Jörg Widmann is often hailed as "one of the most intriguing composers of our time" (NY Times), and you might even call him the ‘Mozart of today’: at the age of 12, he toured Japan as a clarinetist, and by 15, he composed his first chamber opera. Currently, he’s Composer in Residence at the Berliner Philharmoniker, and in 2023, he ranked third among the most performed living composers. All the more reason to bring his stunning new Horn Concerto* to life!
Want to learn more about Widmann? Read on!
LIVE IN CONCERT
experience the Belgian premiere of Jörg Widmann's Horn Concerto* with the Brussels Philharmonic at the Shostakovich 5 concert
[info & tickets]
[discover also: Wolfgang]
[discover also: Widmann’s World Premiere]
[discover also: Stefan Dohr Living the Classical Life]
*co-commission Brussels Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmoniker, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra & Lucerne Symphony Orchestra
Widmann in a nutshell
Born: June 19, 1973 (Munich, Germany)
Admires: Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Weber, Schumann, Mahler, Boulez, and Miles Davis
Famous works: Con brio, Babylon, ARCHE
Favorite pieces:
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Gran Partita KV.361 (Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wiener Philharmoniker)
- Carl Maria von Weber – Der Freischütz (Carlos Kleiber, Staatskapelle Dresden)
- Arnold Schönberg – Kammersymphonie op.9 (Reinbert de Leeuw, Schönberg Ensemble)
- Robert Schumann – Second Symphony
- Giacomo Puccini – Turandot
- Miles Davis – Decoy
- Pierre Boulez – Notations II for orchestra (Pierre Boulez, Berliner Philharmoniker)
The early years
No posters of Bon Jovi or Queen for young Widmann—his room had portraits of the ever-perfectionist composer/conductor Pierre Boulez and the innovative jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. "But I had pictures of beautiful women too!" he adds when asked. Oh, and he played football as well, a midfielder, to be more specific. At 12, he toured Japan with his clarinet, and by 15, he composed his first chamber opera, with a little help from music drama legend Hans Werner Henze. His school grades? They took a backseat to music.
The multitalented Widmann
Born in Munich in 1973, Jörg Widmann has forged a brilliant career not only as a clarinetist but also as a conductor and one of today’s most renowned German composers.
His impressive body of work includes orchestral compositions, solo concertos, and music theater pieces such as Das Gesicht im Spiegel (2003), Am Anfang (2009), Babylon (2012), and the dramatic oratorio ARCHE (2017). His Con brio, a thrilling stylistic collage in homage to Beethoven—whom he greatly admires—premiered in 2008 under Mariss Jansons and has since been performed by over 60 conductors. According to The New York Times in 2020, it’s one of the most performed orchestral works of the century.
Widmann is also passionate about playing chamber music, frequently collaborating with renowned artists such as Daniel Barenboim, Tabea Zimmermann, Heinz Holliger, András Schiff, Kim Kashkashian, and Hélène Grimaud. He has composed numerous works for smaller ensembles. Five of his ten string quartets are inspired by Beethoven. While working on them, he says he 'went to bed with Beethoven and woke up with him.' Widmann adds, 'The final result can (...) end up miles away from the original. Creating a mere stylistic copy would be artistically worthless—it is my duty as a composer to create something new.
And let’s not forget, amidst all this, he also teaches clarinet and composition.
Original text: Onno Schoonderwoerd
Source: NPO Klassiek