Winfried Zillig
Encyclopedia
Winfried Zillig was a German composer
, music theorist, and conductor.
Zillig was born in Würzburg
. After leaving school, Zillig studied law
and music
. One of his teachers there was Hermann Zilcher
. In Vienna
he was a private pupil of Arnold Schönberg, later following him to Berlin
. His first compositions date from this time.
In 1927 he became the assistant of Erich Kleiber
at the Berlin State Opera
. A short time later he became repetiteur
to the Oldenburg
Opera
. In the years 1932 to 1937, he acted as repetiteur and Kapellmeister
at the Düsseldorf
Opera. Positions followed as Kapellmeister
in Essen
and at the beginning of the 1940s as the musical leader of the Posen
Opera. After the end of World War II he became the first Kapellmeister of the Düsseldorfer Oper
. In the years 1947 to 1951 he occupied the position of conductor at the HR-Sinfonieorchester
. After 1959 he led the musical division of Norddeutscher Rundfunk
. Zillig died in 1963 in Hamburg.
Winfried Zillig was very productive as a composer. His output includes opera
s, oratorio
s, passions
, choral music, serenade
s, string quartet
s, and other Chamber music
, as well as lied
er and suite
s. He was also responsible for completing the score of the oratorio Die Jakobsleiter
, which his former teacher Arnold Schönberg had left unfinished, at the request of Schönberg's widow. Furthermore, he made a name for himself as a music theorist with an emphasis on twelve-tone technique
.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, music theorist, and conductor.
Zillig was born in Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
. After leaving school, Zillig studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. One of his teachers there was Hermann Zilcher
Hermann Zilcher
Hermann Zilcher was a German composer and conductor.- Selected works :Stage* Fitzebutze, Traumspiel in 5 acts by Richard Dehmel, Op. 19...
. In Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
he was a private pupil of Arnold Schönberg, later following him to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. His first compositions date from this time.
In 1927 he became the assistant of Erich Kleiber
Erich Kleiber
Erich Kleiber was an Austrian conductor.- Biography :Born in Vienna, Kleiber studied in Prague...
at the Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
. A short time later he became repetiteur
Répétiteur
Répétiteur , repetitore , or Korrepetitor / Repetitor , originally from the French verb répéter meaning "to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse"....
to the Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
Opera
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
. In the years 1932 to 1937, he acted as repetiteur and Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
at the Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
Opera. Positions followed as Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
in Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
and at the beginning of the 1940s as the musical leader of the Posen
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
Opera. After the end of World War II he became the first Kapellmeister of the Düsseldorfer Oper
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
The Deutsche Oper am Rhein is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company....
. In the years 1947 to 1951 he occupied the position of conductor at the HR-Sinfonieorchester
HR-Sinfonieorchester
The hr-Sinfonieorchester is the radio orchestra of Hessischer Rundfunk, the public broadcasting network of the German state of Hesse. Until 2005 it was the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, a name still used for international tours....
. After 1959 he led the musical division of Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Norddeutscher Rundfunk is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR transmits for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein...
. Zillig died in 1963 in Hamburg.
Winfried Zillig was very productive as a composer. His output includes opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
s, passions
Passion music
In church music, Passion is a term for sung musical settings, normally at least partly choral, of the Gospel texts covering the Passion of Jesus, the events leading up to the Crucifixion of Jesus, and emphasising his suffering...
, choral music, serenade
Serenade
In music, a serenade is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone's honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.The word Serenade is derived from the Italian word sereno, which means calm....
s, string quartet
String 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...
s, and other Chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
, as well as lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
er and suite
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
s. He was also responsible for completing the score of the oratorio Die Jakobsleiter
Die Jakobsleiter
Die Jakobsleiter is an oratorio by Arnold Schoenberg that marks his transition from a contextual or free atonality to the twelve-tone technique anticipated in the oratorio's use of hexachords...
, which his former teacher Arnold Schönberg had left unfinished, at the request of Schönberg's widow. Furthermore, he made a name for himself as a music theorist with an emphasis on twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
.
Works
- Operas
- Die Windsbraut (opera in three Acts)
- Troilus und Cressida (opera in six scenes)
- Die Verlobung in San Domingo (opera in one Act)
- Bauernpassion (TV opera)
- Concertos
- Osterkonzert
- Tanzsymphonie
- Lustspielsuite
- Concerto for Violoncello und Brass Orchestra (1934/1952)
- Lieder
- Der Einsiedler
- Chorfantasie über ein Fragment von Hölderlin
- Lieder des Herbstes
- Salve regina
- Film scores
- Der Schimmelreiter (1934)
- Violanta (1942)
- Sommernächte (1944)
- König für eine Nacht (1950)
- Um Thron und Liebe (1955)
- Jonas (1957)
- Traumstraße der Welt (1958)
- Bilderbuch Gottes (1960)
- Traumstraße der Welt – 2. Teil (1961)
- Panamericana – Traumstraße der Welt (1968)
- Writings
- Aufsatz über die Zwölftonmethode
- Schönbergs Aron und Moses
- Schönbergs Jakobsleiter
External links
- Winfried Zillig German – (Short biography and correspondence with Arnold Schönberg at Arnold-Schönberg-Center)