Voss, Friedrich

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Voss, Friedrich

Voss, Friedrich, German composer, b. Halberstadt, Dec. 12,1930. He studied composition and piano at the (West) Berlin Hochschule für Musik (1949-54), then devoted himself to composition, winning the Munich Chamber Orch. competition (1955), the Stuttgart Music Prize (1960), the (West) Berlin Art Prize (1961), the Düsseldorf Robert Schumann Prize (1962), the Villa Massimo Award (1964, 1977), and the Mannheim Johann Wenzel Stamitz Prize (1985).

Works

dramatic: Ballet: Die Nachtigall und die Rose,after Oscar Wilde (1961; Oberhausen, Jan. 5, 1962). ORCH.: Concerto da camerafor Strings (1953); Symphonic Suite (1954; Berlin, July 9,1958); 4 syms.: No. 1 (1958-59; Berlin, March 23, 1960), No. 2 (1962-63; Bonn, March 7, 1966), No. 3 (1966-67; Berlin, Nov. 12, 1969), and No. 4 (1972-76); 2 violin concertos: No. 1 (1962; Brussels, May 28, 1966) and No. 2 (1985-87); Hamlet Overture (1968-69); Dithryrambus über ein Motiv von Beethoven (1969); Metamorphosis (1978-79; Tokyo, June 10, 1980). OTHER: Chamber music, including 3 string quartets; choral pieces.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire