Michael Schneider (composer)


Michael Schneider is a Swiss composer and musicologist. He is active as a music and culture journalist as well as manager.
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Life

Schneider was born in Göttingen in 1964 and received piano and harpsichord lessons at an early age. He took his school-leaving examination at the, where the composer János Tamás also taught. From 1985 to 1993 he studied musicology, modern history and art history at the University of Zurich and from 1990 to 1994 composition with Dimitri Terzakis at the University of the Arts Bern. In 1988/89 he lived in Sydney, where he made contacts with the Australian music scene. As part of the Lucerne Festival Schneider attended master classes with Edison Denisov in 1991 and 1993. In 1993 he was a founding member of the group of composers Groupe Lacroix.
Schneider worked from 1984 to 1993 as music critic for the Aargauer Zeitung and the Badener Tagblatt. From 1993 to 1998 he was project manager at Stapferhaus, managed the PAN Musikverlag in Zurich from 1999 to 2001 and subsequently headed the public relations department of the Museum der Kulturen Basel from 2001 to 2006. From 2000 to 2012 he was also artistic director of the Wettinger Kammerkonzerte in Baden AG.
From 2006 to 2019, Schneider served as managing director of the Swiss Cultural Foundation. In addition, he is active on a voluntary basis in several cultural foundations.

Work

Orchestral works

Von einer Wanderung for chamber orchestraLaufen auf dünnem Eis for orchestraRubin for string orchestra

Piano pieces

La beauté retrouvée for piano four handsDesii e terre nuove for two pianosMandorla for pianoFussball. 4 studies for piano solo

Chamber music

Evocation for violin, clarinet and pianoLicht über Schatten for two flutesÜber verwunschenen Ebenen for chamber ensembleKailash for horn and pianotouch! for piano trio. First performance 7 December 1996 Moscow Schubert überquert die Donau bei Wien for string trio67 pas sur la nappe de l'étang glacé for oboe and a frozen lake Shark Turtle Ray for oboe, viola and guitar Premiere June 28, 1999 Distant calls for saxophone quartet and pianoVoiles. 3 sketches for 3 oboesEs werde Licht for viola soloMandorla for soprano saxophone soloPainting/Orange for organ and saxophoneDie chemischen Elemente for flute, saxophone and vibraphoneJärvi for violoncello solo
  • Fanfare for Sandringham for trumpet and trombone
  • Gran Partita for wind septet

Stage music

Der Mann im Mond. Expressionist drama after Georg Britting for 3 speaking roles, oboe, saxophone, violin, cello and percussion. First performance 27 November 1992 Berne Im innersten Winter for speaker, bass clarinet and guitar after texts by Andreas Neeser. First performance 21 November 1999 Lenzburg Geträumt hab ich jede Nacht von dir. Chamber opera. Libretto: Andreas Neeser. For four voices, Kammerchor, Live-Elektronik und Kammerensemble A Dictionary of Maladies. Chamber opera and chamber ensemble. First performance 26 August 2005 Lenzburg

Vocal and choral music

Colors and Countenance for soprano and wind quintet. Lyrics: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily DickinsonGorillas are sleeping at night for soprano, alto, mixed choir and piano four hands with small percussion. text: Scientific languageLicht bei Vermeer for eight-part choir, basset horn and vibraphone. text: Vincent van Gogh, Pieter Teding van Berkhout, Dirk Hannema, Catharina Bolnes, everyday languageStrasbourg configuration for voice and piano. Lyrics: Hans ArpAlle Schatten der Blätter. 5 madrigals for soprano solo. Lyrics: Ulrich SuterI giganti nell'autosilo for choir a cappella. Lyrics: Franz HohlerInlaid. 4 miniatures for soprano and piano after lyrics by Ulrich SuterGand for baritone soloBallad for vocal quartet. Lyrics: Mani MatterChue am Waldrand for vocal quartet. Lyrics: Mani Matter

Discography

Publications

Ein unstillbares Sehnen. Werner Wehrli. Das dichterische Schaffen. Sauerländer Verlag, Aarau 1994,.Verborgene Spuren. Anne Frank und die Schweiz. In Stapferhaus Lenzburg : Anne Frank und wir. Chronos Verlag, Zürich 1995,.Der Komponist Peter Mieg : Leben, Werk, Rezeption. Amadeus Verlag, Winterthur 1995,.Das unbeschreibliche Licht und die winterlichen Schatten. Zum musikalischen Denken von János Tamás. In Förderverein János Támas : Feuerbilder – Schattenklänge – János Tamás. Komponist, Dirigent, Pädagoge. Müller & Schade, Bern 1997,.We can work it out. Die Beat-Szene in der Schweiz . In Stapferhaus Lenzburg : A walk on the wild side. Jugendszenen der Schweiz von den 30er Jahren bis heute. Chronos Verlag, Zürich 1997,. Feste im Licht. Religiöse Vielfalt in einer Stadt. Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 2004,.