Wolfgang Rihm
Composer and musicologist dies at the age of 72
Wolfgang Rihm was born in Karlsruhe in 1952.
© imago images/Sven Simon
The Karlsruhe-born musician Wolfgang Rihm has died. The music world mourns the loss of a “gifted composer and polymath”.
Wolfgang Rihm (1952-2024) has died. This was confirmed by the Austrian music publisher Universal Edition in a statement. According to the statement, the “gifted composer and polymath” died on the night of July 27th at the age of 72.
“Key figure in the contemporary music world
Astrid Koblanck, CEO of the publishing house, explains in a statement: “We will remember Wolfgang Rihm as the creator of musical works with countless levels of meaning.” She describes him as an “eloquent polymath who, until the end, showed a deep interest in his fellow human beings and was always aware of his own role model effect and cultural-political responsibility.” With Wolfgang Rihm, not only the publishing house, “but the entire contemporary music world loses an important key figure.”
Rihm was born in Karlsruhe in 1952 and studied at the University of Music in his hometown from 1968 to 1972. He completed his studies in composition and music theory in parallel with his high school diploma. This was followed by studies in Cologne and Freiburg and teaching positions in Karlsruhe and Munich. In 1985, the composer took over the professorship for composition at the Karlsruhe University of Music. He became known in the music world through the orchestral piece “Morphonie – Sektor IV” and the chamber opera “Jakob Lenz”. His diverse compositions include orchestral works, solo concerts and stage works. Rihm was commissioned, among other things, to compose a piece for the opening event in the Great Hall of the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie in 2017.
In the 2013/2014 season he was “Capell-Compositeur” of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, and in 2016 he took over the artistic direction of the Lucerne Festival Academy. The musician has received several awards for his work, including the Grand Federal Cross of Merit with Star in 2014 and the Ruby Festival Pin of the Salzburg Festival in 2022.