Wolfgang Stryi (4 March 1957 – 22 February 2005) was a German composer, bass and double bass clarinetist,

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

player and a permanent member of the

Ensemble Modern Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting the music of modern composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries. Hi ...

Life and career

Stryi was born in

Rottweil Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years. Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has nearly 25,000 in ...

. For twenty-four years, he participated in the concerts and discography of contemporary classical music of the

grassroots democracy Grassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes that shift as much decision-making authority as practical to the organization's lowest geographic or social level of organization. Grassroots organizations can have a var ...

organized Ensemble Modern. He was concerned with the balance between interpretation,

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

and

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

and had a lasting influence on the programme of the Ensemble. A documented conversation with

Péter Eötvös Péter Eötvös ( hu, Eötvös Péter, ; born 2 January 1944) is a Hungarian composer, conductor and teacher. Eötvös was born in Székelyudvarhely, Transylvania, then part of Hungary, now Romania. He studied composition in Budapest and Colog ...

from 2000 describes difficulties and practice-oriented approaches in the creation and interpretation of ensemble and orchestral works with improvisational and compositional elements. As part of the collaboration between the Ensemble Modern and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

, Stryi participated extensively in the CD '' Yellow Shark''. The world premiere took place in 1992 at the Alte Oper Frankfurt. In addition, he performed concert readings with Hartmut Barth-Engelbart and played in duo with

Alfred 23 Harth Alfred Harth, now known as Alfred 23 Harth or A23H, is a German multimedia artist, band leader, multi-instrumentalist musician, and composer who creatively mixes genres. Career Harth founded a free improvisation band, Just Music (1967 to 1972 ...

, with whom he recorded the CD ''Modern Post'' in 1997. Stryi dedicated the composition ''Aprikosenbäume gibt es, aprikosenbäume gibt es'' ''in memoriam''

Rolf Riehm Rolf Riehm (born 15 June 1937) is a German composer who wrote stage and orchestral works as well as music for ensembles and solo instruments. He began as an oboist and music teacher and was later a professor of music theory at the Hochschule für ...

. The premiere took place on 6 May 2006 at the

Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik The Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik (Witten Days for New Chamber Music) is a music festival for contemporary chamber music, jointly organised by the town Witten in the Ruhr Area and the broadcasting station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). The con ...

. In 2010 it was performed at the

Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Shrek's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, '' Fennimore und Gerda'' by Frede ...

. Stryi died in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

at age 47.''Mes Adieux'' für Wolfgang Stryi
at Reinhard-karger.de

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stryi, Wolfgang 1957 births 2005 deaths People from Rottweil 20th-century German composers 21st-century German composers German clarinetists German saxophonists 20th-century German musicians 21st-century German musicians 20th-century saxophonists