Jens Joneleit
Encyclopedia
Jens Gerd Joneleit is a German
composer, known for his operas.
. His parents both played piano, and he learned music theory when he was only seven years old. In 1975 he started taking percussion lessons, and performed in a local marching band, and local rock and jazz groups. Around 1984 he taught himself piano and started composing his own music. He graduated from the Gymnasium in 1988, and for the next two years completed his community service. He moved to the United States
in 1990 to study at the University of South Dakota
, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with majoring in Art and a minor in Music in 1992. He then entered graduate school in painting at the University of Wisconsin, and completed his Master of Fine Arts
in 1997.
, and in Vermillion, South Dakota
with Robert Marek (1915–1995) and Stephen Yarbrough (born 1946). From 1994 he studied in Madison, Wisconsin
with Joel Naumann, a pupil of Stefan Wolpe
. In 2003 he hired Roscoe Mitchell
of the Art Ensemble of Chicago
for a recording session. The composer objects to reading only these names in his biographies, saying: "I was also a pupil of Mahler, Nono
, Boulez, Stockhausen, of Bruckner and Wagner. Famous jazz players influenced me: Miles Davis
or the Art Ensemble of Chicago with Roscoe Mitchell or Lester Bowie
." Joneleit describes the influences on his music in greater detail:
, premiered in 2007 in Stuttgart with the Ensemble Modern
, conducted by Franck Ollu. His opera Piero – Ende der Nacht. Hörstück für ein Theater der wandernden Gedanken und Klänge (Piero – End of the Night. Aural piece for a theater of wandering thoughts and sounds) was premiered at the Munich Biennale
in 2008. The libretto of Michael Herrschel is based on passages from Alfred Andersch
's Die Rote. The opera was first performed by the Ensemble Modern
, conducted by Yuval Zorn, in the Muffathalle as a coproduction with the Oper Frankfurt and the Experimentalstudio Freiburg. Joneleit's opera Metanoia. Über das Denken hinaus (Metanoia: beyond thinking) on a libretto of René Pollesch
, based on motif
s from Nietzsche's Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geist der Musik (The Birth of Tragedy Out of the Spirit of Music
), premiered in 2010 in the Schillertheater to open the temporary stage of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Christoph Schlingensief
had staged the opera, but died before the premiere. Daniel Barenboim
conducted, with singers Graham Clark, "Charaktertenor", Annette Dasch
, "Sopran", Daniel Schmutzhard, "Bassbariton", Alfred Reiter "Bass" and Anna Prohaska, "Koloratursopran". The voice types (character tenor
, soprano
, bass-baritone
, bass
, coloratura soprano
) equal the roles.
, a piano trio
and Abbild, a work for cello solo.
Joneleit composed for the 25th anniversary of the Ensemble Modern
a work for 27 soloists, Le tout, le rien, premiered by the ensemble in Dresden in 2005, conducted by Franck Ollu. The title's contradiction (roughly translated from French as "all, nothing") is described:
In 2009 Joneleit composed Dithyrambes for orchestra.
in 2006. Pierre Boulez delivered the laudatory address. Joneleit received the "Kulturpreis 2009" of his hometown Rodgau.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
composer, known for his operas.
Early life and education
Jens Gerd Joneleit was born on 17 September 1968 in Offenbach am Main in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. His parents both played piano, and he learned music theory when he was only seven years old. In 1975 he started taking percussion lessons, and performed in a local marching band, and local rock and jazz groups. Around 1984 he taught himself piano and started composing his own music. He graduated from the Gymnasium in 1988, and for the next two years completed his community service. He moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1990 to study at the University of South Dakota
University of South Dakota
The University of South Dakota ', the state’s oldest university, was founded in 1862 and classes began in 1882. Located in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, USD is home to South Dakota's only medical school and law school. USD is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, and its current...
, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with majoring in Art and a minor in Music in 1992. He then entered graduate school in painting at the University of Wisconsin, and completed his Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in 1997.
Musical career
From 1991 Joneleit studied music with Bartók's pupil Lewis Hamvas in Yankton, South DakotaYankton, South Dakota
Yankton is a city in, and the county seat of, Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,454 at the 2010 census. Yankton was the original capital of Dakota Territory. It is named for the Yankton tribe of Nakota Native Americans...
, and in Vermillion, South Dakota
Vermillion, South Dakota
Vermillion is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the tenth largest city in the state. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 10,571. Vermillion lies atop a bluff near the Missouri River.The area has been home to...
with Robert Marek (1915–1995) and Stephen Yarbrough (born 1946). From 1994 he studied in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
with Joel Naumann, a pupil of Stefan Wolpe
Stefan Wolpe
Stefan Wolpe was a German-born composer.-Life:Wolpe was born in Berlin. He attended the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory from the age of fourteen, and the Berlin Hochschule für Musik in 1920-1921. He studied composition under Franz Schreker and was also a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni...
. In 2003 he hired Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell is an African American composer, jazz instrumentalist and educator, mostly known for being "a technically superb—if idiosyncratic—saxophonist." He has been called "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz who has been "at the forefront of modern music" for the past...
of the Art Ensemble of Chicago
Art Ensemble of Chicago
The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz ensemble that grew out of Chicago's AACM in the late 1960s. The group continues to tour and record through 2006, despite the deaths of two of the founding members....
for a recording session. The composer objects to reading only these names in his biographies, saying: "I was also a pupil of Mahler, Nono
Nono
Nono can refer to:places:* Nono, Argentina, a municipality in the Province of Córdoba* Nono, Ecuador, a parish in the municipality of Quito in the province of Pichincha* Nono, Ethiopia, a town in the Nono, Illubabor woreda in the Oromia Region...
, Boulez, Stockhausen, of Bruckner and Wagner. Famous jazz players influenced me: Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
or the Art Ensemble of Chicago with Roscoe Mitchell or Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
." Joneleit describes the influences on his music in greater detail:
Anton BrucknerAnton BrucknerAnton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
's sound monoliths and his ability to draw from silence; from here onwards, the line towards New Music, to the gesture of granting, letting flow, the way Morton FeldmanMorton FeldmanMorton Feldman was an American composer, born in New York City.A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown...
teaches; but also to the gesture of rebellion which no one has so purely, so passionately brought to life as Luigi NonoLuigi NonoLuigi Nono was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music and remains one of the most prominent composers of the 20th century.- Early years :Born in Venice, he was a member of a wealthy artistic family, and his grandfather was a notable painter...
. From his works, I draw my conviction that all music, even instrumental music, is Song - elementary human expression. Dogmas exist only to be overthrown: I liked Franz HummelFranz HummelFranz Hummel is a German composer and pianist.From his youth, Hummel was interested in music and, in particular, the works of Richard Strauss, Eugen Papst and Hans Knappertsbusch. In Munich and Salzburg he studied both composition and piano...
's attitude towards this notion long before we knew each other and I like that about Wolfgang RihmWolfgang RihmWolfgang Rihm is a German composer.Rihm is Head of the Institute of Modern Music at the Karlsruhe Conservatory of Music and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Salzburg Festival...
, too. The courage to be free, to have one's own voice: that is of utmost importance.
Operas
Joneleit's opera Der Brand. Proscaenium emblematicum on a libretto of Michael Herrschel after Andreas GryphiusAndreas Gryphius
Andreas Gryphius was a German lyric poet and dramatist.Asteroid 496 Gryphia is named in his honour.-Life and career:...
, premiered in 2007 in Stuttgart with the Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern is a chamber ensemble dedicated to 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....
, conducted by Franck Ollu. His opera Piero – Ende der Nacht. Hörstück für ein Theater der wandernden Gedanken und Klänge (Piero – End of the Night. Aural piece for a theater of wandering thoughts and sounds) was premiered at the Munich Biennale
Munich Biennale
The Munich Biennale is an opera festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater, literally: International Festival for New Music Theater. The biennial festival was created in 1988 by Hans Werner Henze and is held in even-numbered years over...
in 2008. The libretto of Michael Herrschel is based on passages from Alfred Andersch
Alfred Andersch
Alfred Hellmuth Andersch was a German writer, publisher, and radio editor. The son of a conservative East Prussian army officer, he was born in Munich, Germany and died in Berzona, Ticino, Switzerland...
's Die Rote. The opera was first performed by the Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern is a chamber ensemble dedicated to 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....
, conducted by Yuval Zorn, in the Muffathalle as a coproduction with the Oper Frankfurt and the Experimentalstudio Freiburg. Joneleit's opera Metanoia. Über das Denken hinaus (Metanoia: beyond thinking) on a libretto of René Pollesch
René Pollesch
René Pollesch is a German author and dramatist.From 1983-89 he studied Applied Theatre Studies at the University of Giessen. He won the Mülheimer Dramatikerpreis in 2001 for world wide web-slums and again in 2006...
, based on motif
Motif (narrative)
In narrative, a motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative aspects such as theme or mood....
s from Nietzsche's Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geist der Musik (The Birth of Tragedy Out of the Spirit of Music
The Birth of Tragedy
The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music is a 19th-century work of dramatic theory by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It was reissued in 1886 as The Birth of Tragedy, Or: Hellenism and Pessimism ...
), premiered in 2010 in the Schillertheater to open the temporary stage of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Christoph Schlingensief
Christoph Schlingensief
Christoph Maria Schlingensief was a German film and theatre director, actor, artist, and author. Starting as an independent underground filmmaker, Schlingensief later began staging productions for theatres and festivals, which often were accompanied by public controversies...
had staged the opera, but died before the premiere. Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
conducted, with singers Graham Clark, "Charaktertenor", Annette Dasch
Annette Dasch
Annette Dasch is a German soprano. She performs in operas and concerts.- Biography :Annette Dasch studied voice at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München with Josef Loibl....
, "Sopran", Daniel Schmutzhard, "Bassbariton", Alfred Reiter "Bass" and Anna Prohaska, "Koloratursopran". The voice types (character tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, bass-baritone
Bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
, bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
, coloratura soprano
Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice...
) equal the roles.
| Premiere | Title | Description | Libretto and source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Feb 2007, Theaterhaus Stuttgart Theaterhaus Stuttgart Theaterhaus Stuttgart is a theatre in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg , Germany.... / ECLAT Festival Neue Musik Stuttgart |
Der Brand | Proscaenium emblematicum for four voices and ensemble | Michael Herrschel, after the Kirchhofs-Gedanken (Cemetery Thoughts) by Andreas Gryphius Andreas Gryphius Andreas Gryphius was a German lyric poet and dramatist.Asteroid 496 Gryphia is named in his honour.-Life and career:... , 1656 |
| 30 Apr 2008, Muffathalle/ Munich Biennale Munich Biennale The Munich Biennale is an opera festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater, literally: International Festival for New Music Theater. The biennial festival was created in 1988 by Hans Werner Henze and is held in even-numbered years over... |
Piero – Ende der Nacht | Michael Herrschel, loosely after the novel Die Rote by Alfred Andersch Alfred Andersch Alfred Hellmuth Andersch was a German writer, publisher, and radio editor. The son of a conservative East Prussian army officer, he was born in Munich, Germany and died in Berzona, Ticino, Switzerland... |
|
| 3 Oct 2010, Schillertheater/ Staatsoper Unter den Linden | Metanoia. Über das Denken hinaus | Opera in one act | René Pollesch René Pollesch René Pollesch is a German author and dramatist.From 1983-89 he studied Applied Theatre Studies at the University of Giessen. He won the Mülheimer Dramatikerpreis in 2001 for world wide web-slums and again in 2006... , after elements of Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geist der Musik The Birth of Tragedy The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music is a 19th-century work of dramatic theory by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It was reissued in 1886 as The Birth of Tragedy, Or: Hellenism and Pessimism ... of Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist... |
Instrumental music
Joneleit's first recording was in 2002 chamber music, played by the ensemble Gelber Klang, music for ensemble Il canto l'interno...nell'intimo and Io sol uno, a string quartetString quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
, a piano trio
Piano trio
A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music...
and Abbild, a work for cello solo.
Joneleit composed for the 25th anniversary of the Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern is a chamber ensemble dedicated to 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....
a work for 27 soloists, Le tout, le rien, premiered by the ensemble in Dresden in 2005, conducted by Franck Ollu. The title's contradiction (roughly translated from French as "all, nothing") is described:
Grabbing vs. releasing, self-assertion vs. surrender: the title juxtaposes seemingly irreconcilable opposites. But it is precisely this sense of antithesis that defines the force-field mapped out by Jens Joneleit's cycle for 27 soloists
In 2009 Joneleit composed Dithyrambes for orchestra.
Awards
Joneleit was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Composers' PrizeErnst von Siemens Music Prize
The international Ernst von Siemens Music Prize is an annual music prize given by the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste on behalf of the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung , established in 1972. The foundation was established by Ernst von Siemens...
in 2006. Pierre Boulez delivered the laudatory address. Joneleit received the "Kulturpreis 2009" of his hometown Rodgau.
External links
- Jens Joneleit. "Music you can see and touch." Karsten Witt Music Management
- Joneleit, Jens WERGOWERGOWERGO is a German record label focusing on contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1962 by the art historian Werner Goldschmidt and the musicologist Helmut Kirchmayer and is currently based in Mainz, Germany....
- Michael Herrschel: Freiheit, ins Ungekannte zu stürzen / Komponist ohne Nebenberuf: Jens Joneleit Neue Musikzeitung 2005
- Recent and future performances of Joneleit's operas from OperabaseOperabaseOperabase is an on-line database of opera performances, opera houses and companies, performers themselves as well as their agents. Operabase, found at operabase.com, is owned and operated by Operabase Ltd, a company located in Luton, England. The site started in 1996 as the hobby of Mike Gibb,...