Engelmann, Hans Ulrich

Engelmann, Hans Ulrich, German composer and pedagogue; b. Darmstadt, Sept. 8, 1921. He received training in architecture (1945–47), studied composition with Hermann Heiss, and attended the first summer course in new music at Kranichstein/Darmstadt in 1946. In 1947 he entered the Univ. of Frankfurt am Main, where he pursued studies in German literature and art history, in philosophy with Adorno, and in musicology with Gennrich and Osthoff (Ph.D., 1951, with the diss. Bela Bartoks Mikrokosmos: Versuch einer Typologie “Neuer Musik”; publ. in Wiirzburg, 1953). He also studied with Leibowitz (1948) and Krenek (1951) in Darmstadt. From 1954 to 1961 he was active at the Hessisches Landes theater in Darmstadt. In 1960, 1967, and 1983 he held fellowships at the Villa Massimo in Rome. He taught in Darmstadt from 1960 to 1968, and was a dramaturgical associate at the Mannheim National Theater from 1961 to 1969. In 1969 he became a lecturer at the Frankfurt am Main Hochschule fur Musik, where he was prof. of composition from 1973 until 1986. In 1972–73 he was artistic advisor of the Bonn City Theater. He was a visiting prof, at the Univ. of Ghent (1977), the Univ. of Frankfurt am Main (1978–79), the Hochschule fur Gestaltung in Offenbach (1979–84), and at the Univ. of Tel Aviv and the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem (1983), and also gave courses in composition in Moscow and Vilnius (1985) and at Columbia Univ. (1995). Engel-mann was awarded the Goethe Gold Medal of the state of Hesse in 1986, the Bundesverdienstkreuz of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1991, and the Verdienstorden of the state of Hesse in 1997. In his large oeuvre, he has explored the potentialities of various compositional methods, ranging from aleatory to collage with 12-tone procedures serving as the foundation of his craft.

Works

DRAMATIC Ballett Colore (1948); Doctor Faust’s Hollenfahrt, burlesque chamber opera (1949–50; Hamburg, Jan. 11, 1951; rev. 1962); Magog, music drama (1955–56); Noche de Luna, pantomime (1958); Operetta, music theater (1959); Verlorener Schatten, lyric opera (1960); Serpentina, ballet (1962–63); Der Fall van Damm, opera (1966–67; Cologne, June 7, 1968); Ophelia, multimedia theater piece (Hannover, Feb. 1, 1969); Revue, music theater piece (1972–73; Bonn, Oct. 24, 1973); incidental music to over 20 plays; 6 film scores. ORCH.: Kaleidoskop, suite for Chamber Orch. (1941); Concerto for Cello and Strings (1948); Musik for Strings, Brass, and Percussion (1948); Prelude for Jazz Band (1949); Leopoldskron, divertimento for Chamber Orch. (1949); Impromptu (1949); 2 syms.: No. 1, Orchester- Fantasie (1951; rev. 1963) and No. 2, Sinfonies (1968); Partita for Strings, Percussion, and 3 Trumpets (1953); Strukturen for Chamber Orch. (1954); Vier Orchesterstucke (1956); Polifonica for Chamber Orch. (1957); Nocturnos for Chamber Orch. and Soprano (1958); Ezra Pound Music (1959); Trias for Piano, Orch., and Tape (1962); Shadows (1964); Sonate for Jazz Orch. (1967–95); Capricciosi (1967); Modelle I oder “I love you Babi” (1969) and 17 (1970); Sinfonia da camera (1981). CHAMBER : Klangstiick for Violin and Piano (1947); Cello Sonata (1948); String Quartet (1952); Komposition in vier Teilen for Soprano, Flute, Piano, Timpani, and Percussion (1953); Integrale for Saxophone and Piano (1954); Permutazioni for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon (1959); Variante for Flute (1959); Timbres for Harp, Celesta, Piano, Percussion, and Tape (1963); Divertimento for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon (1966); Mobile II for Clarinet and Piano (1968); mini-music to Siegfried palm for Cello (1970); Mobili for Oboe (1971); Epitaph fur einem imaginaren Freund for Trumpet and Piano (1983); Assonanzen for 2 Cellos (1983); Inter-Lineas for Alto Saxophone and Percussion (1985; also for Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, and Percussion); Dialoge for Piano and Percussion (1985–90); Clarinota for Clarinet (1991); Modus for Bassoon (1993); Ciacona for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello, Vibraphone, and Piano (1993); Black Invocations for Jazz Sextet (1994); per Luigi for Flute, Clarinet, Cello, Vibra-phone, Percussion, and Tape (1996). KEYBOARD : Piano : Jazz-Sonatine (1945); 2 sonatinas (1945); Toccata (1948); 2 suites (1948, 1952); 2 pieces (1950); Cadenza for Piano and Tape ad libitum (1961); Duplum for 2 Pianos (1965); Mobile I, ”Fragmente” for Piano and Synthesizer ad libitum (1967–71); Klangstiick (1972); Divertimento for 2 Pianos (1980); Tastenstuck (1991–93). Organ : Essay (1992). Harpsichord : 99 Takte (1951–52). VOCAL: Elegia e Canto for Soprano, Piano, and String Orch. (1952); Cansolationes for Chorus and String Orch. ad libitum (1952); Die Mauer, cantata for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1954; rev. 1983); Atlantische Ballade for Alto, Baritone, String Orch., and Percussion (1955); Die Freiheit, cantata for Chorus and Orch. (1957); Metall, cantata for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1958); Incanto for Soprano, Soprano Saxophone, and 5 Percussionists (1959); Eidophonie for Chorus and 3 to 4 Percussionists (1962); Manifest vom Menschen, oratorio for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1966); Commedia humana, revue for Double Chorus, Speaker, Electronically Modulated Cello, and Tape (1972); Missa Popularis for Soloists, Chorus, Brass, and Percussion (1980; rev. 1983); Les Chansons for Singer/Speaker, Flute, Clarinet, Viola, Cello, and Piano (1982); Stele fur Buchner, canto sinfonico for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1986–87).

Bibliography

Commedia humana: H. U. E. und sein Werk (Wies-baden, 1985).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire