The Hochschule für Musik Freiburg ("University of Music Freiburg or Freiburg Conservatory of Music") is a public music academy subsidized by the State of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

for academic research and artistic and pedagogical training in music.

History

The

Hochschule ' (, 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 t ...

was initially founded as a municipal institution in 1946 under the direction of Gustav Scheck,"Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Freiburg feiert 60-jähriges Bestehen"
(Freiburg State Conservatory of Music celebrates 60-year existence)," press release, Kultur Baden-Württemberg, May 19, 2006 but two years later became an institution of the

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

(part of

since 1952). The original facilities were two intact townhouses in Freiburg's largely destroyed city center. Many of the early students went on to become renowned musicians, including the tenor

Fritz Wunderlich Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich (26 September 1930 – 17 September 1966) was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident aged 35. Biography Wunde ...

. Numerous outstanding instrumental soloists and teachers have taught at the Hochschule, including

Harald Genzmer Harald Genzmer (9 February 1909 – 16 December 2007) was a German composer of classical music and an academic. Biography The son of the legal historian , Genzmer was born in Blumenthal, near Kiel, Germany. He studied composition with Paul ...

Aurèle Nicolet Aurèle Nicolet (22 January 1926 – 29 January 2016) was a Swiss flautist. He was considered one of the world's best flute players of the late twentieth century. He performed in various international concerts. A number of composers wrote music ...

Ulrich Koch Ulrich Koch (14 March 1921 – 7 June 1996) was a German violist. Life Born in Braunschweig, Koch received violin lessons from Ion Voicu in Berlin. In 1945 he worked with the orchestra of the Staatstheater Braunschweig, from 1949 in the Südwest ...

Wolfgang Marschner Wolfgang Marschner (23 May 1926 – 24 March 2020) was a German violinist, teacher of violin, composer and conductor. He was concertmaster of the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, and instrumental in world premieres of contemporary music. He was prof ...

, Ludwig Doerr, Carl Seemann, Erich and Elma Doflein,

Edith Picht-Axenfeld Edith Picht-Axenfeld (1 January 1914 in Freiburg im Breisgau – 19 April 2001 in Hinterzarten) was a German pianist and harpsichordist. Career She started her concert career in 1935, and took part two years later in the III International Chopin ...

and James Avery. In 1954

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 ...

founded the pioneering Institut für Neue Musik (Institute for New Music) at the Hochschule and later began a cooperation with the experimental electronic studio of the Heinrich-Strobel Foundation at the Freiburg branch of the Südwestfunks (now the Südwestrundfunk). Following many years of being housed in numerous buildings throughout the city, the Hochschule erected a new state-of-the-art facility in 1983.''Musikland Baden-Württemberg: Basis und Spitze'', Ed. Norbert Bolín, International Bach Academy, Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2006,
p. 104
Since the fall of 2005, the Hochschule has collaborated with the Universitätsklinikum Freiburg (Freiburg University Hospital) through the newly founded "Freiburger Institut für Musikermedizin" (Freiburg Institute for Musicians' Medicine) in order to research, teach, and promote specialized patient care based on the often overlooked connection between music making and health. The Hochschule maintains international partnerships with the music conservatories in Odesa (Ukraine), Rochester (USA),

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

(Poland),

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

(Japan).

Notable teachers and students

* Robert Aitken *

Stefan Ammer Stefan Ammer (born 13 July 1942) is a German-Australian pianist, lecturer, teacher and professor of music. A former professor at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg in Germany, and currently at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Australia. Biograph ...

James Avery James La Rue Avery (November 27, 1945 – December 31, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Philip Banks in ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', Judge Michael Conover on ''L.A. Law'', Steve Yeager in '' The Brady Bunch M ...

Tanja Ariane Baumgartner Tanja Ariane Baumgartner is a German operatic mezzo-soprano. A member of the Oper Frankfurt since 2009, she has enjoyed an international career, appearing in major European and American opera houses and the Salzburg Festival. Career Baumgartner ...

* Maria Bengtsson (soprano) *

Bernd Glemser Bernd Glemser (born 1962, Dürbheim) is a German pianist. A student of Vitaly Margulis, in 1989 he became Germany's youngest piano professor at Saarbrücken's Musikhochschule. He has recorded major pieces by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Schumann, Sc ...

Gottfried von der Goltz Gottfried Graf von der Goltz (born 1 June 1964 in Würzburg, Germany) is a German violinist and conductor, specialising in the baroque repertoire. Early life Born into the ancient Brandenburgish noble von der Goltz family, as the son of Conra ...

Wilfried Gruhn Wilfried Gruhn (born 15 October 1939) is a German music educator, musicologist, violinist, and professor emeritus at universities in Germany and abroad. His focus is the music education of small children. He founded and directed the Gordon Instit ...

* Stanislav Heller * Robert Hill * Ernst Horn *

Robert D. Levin Robert David Levin (born October 13, 1947) is an American classical pianist, musicology, musicologist, and composer. He was a professor of music at Harvard University from 1994 to 2014 and the artistic director of the Sarasota Music Festival from ...

Éric Le Sage Éric Le Sage (born 15 June 1964 in Aix-en-Provence) is a contemporary French classical pianist. Biography After he finished his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris, Le Sage went to London to improve by Maria Curcio. Éric Le Sage is best ...

Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss composer, virtuoso oboist, and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Clas ...

Anthony Plog Anthony Plog (born November 13, 1947) is an American conductor, composer and trumpet player. Life Plog was born in Glendale, California, United States. He is a fellow of the Music Academy of the West where he attended in 1968. From 2006 to 2007, ...

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 ...

* Linus Roth *

Tibor Szász Tibor Szász (9 June 1948 - 22 April 2025) was a Hungarian pianist and author of essays on musicological questions and performance practice related to Liszt, Mozart and Beethoven. Since 1993, Szász was Professor of Piano at the University of Mus ...

* Carl Ueter *

Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (; born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2023, Widmann was the third most performed living contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of ...

Christoph Wolff Christoph Wolff (born 24 May 1940) is a German musicologist. He is best known for his works on the music, life, and period of Johann Sebastian Bach. Christoph Wolff is an emeritus professor of Harvard University, and was part of the faculty sinc ...

Hans Zender Johannes Wolfgang Zender (22 November 1936 – 22 October 2019) was a German conductor and composer. He was the chief conductor of several opera houses, and his compositions, many of them vocal music, have been performed at international festival ...

Simone Zgraggen Simone Zgraggen (born 8 August 1975 in Altdorf, Switzerland) is a Swiss violinist and professor at Freiburg University of Music. Career Simone Zgraggen began playing the violin at the age of five. She studied from 1991 to 1994 at Lucerne Univ ...

Courses of study

Since the beginning of the 2006/07 winter semester, the Hochschule was one of the first German music conservatories to provide most of its courses in line with the proposed European Bachelor/Master system. *Bachelor/Master's degree *Diplom/Künstlerische Ausbildung (Artist Diploma) *Diplom/Musiklehrer (Music teacher diploma) *Music Education *Master of Music *Master of Performance *Master of Contemporary Music Performance *Advanced Studies Diploma *Soloist Diploma *Aufbaustudium Kirchenmusik A (Church Music) *Doctoral Studies The Hochschule is divided organizationally into five institutes: new music, musical theater, historical performance practice, the Freiburg Institute for Performing Arts Medicine, and the ''Freiburg School for the Gifted''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hochschule fur Musik Freiburg Music schools in Germany Universities in Germany Education in Freiburg im Breisgau Universities and colleges in Baden-Württemberg Educational institutions established in 1946 1946 establishments in Germany Buildings and structures in Freiburg im Breisgau