Role

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Composer

Period

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Contemporary

Genre

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Orchestral

 

Detlev Glanert is a German composer who was born on September 6, 1960, in Hamburg, Germany. He grew up in a family of musicians, with his father being a composer and his mother a pianist. Glanert started playing the piano at a young age and later learned to play the trumpet and the guitar. He studied composition at the Hamburg Conservatory and later at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover. Glanert's early works were influenced by the music of the Second Viennese School, particularly the works of Alban Berg. His first major work, the opera "Der Spiegel des großen Kaisers" (The Mirror of the Great Emperor), was premiered in 1988 and received critical acclaim. The opera is based on a play by the German writer Hans Henny Jahnn and tells the story of the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang, who is obsessed with immortality and orders the construction of the Great Wall of China. In the 1990s, Glanert's music became more eclectic, incorporating elements of jazz, rock, and pop music. His works from this period include the opera "Joseph Süss" (1991), which is based on the life of the Jewish financier Joseph Süß Oppenheimer, who was executed in Stuttgart in 1738. The opera was controversial because of its portrayal of the Jewish community and was banned in some German cities. Glanert's music continued to evolve in the 2000s, with a focus on large-scale works for orchestra and opera. His opera "Caligula" (2006) is based on the life of the Roman emperor Caligula and explores themes of power, madness, and tyranny. The opera was premiered at the Frankfurt Opera and has since been performed in several other cities, including London, Paris, and New York. In addition to his operas, Glanert has composed several works for orchestra, including "Theatrum Bestiarum" (2005), a cycle of five pieces inspired by animals from medieval bestiaries. The work was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic and has been performed by several other major orchestras around the world. Glanert's music is characterized by its eclectic style, combining elements of classical music with jazz, rock, and pop. He is known for his use of unconventional instruments, such as the accordion and the electric guitar, and for his incorporation of electronic sounds into his compositions. Glanert has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 2010. He has also served as a professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg and at the Dresden Academy of Music. In recent years, Glanert has continued to compose new works, including the opera "Oceane" (2019), which is based on the play "Ondine" by Jean Giraudoux. The opera tells the story of a water nymph who falls in love with a mortal man and explores themes of love, betrayal, and redemption. Overall, Detlev Glanert is a highly regarded composer whose music has been performed by major orchestras and opera companies around the world. His eclectic style and innovative use of instruments and electronic sounds have made him a leading figure in contemporary classical music.

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