matthus called "the commission of my life", a

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...

for the reopening of the

after restoration, broadcast live on 11 November 2005. His works are featured on more than twenty recordings by several of Germany's leading symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles. His 1975 Cello Concerto and his Second Symphony were recorded in 1978 by cellist Josef Schwab and the orchestra of the Komische Oper, conducted by the composer. A reviewer described the works as "deeply honest, uncompromising though highly communicative". For the occasion of his 70th birthday in 2004, a recording combined three concertos with orchestra recorded earlier with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken: the 1982 Concerto for Trumpet and Percussion, the 1994 ''Manhattan Concerto'', and ''Der Wald'' (The forest), a 1984 percussion concerto. On 25 January 2009,

Leon Botstein Leon Botstein (born December 14, 1946 in Zürich, Switzerland) is a Swiss-American conducting, conductor, educator, and scholar serving as the President of Bard College. Biography 1946–1975: Early life, education, and career Botstein was ...

conducted ''Responso'' at the

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, desi ...

, New York City, with the

American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is the orchestra's m ...

Festival

In 1991, Matthus founded the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg festival. He was its artistic director until 2018.Komponist Siegfried Matthus gestorben
(in German) FAZ 30 August 2021 He was an honorary citizen of

Personal life

Since 1957, Matthus was married to the singer Helga Matthus. They had a son, (born 1964), and lived in , part of

Wandlitz Wandlitz is a municipality in the district of Barnim, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 25 km north of Berlin, and 15 km east of Oranienburg. The municipality was established in 2004 by merger of the nine villages ''Basdorf'', ' ...

, near Berlin. Matthus died in his home on 27 August 2021 at the age of 87 after a protracted illness.

Compositions

Source: Matthus composed more than 600 works. His oeuvre includes 14 operas, over 60 large orchestral works, numerous chamber music, ballet scenes and film music.

Opera

* 1960–63 ''Lazarillo von Tormes'' * 1966/67 ''Der letzte Schuss'' (''The Last Shot'') * 1971 ''Noch einen Löffel Gift, Liebling?'' (''Another Spoonful of Poison, Darling?'') (Comic crime opera by

Peter Hacks Peter Hacks (21 March 1928 – 28 August 2003) was a German playwright, author, and essayist. Hacks was born in Breslau (Wrocław), Lower Silesia. Displaced by World War II, Hacks settled in Munich in 1947, where he made acquaintance with T ...

after the comedy ''Risky Marriage'' by Saul O'Hara) * 1972–74 ''Omphale'' (text by Hacks) * 1974 ''Mario the Magician'' * 1983/84 ''Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke'' (''Cornet Christoph Rilke's song of love and death '') (text after

) * 1982–84 '' Judith'' (after the play by

Friedrich Hebbel Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863) was a German poet and dramatist. Biography Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Dithmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the ''Gelehrtenschule des Johanneu ...

) * 1987/88 ''Graf Mirabeau'' * 1990 "Judith" American Premiere at the Santa Fe Opera * 1990/91 ''Desdemona und ihre Schwestern'' (''Desdemona and her Sisters'') (text after

Christine Brückner Christine Brückner (10 December 1921, in Schmillinghausen, Bad Arolsen, Free State of Waldeck-Pyrmont – 21 December 1996, in Kassel) was a German writer. Her first novel, ''Before the Traces Disappear'' (''Ehe die Spuren verwehen''), was pu ...

) * 1998 ''Farinelli oder die Macht des Gesanges'' (''Farinelli or The Power of Singing'') * 1998/99 ' (libretto by Thomas Höft) * 2003 ''Die unendliche Geschichte'' (after Michael Ende's ''

'' commissioned by the Department for Culture of Rhineland-Palatinate, libretto by Anton Perrey) * 2007: ''Cosima'', reconstruction of an opera fragment by

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

* 2019: ''Effi Briest'', after

the novel ''The Novel'' (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Michener's better known historical fiction, ''The Novel'' is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of ...

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he is best known toda ...

commissioned by Staatstheater Cottbus, to a libretto by

Awards

* 1972 and 1984

National Prize of the GDR The National Prize of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) (german: Nationalpreis der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik) was an award of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) given out in three different classes for scientific, artistic, ...

, 2nd class * 1979

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

in bronze * 1984 honorary citizen of the city of

* 1995/96 Prize of the International Theater Institute Berlin * 1998 Prize of the Association of German Critics * 2000 Officer's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* 2007 Renaming of the new event hall in the port village of Rheinsberg to the "Siegfried-Matthus-Arena" * 2014 Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

References

External links

*
Siegfried Matthus
at

Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf. The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on ...

Siegfried Matthus
at Interklang, a publisher for the works of Matthus (in German) *
Entries for recordings by Siegfried Matthus
on

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthus, Siegfried German opera composers Male opera composers German opera directors Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin alumni People from East Prussia 1934 births 2021 deaths Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin German male classical composers