The in

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

, is one of the leading universities of music in Europe. It was established in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

in 1950 as the () because the older (now the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

) was in

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

. After the death in 1962 of one of its first professors, composer

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was a German-Austrian composer. He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artistic association with Bertolt Brecht, and for the scores he wrote for films. The ...

, the school was renamed in his honor in 1964. After a renovation in 2005, the university is located in both Berlin's famed and the . The has a variety of ensembles including chamber music, choirs, orchestras and jazz.

The Hochschule

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 ...

is structured in four divisions and four institutes. It offers programs in accordion, composition, conducting, coaching, drums, guitar, harmony and counterpoint, harp, jazz, music theatre, opera direction, strings, timpani, piano and wind instruments. The 2002 founded Kurt-Singer-Institut specializes on research on health for musicians. Since 2003 the Institut für neue Musik deals with contemporary music. With the foundation of the Jazz-Institut Berlin in 2005, the conservatoire gained an international level in jazz education; David Friedman, John Hollenbeck, Judy Niemack and Jiggs Whigham are counted among the professors. Every year, over 400 events are taking place – including concerts, opera productions, class recitals and exam concerts. The Hochschule collaborates with the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Berlin Philharmonic Foundation. In both these houses regular orchestral, choral and staff concerts are presented.

History

After the foundation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), all music schools and the only music college in Berlin were situated in the west of Berlin. Hence the GDR Ministry for Education decided to establish a music college in the east sector. On 1 October 1950 the Deutsche Hochschule für Musik was founded. Professor Georg Knepler was the first director of the school. The teaching staff included Rudolph Wagner-Régeny and Hanns Eisler (composition), Helmut Koch (conducting), Helma Prechter, Arno Schellenberg (voice), Carl Adolf Martiensse, Grete Herwig (piano), Gustav Havemann, Wilhelm Martens (violin), Bernhard Günther (cello), Werner Buchholz (viola) and Ewald Koch (clarinet). Since 1964 the conservatoire has been named Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. In 1950 a special school for music was founded. The conservatory built up a partnership with the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Schule. In 1953 the program of opera and musical theatre stage direction was established, as two students were interested in this subject. Thus the conservatory became one of the first schools in Europe to have a program of that kind. The state of Berlin following the 1990

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

took over the conservatory. Today it is under the jurisdiction of the Senate department of science, research and the arts.

People

Some notable alumni

Taner Akyol Taner Akyol (born 1977) is a Turkish saz or bağlama player and classical composer. Biography Akyol was born in Bursa. He studied in Germany at the Brandenburgischen Colloquium für Neue Musik and the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler". In 2003 ...

, composer * , clarinet * Maria Baptist, pianist and conductor * Thomas Böttger, pianist and composer * Caroline Fischer, pianist *

Vladimir Jurowski Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski (;() born 4 April 1972) is a Russian conducting, conductor resident in Germany. He is the son of conductor Michail Jurowski, and grandson of Soviet film music composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski. Early life B ...

, conductor * Sol Gabetta, cellist * Marek Kalbus, bass-baritone * Georg Katzer, composer and teacher *

Akil Mark Koci Akil Mark Koci is a Kosovar Albanian composer and music writer. Education Koci was born in 1936 in Prizren, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (in today's Kosovo). There he graduated from the Josip Slavenski music school. He went on to study at the Saraj ...

, composer and writer *

Peter Konwitschny Peter Konwitschny (born 21 January 1945 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German opera and theatre director. Biography Peter Konwitschny grew up in Leipzig, where his father Franz Konwitschny was principal conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchest ...

, opera and theatre director * Jochen Kowalski, alto * Siegfried Matthus (1934–2021), composer and opera director * Tilo Medek (1940–2006), composer * Johannes Moser, cellist * Vera Nemirova (born 1972), stage director * Anna Prohaska, soprano * Michael Sanderling, conductor and violoncellist * Diana Tishchenko (born 1990), Ukrainian violinist * Jörg-Peter Weigle, conductor and music professor * Kahchun Wong, conductor * Ji-Yeoun You, pianist * Robert Zollitsch, composer

Some notable present and former faculty

* Fabio Bidini (piano) * Willy Decker (honorary professor of musical theatre direction) *

(composition) * Michael Endres (piano) * David Geringas (cello) *

Helmut Koch (conductor) Helmut Koch (5 April 190826 January 1975) was a German conductor, choir leader, composer, and academic teacher. He was recording manager for the Berliner Rundfunk from 1945, where he founded the Rundfunkchor Berlin#Vorgeschichte, Solistenvereinig ...

(conducting, from 1952) *

(opera direction) *

Gidon Kremer Gidon Kremer (; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Life and career Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holocaust. His mother had ...

(violin and chamber music) * Hanspeter Kyburz (composition) * Hanno Müller-Brachmann (voice) * Marie Luise Neunecker (horn) * Boris Piergamienszczikow (cello) *

Thomas Quasthoff Thomas Quasthoff (, born 9 November 1959) is a German bass-baritone. Quasthoff has a range of musical interest from Bach cantatas, to lieder, and solo jazz improvisations. Born with severe birth defects caused by thalidomide, Quasthoff is , an ...

(voice) * Corinna von Rad (visiting professor of opera direction) *

Kurt Rosenwinkel Kurt Rosenwinkel (born October 28, 1970) is an American jazz guitarist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator, keyboardist and record label owner. Biography Born in Philadelphia to a musical family, Rosenwinkel began taking piano lessons when ...

(jazz guitar) * Rainer Seegers (visiting professor of percussion) * Christine Schäfer (voice) * Júlia Varady (opera interpretation) * Katharina Wagner (opera direction) * Rudolf Wagner-Régeny (composition) * Scot Weir (voice) * Dieter Zechlin (piano) * Ruth Zechlin (composition, counterpoint, instrumentation) * Tabea Zimmermann (viola)

Senators of honour

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

, Italian conductor *

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Moses Barenboim (; born 15 November 1942) is an Argentines, Argentine-Israeli classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin, who also has Spain, Spanish and State of Palestine, Palestinian citizenship. From 1992 until January 2023, Bare ...

, Israeli pianist and conductor * Sir

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British conductor with German citizenship. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rat ...

, British conductor *

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 ...

, German composer

References

External links

*
International Hanns Eisler SocietyEislerMusic.com

Effects of the Bologna Declaration on Professional Music Training in Europe

European Association of Conservatoires (AEC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hochschule fur Musik Hanns Eisler Educational institutions established in 1950 1950 establishments in East Germany Universities and colleges in Berlin