Heinz Winbeck | |
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.jpg) Heinz Winbeck, in 1980 | |
| Born | (1946-02-11)11 February 1946 Ergolding, Bavaria, Germany |
| Died | 26 March 2019(2019-03-26) (aged 73) Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany |
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Heinz Winbeck (11 February 1946 – 26 March 2019)[1] was a German composer, conductor and academic teacher. He is known for five large-scalesymphonies, which he programmatically subtitled, such as "Tu Solus" and "De Profundis". As a composition teacher inWürzburg, he shaped a generation of students.[1]
Winbeck was born in a small village named Piflas, now part ofErgolding, close toLandshut inLower Bavaria, into a family of farmers. He started his musical studies in 1964 at theRichard Strauss Conservatory in Munich: piano withMagda Rusy and conducting withFritz Rieger.[2] From 1967 he studied conducting at theMusikhochschule München withJan Koetsier and composition withHarald Genzmer andGünter Bialas,[1] graduating with theStaatsexamen (State Exam) in 1973.[2] After his studies, he was encouraged especially byWilhelm Killmayer to find his personal style. LikeWolfgang Rihm andManfred Trojahn, he turned to aNeue Einfachheit (New simplicity) and subjectivity.[1]
From 1974 to 1978 he worked as a composer and conductor at theStadttheater Ingolstadt, also for the festivalLuisenburg-Festspiele [de].[2] In 1980 he taught at the Musikhochschule München.[2] In 1981 he studied for half a year at theCité internationale des arts in Paris on a scholarship from the State of Bavaria.[1] In 1987 he taught ear training and music theory at theMusikhochschule München.[2] In 1988 he was appointed professor of composition at theHochschule für Musik Würzburg.[2] Among his students wereTobias PM Schneid [de], the composer and pianistRudi Spring andStefan Hippe as well as the composerInes Lütge, composer and musicologistDaniel Hensel,Alexander Muno,Adrian Sieber,Henrik Ajax and the composerJoachim F.W. Schneider.[1] Winbeck was composer in residence at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Cabrillo, California.[2]
From 1991 Winbeck lived in Schambach nearRiedenburg inLower Bavaria, in a monastery that he and his wife Gerlinde modernized.[2] He died on 26 March 2019 in a clinic in Regensburg.[1] The CD box "Heinz Winbeck – The Complete Symphonies" published by the TYXart records label in 2019[3] was awarded theOPUS Klassik in August 2020, in the categories "Symphonic recording of the 20th / 21st century", "Editorial performance of the year" and "World premiere recording of the year", nominated and awarded the OPUS Klassik for the "world premiere recording" at the beginning of September 2020.[4][failed verification]
Winbeck revived the genre of the symphony, motivated by the need for existential expression. He composed five large-scale symphonies between 1983 and 2011, comparable to the symphonies ofGustav Mahler. By giving them titles, he reflected topics such as history as a sequence of wars and cruelty, the guilt of the generation of his parents, endangered ecology, the loneliness of humanity in the cosmos, and facing near-death.[1]
Winbeck's First Symphony was premiered in 1984 at theDonaueschinger Tage für Neue Musik and recorded byWERGO, combined with Winbeck's second string quartet, withDennis Russell Davies conducting theRundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken.[5] Winbeck's Fifth Symphony "Jetzt und in der Stunde des Todes" (Now and in the hour of death) reflects sketches ofAnton Bruckner's unfinished9th Symphony. The work in three movements of about 55 minutes was played by the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies on 1 March 2010 at theStift St. Florian.[6][7] The same year Winbeck started a collaboration with theLandestheater Linz, which resulted in the ballet "Lebensstürme" (Storms of life).[8][9]
The composer commented on his way of composing:
Ich kann nichts anderes sagen, als daß ich buchstäblich nur das zu Papier bringe, das, würde ich es nicht tun, mich zersprengte.
(All I can say is that I literally only put down on paper that which, were I not to do so, would cause me to explode.)[1]
Winbeck's works are published byBärenreiter.[2]
Vocal
Symphonic works
Chamber music
In 1994 Heinz and Gerhilde Winbeck won a prize for the historical renovation by the Hypo-Foundation.[10]
