Darmstädter Ferienkurse ("Darmstadt Summer Course") is a regular summer event of contemporary classical music in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Germany. It was founded in 1946, under the name "Ferienkurse für Internationale Neue Musik Darmstadt" (Vacation Courses of International New Music in Darmstadt), as a gathering with lectures and concerts over several summer weeks. Composers, performers, theorists and philosophers of

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

met first annually until 1970, and then biennially. The event was organised by the Kranichsteiner Musikinstitut, which was renamed Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt (IMD). It is regarded as a leading international forum of contemporary and

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

with a focus on composition. The festival awards the for performers and young composers.

History

Overview

The Ferienkurse were initiated in 1946 by Wolfgang Steinecke, then responsible for culture in the municipal government of

. He directed them until his death in 1961, succeeded by (1962–81), Friedrich Ferdinand Hommel (1981–94), Solf Schaefer (1995–2009), and Thomas Schäfer, who has been artistic director and president of the IMD from 2009. The courses were first held annually, lasting for about twelve days. From 1970, they have been held biennially for two to three weeks. The first venue was

Jagdschloss Kranichstein Jagdschloss Kranichstein is a palace in Kranichstein, now part of Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany. It was built north of Darmstadt from 1578 as a Jagdschloss, a hunting lodge for George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. It served also as a summer residen ...

, a rural hunting lodge in Darmstadt. Beginning in 1949, public buildings in Darmstadt have been used not only for some concerts as in the beginning, but also for courses.

Background

The Ferienkurse were founded to reconnect Germany to the international scene in classical music, as

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

forms of classical music (such as

expressionist music term expressionism "was probably first applied to music in 1918, especially to Schoenberg", because like the painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) he avoided "traditional forms of beauty" to convey powerful feelings in his music. Theodor Adorn ...

, the

Second Viennese School The Second Viennese School () was the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, particularly Alban Berg and Anton Webern, and close associates in early 20th-century Vienna. Their music was initially characterized by late ...

and

serialism In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...

) had been systematically suppressed by the Nazis from 1933 as "

degenerate music Degenerate music (, ) was a label applied in the 1930s by the government of Nazi Germany to certain forms of music that it considered harmful or decadent. The Nazi government's concerns about degenerate music were a part of its larger and better- ...

". During that time, representatives of the modernist movement had been expelled, silenced, or murdered.

Beginning

The first event in 1946 offered courses in conducting by

Carl Mathieu Lange Mathieu Lange ( 28 January 1905 – 25 May 1992) was a German musician, conductor and from 1952 to 1973 director of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin. He hadn't gone by his first name Carl since 1950. Life and career Born in Düren, Lange comes from a ...

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an Originality, original piece or work of music, either Human voice, vocal or Musical instrument, instrumental, the musical form, structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new pie ...

Wolfgang Fortner Wolfgang Fortner (12 October 1907 – 5 September 1987) was a German composer, academic composition teacher and conductor. Life and career Fortner was born in Leipzig. From his parents, who were both singers, Fortner very early on had intense ...

, piano by Georg Kuhlmann, voice by Elisabeth Delseit, violin by

Günter Kehr Günter Kehr (16 March 1920 – 22 September 1989) was a German violinist, conductor and academic teacher of violin and chamber music. He founded the Kehr Trio, a string trio, and the Mainzer Kammerorchester, a chamber orchestra, and toured inte ...

, opera direction by Bruno Hey and Walter Jockisch, and music criticism by

Fred Hamel Fred Hamel is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Western Soccer Alliance. He is currently a professor at the University of Puget Sound. Hamel was selected for the U.S. National ...

. A first series were courses, lectures and concerts from 25 August to 21 September. They were followed by public concerts and lectures, titled "Internationale zeitgenössische Musiktage" (International contemporary music days) from 22 to 29 September, held in collaboration with the city of Darmstadt, its Landestheater, and the broadcasters Süddeutscher Rundfunk and Radio Frankfurt. Events included an exhibition of the Neue Darmstädter Sezession, "Zeitgenössische deutsche Kunst", and also Carl Orff's opera '' Die Kluge'', and the award ceremony of the

Georg Büchner Prize The Georg Büchner Prize () is the most important literary prize for German language literature. The award is named after dramatist and writer Georg Büchner, author of '' Woyzeck'' and '' Leonce and Lena''. The Georg Büchner Prize is awarded an ...

Fritz Usinger Fritz Usinger (5 March 1895 – 9 December 1982) was a German writer, poet, essayist, and translator. In 1946 he was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize by the German Academy for Language and Literature for his literary oeuvre. Awards *Georg Büchner ...

. Concerts presented several world premieres, such as 's string sextet, Fortner's ''für Klavier'',

Günter Raphael Günter Raphael (30 April 1903 – 19 October 1960) was a German composer. Born in Berlin, Raphael was the grandson of composer Albert Becker (composer), Albert Becker. His first symphony was premiered by Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1926 in Leipzig w ...

's sonata for solo flute, a trio for flute, viola and cello by

Günter Bialas Günter Bialas (19 July 1907 – 8 July 1995) was a German composer. Life Bialas was born in Bielschowitz (today Bielszowice, a subdivision of Ruda Śląska) in Prussian Silesia. His father was the business manager of a German theatre, and his ...

(1923), Henze's ''Kranichsteiner Kammerkonzert'' for flute, piano and strings, and ''Hölderlin-Lieder'' by

Hermann Reutter Hermann Reutter (; 17 June 19001 January 1985) was a German composer and pianist who worked as an academic teacher, university administrator, recitalist, and accompanist. He composed several operas, orchestral works, and chamber music, and especi ...

Willy Burkhard Willy Burkhard (17 April 1900 – 18 June 1955) was a Swiss composer and academic teacher, influential in both capacities. He taught music theory at the Berne Conservatory and the Zürich Conservatory. His works include an opera, oratorios, canta ...

's ''Symphonie in einem Satz'' (1944) and

Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major ad ...

's String Quartet No. 6 (1943) received their first performance in Germany. During the first years of the event, a focus was on German premieres of works, sometimes decades after their composition, by composers such as

Arnold Schönberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

Anton Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

and

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

. Schoenberg's

Piano Concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

was played in 1948, and his String Quartet No. 4 in 1949. That year, a symphony concert was dedicated exclusively to Schoenberg's works, including the German premiere of his

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

, honouring his 75th birthday. The 70th birthday of Webern was honoured with a concert of his chamber music in 1953. It was the first forum of contemporary music in Germany after World War II, including music theory and philosophy. Lectures were held by instructors such as

Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( ; ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, musicologist, and social theorist. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical theory, whose work has com ...

René Leibowitz René Leibowitz (; ; 17 February 1913 – 29 August 1972) was a Polish and French composer, conductor, music theorist and teacher. He was historically significant in promoting the music of the Second Viennese School in Paris after the Second Wo ...

, Heinz-Klaus Metzger, and later

Carl Dahlhaus Carl Dahlhaus (10 June 1928 – 13 March 1989) was a German musicologist who was among the leading postwar musicologists of the mid to late 20th-century. #Selected bibliography, A prolific scholar, he had broad interests though his research foc ...

and

Rudolf Stephan Rudolf Stephan (3 April 1925 – 29 September 2019) was a German musicologist. Life Stephan was born in Bochum. After studying violin at the conservatory, he entered the Institute of Heidelberg, where he studied musicology at the University unde ...

, offering critical reflection of advanced composition. Composers such as

Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French and American composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; h ...

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

Ernst Krenek Ernst Heinrich Krenek (, 23 August 1900 – 22 December 1991) was an Austrian, later American, composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including ''Music Here and Now'' (1939), a study of Johannes Ock ...

Earle Brown Earle Brown (December 26, 1926 – July 2, 2002) was an American composer who established his own formal and notational systems. Brown was the creator of "open form," a style of musical construction that has influenced many composers since, ...

and

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

visited, presenting their work and aesthetic in composition classes, and contributing to worldwide recognition of the institution.

Darmstadt School

Composers such as, initially,

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

Luigi Nono Luigi Nono (; 29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990) was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music. Biography Early years Nono, born in Venice, was a member of a wealthy artistic family; his grandfather was a notable painter. Nono bega ...

Bruno Maderna Bruno Maderna (born Bruno Grossato, 21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian composer, conductor and academic teacher. Life Maderna was born Bruno Grossato in Venice but later decided to take the name of his mother, Caterina Carolina M ...

, and later

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental music, experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia (Berio), Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Seque ...

Aldo Clementi Aldo Clementi (25 May 1925 – 3 March 2011) was an Italian classical composer. Life Aldo Clementi was born in Catania, Italy. He studied the piano, graduating in 1946 at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome. His studies in composition began i ...

Franco Donatoni Franco Donatoni (9 June 1927 – 17 August 2000) was an Italian composer. Biography Born in Verona, Donatoni started studying violin at the age of seven, and frequented the local music academy. Later, he studied at the Milan Conservatory ...

Niccolò Castiglioni Niccolò Castiglioni (17 July 1932 – 7 September 1996) was an Italian composer, pianist, and writer on music. Castiglioni was born and raised in Milan, where he began studying piano at the age of 7. He received his performer's diploma from th ...

, Franco Evangelisti,

Karel Goeyvaerts Karel August Goeyvaerts (8 June 1923 – 3 February 1993) was a Belgian composer. Life Goeyvaerts was born in Antwerp, where he studied at the Royal Flemish Music Conservatory; he later studied composition in Paris with Darius Milhaud and analysi ...

Mauricio Kagel Mauricio Raúl Kagel (; 24 December 1931 – 18 September 2008) was an Argentine-German composer and academic teacher. Life and career Early life and education Mauricio Raúl Kagel was born on 24 December 1931 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, into an ...

Gottfried Michael Koenig Gottfried Michael Koenig (5 October 1926 – 30 December 2021)"In Memoriam Got ...

, Giacomo Manzoni,

Henri Pousseur Henri Léon Marie-Thérèse Pousseur (; 23 June 1929 – 6 March 2009) was a Belgian classical composer, teacher, and music theorist. Biography Pousseur was born in Malmedy and studied at the Academies of Music in Liège and in Brussels from 19 ...

Helmut Lachenmann Helmut Friedrich Lachenmann (; born 27 November 1935) is a German composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. Associated with the "instrumental musique concrète" style, Lachenmann is alongside Wolfgang Rihm as among the leading Germa ...

, and

Brian Ferneyhough Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer. Ferneyhough is typically considered the central figure of the New Complexity movement. Ferneyhough has taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and ...

presented their radical approach and theories. They are sometimes referred to as the "Darmstädter Schule" ( Darmstadt School). Notable performers instructed in new playing techniques, and works by young composers (''Nachwuchskomponisten'') were offered in so-called ''Atelierkonzerte'' (atelier concerts).

Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt

For the organisation of the event, the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt was founded in 1948. It also keeps an archive of past events and compositions. It holds around 20,000 photographs, 10,000 letters, sound files and other documents, available online since 2016. The event is sponsored by several organisations, especially public broadcasters.

Kranichsteiner Musikpreis

A prize, the was installed in 1952, first for performers, then also for composers. Recipients include performers (with their instrument listed) and composers: * 1952

Karlheinz Zöller Karlheinz Zöller (24 August 1928 – 29 July 2005) was a German flutist, and solo fluteplayer in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra between 1960–1969 and 1976–1993. Early life and education Karlheinz Zöller was born in Höhr-Grenzhausen (near ...

(flute) * 1955

Marion Zarzeczna Marion Zarzeczna (November 11, 1930 – June 1, 2020) was an American concert pianist and educator. She was born and grew up in a non-musical family in Trenton, New Jersey. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in 1954 from the Curtis Institu ...

(piano) * 1957

Jerome Lowenthal Jerome Lowenthal (born February 11, 1932) is an American classical pianist. He has served as chair of the piano department at the Juilliard School in New York. Additionally, Lowenthal is on the faculty at Music Academy of the West in Montecito, Ca ...

(piano) * 1958

Otto Zykan Otto Matthäus Zykan (29 April 1935, Vienna – 25 May 2006, Sachsendorf, Burgschleinitz-Kühnring) was an Austrian composer and pianist. The son of composer Otto Zykan (1902–1989), Otto M Zykan received his first piano lessons from his father, ...

(piano),

Gábor Gabos Gábor Gabos (4 January 1930 – 27 August 2014) was a Hungarian pianist.Elhunyt Gabos Gábor
(in Hungarian ...

(piano),

Wolfgang Gayler Wolfgang Gayler (19 December 1934 – 6 October 2011) was a German conductor and pianist.Wolfgang Gayler
on JPc

(piano) * 1959 Erika Haase (piano) * 1960 Bruno Canino (piano) * 1972 Gillian Bibby,

Suzanne Stephens Suzanne Stephens (born July 28, 1946) is an American clarinetist, resident in Germany, described as "an outstanding performer and tireless promoter of the clarinet and basset horn". Biography Suzanne Stephens was born in Waterloo, Iowa, the dau ...

(clarinet) * 1974

Detlev Müller-Siemens Detlev Müller-Siemens (born 30 July 1957) is a German composer and conductor. Life and career Born in Hamburg, Müller-Siemens began with piano lessons at age six and began composing. He was invited to a composition class at the Musikhochschule ...

Moya Henderson Moya Patricia Henderson (born 2 August 1941 in Quirindi, New South Wales) is an Australian composer. A graduate of the University of Queensland, Henderson was Resident Composer at Opera Australia during their first season at the Sydney Opera ...

Wolfgang Meyer Wolfgang Meyer (13 August 1954 – 17 March 2019) was a German clarinetist and professor of clarinet at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe. He worked internationally as a soloist, in chamber music ensembles, and in jazz, with a repertoire from early mu ...

(clarinet) * 1976 Ulrich Stranz * 1978

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (; 13 March 1952 – 27 July 2024) was a German composer of contemporary classical music and an academic teacher based in Karlsruhe. He was an influential post-war European composer, as "one of the most original and independent mus ...

* 1980

Clarence Barlow Clarence Albertson Barlow (also Klarenz; 27 December 1945 – 29 June 2023) was a British composer of classical and electroacoustic works. He was an academic teacher internationally, at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague from 1990 and at the ...

* 1982 James Dillon, Steven Schick (percussion), Michael Bach (cello), Robert H.P. Platz * 1984

Bernardo Kuczer Bernardo Mario Kuczer (30 April 1955 – 22 June 2023) was an Argentinian composer, music theoretician and architect. Biography Argentina Bernardo Mario Kuczer was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 30 April 1955. Until his early twenties, ...

* 1986 Richard Barrett,

Kaija Saariaho Kaija Anneli Saariaho (; ; 14 October 1952 – 2 June 2023) was a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the En ...

, Bunita Marcus, Steffen Schleiermacher (piano) * 1990

Luca Francesconi Luca Francesconi (born 17 March 1956) is an Italian composer. He studied at the Milan Conservatory, later with Karlheinz Stockhausen and then Luciano Berio. Early years Luca Francesconi was born in Milan. His father was a painter who edited ...

, Roger Redgate,

Rodney Sharman Rodney Sharman (born 24 May 1958) is a Canadian composer and flutist based in Vancouver. His music has been performed in over 30 countries worldwide. He has won several international and national awards, including First Prize in the 1984 CBC Compe ...

, Joël-François Durand * 1992 James Clarke,

Chaya Czernowin Chaya Czernowin (, ; born December 7, 1957) is an Israeli American composer, and Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music at Harvard University. She is the lead composer at the Schloß Solitude Sommerakademie, a biannual international academy of c ...

* 1996

Mark Andre Mark Andre (born 10 May 1964) is a French composer living in Germany. He was known as "Marc André", his birth name, until 2007, when he formally revised the spelling. He lives in Berlin. Andre's compositions ''durch'' (2006), ''...auf... III'' (2 ...

, Gerald Eckert,

Isabel Mundry Isabel Mundry (born 20 April 1963) is a German composer. Life and work Isabel Mundry was born in Schlüchtern, Hesse in 1963 and studied composition at the Berlin University of the Arts, Hochschule der Künste and electronic music, musicology and ...

* 2000

Jennifer Walshe Jennifer Walshe (born 1 June 1974) is an Irish composer, vocalist and artist. Biography Jennifer Walshe was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1974. She studied composition with John Maxwell Geddes at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ...

* 2002 Nam-Kuk Kim, , Seth Wrightington * 2004

Hans Thomalla Hans Thomalla (; born 1975) is a German-American composer, who has resided in the United States since 2002. Career Hans Thomalla was born in Bonn, and studied composition at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, Germany, from 19 ...

* 2006 Tatjana Kozlova * 2008

Simon Steen-Andersen Simon Steen-Andersen (born 1976) is a Danish composer, performer, director and media artist. Biography Steen-Andersen studied composition with Karl Aage Rasmussen, Mathias Spahlinger, Gabriel Valverde, and Bent Sørensen in Aarhus, Freiburg ...

* 2010

Stefan Prins Stefan Prins (born 20 May 1979) is a Belgian composer and performer. Biography Studies Born in Kortrijk, Stefan Prins studied composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp from which he holds a master's degree (2009) and specialized i ...

* 2014 Ashley Fure

Criticism

During the late 1950s and early 1960s the courses were charged with a perceived lack of interest on the part of some of its zealot followers in any music not matching the uncompromisingly modern views of Pierre Boulez – the "party subservience" of the "clique orthodoxy" of a "sect", in the words of Kurt Honolka, written in 1962 in an effort to "make the public believe that the most advanced music of the day was no more than a fancy cooked up by a bunch of aberrant conspirators conniving at war against music proper." This led to the use of the phrase " Darmstadt School" (coined originally in 1957 by Luigi Nono to describe the

serial music In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...

being written at that time by himself and composers such as Boulez, Maderna, Stockhausen, Berio, and Pousseur) as a pejorative term, implying a "mathematical", rule-based music.

Recordings

The courses presented in 70 years around 5,000 world premieres. The record label ''col legno'' has published recordings, often documenting world premieres and first performances in Germany.

Notes

References

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Sources

* * Includes a photo of Brown and Bruno Maderna in Darmstadt. *

External links

* * Karlheinz Essl
Darmstadt in den 90er Jahren?
(in German) in ''MusikTexte'' No. 35 (1990) {{Authority control 20th century in music Darmstadt Modernism (music) Music festivals in Germany Music in Hesse