© Elsa Okazaki
Deputy Department Head
Teacher
Univ.-Prof. Mag.
Johannes Maria Staud
The composer Johannes Maria Staud (*1974, Innsbruck) repeatedly draws inspiration for his music from other arts such as literature, film and visual art. Reflections on philosophical questions, social processes or political events also give rise to his compositional work. In the process, his artfully constructed works follow a consistent dramaturgy.
Johannes Maria Staud studied composition, musicology and philosophy in Vienna before continuing his composition studies in Berlin with Hanspeter Kyburz. Just one year after graduating, he won the Erste Bank Composition Prize in 2002, the Prize of the International Rostrum of Composers in 2003, the Prize of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation in 2004 and the Paul Hindemith Prize of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in 2009. Prestigious commissions followed: in 2004/05, “Apeiron” was written for the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle; In 2006, "Segue" for cello and orchestra was premiered by Heinrich Schiff and the Vienna Philharmonic under Daniel Barenboim, commissioned by the Salzburg Festival. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons premiered “Maniai” in 2012. The Sächsische Staatskapelle appointed him Capell composer in 2012. His confrontation with the Jewish writer and draftsman Bruno Schulz left direct traces in work titles such as "On Deceptive City Maps and the Temptations of Winter Nights" (2009) and "Cinnamon". An orchestral diptych for Bruno Schulz. The first part of this diptych, "On Comparative Meteorology", was premiered in the original version in 2009 by the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst and in the new version in 2010 by the RSO Vienna under Peter Eötvös; the second part, “Contrebande” (“On Comparative Meteorology II”), was commissioned by Pierre Boulez for the Ensemble Modern Orchestra and premiered in 2010 under Peter Eötvös.
Important ensemble works of recent years include "Auf diestimme der Weißen Kreide (Specter I-III)", premiered in 2015 at the Festival Musica in Strasbourg, and the diptych "Par ici - Par là", presented for the first time in its entirety by the Ensemble Intercontemporain at the Kölner Eight Bridges Festival. The violin concerto "Oskar (Towards a Brighter Hue II)" composed for Midori had already had its world premiere in 2014 at the Lucerne Festival, as did the opera "Die Antilope" based on a libretto by Durs Grünbein. The poet also provided the text for "Der Riss durch den Tag" (2011), a monodrama for Bruno Ganz. In the new opera "Die Weiden" (world premiere in December 2018 at the Vienna State Opera), Johannes Maria Staud and Durs Grünbein reflect on current political tendencies. It tells the story of a young couple who undertake a river journey, "into the heart of darkness" - right in the heart of Europe, a continent that has recently been torn apart again. Downstream (as the title suggests) was Johannes Maria Staud's last major orchestral work, which was premiered last season by the Royal Danish Orchestra with its new chief conductor Alexander Vedernikov and was subsequently performed in Vienna (Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Francois-Xavier Roth), Cleveland and New York (both with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser Möst). The 2018/19 season starts again with a great orchestral work: "Scattered Light" is inspired by John Cage and the New York School. Without a conductor, the Vienna Philharmonic premiered the work as part of the Wien Modern opening concert and then made a guest appearance in Berlin. In 2015/16 Johannes Maria Staud returned to the university where he had started his compositional training and replaced his former teacher Michael Jarrell as composition professor; since autumn 2018 he has been Univ.-Prof. works for composition at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg.
Important ensemble works of recent years include "Auf diestimme der Weißen Kreide (Specter I-III)", premiered in 2015 at the Festival Musica in Strasbourg, and the diptych "Par ici - Par là", presented for the first time in its entirety by the Ensemble Intercontemporain at the Kölner Eight Bridges Festival. The violin concerto "Oskar (Towards a Brighter Hue II)" composed for Midori had already had its world premiere in 2014 at the Lucerne Festival, as did the opera "Die Antilope" based on a libretto by Durs Grünbein. The poet also provided the text for "Der Riss durch den Tag" (2011), a monodrama for Bruno Ganz. In the new opera "Die Weiden" (world premiere in December 2018 at the Vienna State Opera), Johannes Maria Staud and Durs Grünbein reflect on current political tendencies. It tells the story of a young couple who undertake a river journey, "into the heart of darkness" - right in the heart of Europe, a continent that has recently been torn apart again. Downstream (as the title suggests) was Johannes Maria Staud's last major orchestral work, which was premiered last season by the Royal Danish Orchestra with its new chief conductor Alexander Vedernikov and was subsequently performed in Vienna (Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Francois-Xavier Roth), Cleveland and New York (both with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser Möst). The 2018/19 season starts again with a great orchestral work: "Scattered Light" is inspired by John Cage and the New York School. Without a conductor, the Vienna Philharmonic premiered the work as part of the Wien Modern opening concert and then made a guest appearance in Berlin. In 2015/16 Johannes Maria Staud returned to the university where he had started his compositional training and replaced his former teacher Michael Jarrell as composition professor; since autumn 2018 he has been Univ.-Prof. works for composition at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg.
