Max Beckschäfer
Encyclopedia
Max Beckschäfer is a German organist, composer and academic.
. He was a Kantor
in Munich from 1976 to 1987.
On the initiative of Gabriel Dessauer
, who wanted to make a performance of Reger's Requiem
possible, Beckschäfer wrote an organ version of the short work, which the composer had scored for a huge orchestra and a choir to match. The organ version was premiered in 1985 in the Marktkirche Wiesbaden by the Reger-Chor
, formed for the occasion, and Beckschäfer as the organist, conducted by Dessauer.
In 1987 Beckschäfer received the Rompreis for composition and a fellowship of the Villa Massimo
in Rom. From 1988 to 2001 he was a teacher for music theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
. Since 2001 he has been teaching at the Hochschule für Musik Augsburg-Nürnberg, since 2007 in Nürnberg. In 2009 he received a scholarship of the "Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani" in Venice.
Beckschäfer was awarded the Förderpreis für Musik der Stadt München, among others. Works have been commissioned by the Münchner Biennale für zeitgenössisches Musiktheater, the concert series Klangspuren of the Bavarian State Orchestra
, Musica Viva Ingolstadt, the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste, the Kreuzchor and the Palucca-Ballettschule Dresden. He has concentrated on vocal music and choral music. For the vocal sextet Die Singphoniker he wrote new works and arrangements. He participated in the educational violin collection Augsburger Violinbuch. His piano composition Lichte Gedanken was premiered in 2010 by Andreas Skourasat at the Gasteig
.
His vocal and chamber music was recorded on CDs, including a Portrait-CD.
Professional career
Beckschäfer took classes at the Richard-Strauss-Konservatorium in Munich in organ, piano, violin and choral conducting. He studied church music at the Musikhochschule München and continued studying composition with Wilhelm KillmayerWilhelm Killmayer
Wilhelm Killmayer is a German composer of classical music and an academic.-Professional career:Wilhelm Killmayer studied conducting and composition from 1945 to 1951 in Munich at Hermann Wolfgang von Waltershausen’s Musikseminar...
. He was a Kantor
Cantor (church)
A cantor is the chief singer employed in a church with responsibilities for the ecclesiastical choir; also called the precentor....
in Munich from 1976 to 1987.
On the initiative of Gabriel Dessauer
Gabriel Dessauer
Gabriel Dessauer is a German cantor, concert organist and academic. He has been responsible for the church music at St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden, since 1981. He is an internationally known organ recitalist and an organ teacher on the faculty of the Gutenberg University of Mainz...
, who wanted to make a performance of Reger's Requiem
Requiem (Reger)
The Requiem, Op. 144b, is a late Romantic composition of Max Reger, also called Hebbel Requiem, a setting of Friedrich Hebbel's poem Requiem. Reger wrote it in 1915 for alto solo, chorus and orchestra...
possible, Beckschäfer wrote an organ version of the short work, which the composer had scored for a huge orchestra and a choir to match. The organ version was premiered in 1985 in the Marktkirche Wiesbaden by the Reger-Chor
Reger-Chor
The Reger-Chor is a project choir founded in 1985 and conducted by Gabriel Dessauer in Wiesbaden. Since 2001 it has grown to Reger-Chor-International in a collaboration with the organist Ignace Michiels of the St. Salvator's Cathedral of Bruges, performing an annual concert both in Germany and...
, formed for the occasion, and Beckschäfer as the organist, conducted by Dessauer.
In 1987 Beckschäfer received the Rompreis for composition and a fellowship of the Villa Massimo
Villa Massimo
Villa Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo , is a German art institute in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo....
in Rom. From 1988 to 2001 he was a teacher for music theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
The Hochschule für Musik und Theater München is one of the most respected traditional vocational universities in Germany specialising in music and the performing arts. The seat of the Hochschule is the former Führerbau of the NSDAP, located at Arcisstraße 12, on the eastern side of the Königsplatz...
. Since 2001 he has been teaching at the Hochschule für Musik Augsburg-Nürnberg, since 2007 in Nürnberg. In 2009 he received a scholarship of the "Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani" in Venice.
Beckschäfer was awarded the Förderpreis für Musik der Stadt München, among others. Works have been commissioned by the Münchner Biennale für zeitgenössisches Musiktheater, the concert series Klangspuren of the Bavarian State Orchestra
Bavarian State Orchestra
The Bayerisches Staatsorchester is the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera.- History :Founded in the times of Ludwig Senfl the orchestra, specializing in musica sacra, belonged to the finest ones in Europe already under Orlando di Lasso . In 1651 the Italian opera was introduced in Munich...
, Musica Viva Ingolstadt, the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste, the Kreuzchor and the Palucca-Ballettschule Dresden. He has concentrated on vocal music and choral music. For the vocal sextet Die Singphoniker he wrote new works and arrangements. He participated in the educational violin collection Augsburger Violinbuch. His piano composition Lichte Gedanken was premiered in 2010 by Andreas Skourasat at the Gasteig
Gasteig
Gasteig is a cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig...
.
His vocal and chamber music was recorded on CDs, including a Portrait-CD.
Selected recordings
- Max RegerMax RegerJohann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
: Hebbel-RequiemRequiem (Reger)The Requiem, Op. 144b, is a late Romantic composition of Max Reger, also called Hebbel Requiem, a setting of Friedrich Hebbel's poem Requiem. Reger wrote it in 1915 for alto solo, chorus and orchestra...
, organ works, Reger-Chor-InternationalReger-ChorThe Reger-Chor is a project choir founded in 1985 and conducted by Gabriel Dessauer in Wiesbaden. Since 2001 it has grown to Reger-Chor-International in a collaboration with the organist Ignace Michiels of the St. Salvator's Cathedral of Bruges, performing an annual concert both in Germany and...
, conductor Gabriel DessauerGabriel DessauerGabriel Dessauer is a German cantor, concert organist and academic. He has been responsible for the church music at St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden, since 1981. He is an internationally known organ recitalist and an organ teacher on the faculty of the Gutenberg University of Mainz...
(2001, recorded live in St. Bonifatius, WiesbadenSt. Bonifatius, WiesbadenSt. Bonifatius in Wiesbaden, Germany, is the central Catholic parish and church in the capital of Hesse. The present building was designed by architect Philipp Hoffmann in Gothic Revival style and built from 1844 to 1849. Twin steeples of 68 m dominate the Luisenplatz. The parish is part of the...
) - Max Beckschäfer, Michelangelo-Fragmente, Sappho-Gesänge, Arion-Kantate, Cavalli Records (2003) http://www.cavalli-records.de/html/ccd/ccd318.htm
External links
- Max Beckschäfer Website (in German)
- Entries for Max Beckschäfer on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...