Karola Obermueller
Karola Obermueller (born 21 March 1977, in Darmstadt) is a German composer and teacher.
Life
Karola Obermueller began her training at the Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt. She studied composition with Volker Blumenthaler (Meistersinger-Konservatorium / Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg), Theo Brandmüller (Hochschule für Musik Saar) and Adriana Hölszky (Mozarteum Salzburg). In 2010 she completed a doctorate at Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) studying with Mario Davidovsky, Bernard Rands, Julian Anderson,[1] Chaya Czernowin, Magnus Lindberg and Harrison Birtwistle.[2] She has taught at Wellesley College and the Young Composers Program at CIM. Since 2010, Obermueller has been one of the directors of the composition program at the University of New Mexico.[3][4]
A portrait CD of hers is going to be released as part of the WERGO Contemporary Music Edition by the German Music Council.[3] She has received the Darmstädter Musikpreis,[4] the Bayerischer Jugendpreis des Indien-Instituts München[5] and awards and commissions from the Fromm Foundation commission,[6] the ASCAP Morton Gould Awards,[7] and the Bohemians New York Musicians Club. She has done a residency with the Deutschen Studienzentrum in Venedig.[8]
Obermueller collaborates frequently with her husband, American composer Peter Gilbert. In addition to two operas, they created an interactive installation piece (An Overlapping of Spaces), which combined a series of hanging surround-sound speaker arrays with unique iPod-based audience-interactivity. It was featured as a center-piece of the Perceiving Space in Art Gallery at the renowned Davis Museum (Wellesley College) from 2008–2010 where it was chosen early on as an Artwork of the Month.[9] Their most recent collaboration, Listening to Mountains was presented in Germany[10] and Australia.[11]
Obermueller and Gilbert teach together at the University of New Mexico and have two children.[12]
Operas
Her first opera Dunkelrot ("Dark Red") was written for the opera in Nürnberg after an original libretto by Gabriele Strassmann. The opera tells the tale of an African woman seeking asylum in Germany who gets lost in the German immigration system.[13] Her second opera Helges Leben was an adaptation of the [Sibylle Berg] play of the same title, written with composer Mark Moebius. It was well-received premiere[14] was given in 2009 by Theater Bielefeld (in cooperation with the Deutsche Bank Stiftung and the NRW KULTURsekretariat.[15]
Gilbert and Obermueller have collaborated on two operas. Their multi-media, live-electronic chamber opera dreimaldrei gleich unendlich has been performed in Germany and the United States, including a premiere as part of the Musik der Jahrhunderte festival in Stuttgart. A prize-winner at the National Opera Association awards,[16] Dreimaldrei was selected for the Imagining Media exhibition celebrating the 20th anniversary of ZKM. They also worked together on Robert S., an opera with Theater Bonn which involved three other composers as well: Georg Katzer, Annette Schlünz, Peter Gilbert und Sergej Newski.[17] The complete opera is published by Ricordi[18]
List of compositions
Stage works
- Robert S. (2011), opera for 4 singers, and chamber orchestra
- Helges Leben (2008/09)
- dreimaldrei gleich unendlich (2009), opera for 4 singers, 2 actors, clarinet, cello, accordion, live electronics and live video
- Dunkelrot (Dark Red) (2005–2007), opera for 7 singers, actress, live electronics and chamber orchestra
- Protuberanzen II (2001/02) for trumpet, organ, violoncello, percussion and dancers
- Protuberanzen I (2001) for trumpet, organ, violoncello and dancers
- My name is Urlappi(1998/99), chamber opera for soprano, mezzo-soprano, violin, saxophone and percussion
Vocal works
- mass.distance.time (2010) for choir
- Untergegangen der Mond (2008) for countertenor/bass and ensemble
- in zwischen (in between / in the meantime) (2004) for soprano, recorder, 3 violas, 2 viola da gambas and harpsichord
- Einseitige Dialogue(one-sided dialogues) (2000–2002), three for mezzo-soprano and piano
- Three songs about love (1992–94) for mezzo-soprano, baritone, piano, marimbaphone and two violoncelli
- The Gold (1999) for mezzo-soprano and percussion
Orchestra works
- Glaube. Merke Rolle. (2011) Hommage à Mauricio Kagel for 10 instruments and voice
- Kohlenmonoxyd.Nachtstück (2006) for two sopranos, narrator, choir and nine instruments (flute, clarinet, horn, trombone, percussion, 2 violins, viola and violoncello)
- helical (2005/2006) for chamber orchestra
- Schalen (peels / shells) (2005) for orchestra
- volatile (2003/2004/2005) for chamber orchestra
- Im Vorraum (In the anteroom) (2000–2002) for orchestra
Chamber music
- Las cosas, unas conducen an otras (2002/08) for two flutes
- Für Wilfried (2008) for horn solo, collaborative composition with Peter Gilbert
- …silbern (2008) for bass flute solo
- …und Licht sich breitet aufs Meer… (2008) Sapphic Stanzas for soprano saxophone and live electronics
- reflejos distantes (2006) for bass flute, bass clarinet, violin and violoncello
- Red Lake Fields 2 (2002/2006) for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello and percussion
- will o' wisp (2006) for recorder, flute, bass-koto and accordion
- WindKaskaden (2006) for clarinet and accordion
- gegen.wind.stärken 1 (2005/2006) for great bass recorder and electronics
- Nichts Fettes nichts Süßes. (Nothing Fat nothing Sweet.) (2001/2005) – in memoriam Clara & Robert Schumann – for clarinet, alto saxophone, piano and percussion
- xs (2005) for string quartet
- Knotenpunkte (points of knotting) (2005) for alto flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet
- les sables mouvants(quicksand / drifting sand) (2004) for clarinet, piano, violin and violoncello
- shraeng (2004) for two electric guitars, dedicated to the guitar duo
- but one adagio smile still lingers (2004) in memoriam Rose Ausländer for violoncello solo
- Metamorphosen (metamorphoses) (since 2003) for oboe solo
- Kalpa><Pralaya (2002) for bansuri, sitar, mridangam and orchestra
- Red Lake Fields (2001/02) for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello and piano
- Protuberanzen II (2001/02) for trumpet, organ, violoncello, percussion and dancers
- duo variabile I (2001/02) for flute and recorder
- Protuberanzen I (2001) for trumpet, organ, violoncello and dancers
- the great secret lies" (2001) for pipa, kayagum and marimbaphone
- ….incalzando….(1999-01) cor anglais and organ
- Music for recorder, harp and harpsichord (1999/00)
- Five scraps of fury(1995–98) for piano solo
- String Quintet 1997 (1996–98) for two violins, viola, violoncello and double-bass
Video
Books
- Charlotte Martin: …denn Kunst meint ja immer ein Sich-Preisgeben. Drei Portraits. Darmstadt 2006. ISBN 978-3873902060
Links
Sources
References
- ↑ Harvard Gazette: New music scores
- ↑ Bühne : Karola Obermüllers "Dunkelrot" in Nürnberg – Nachrichten Kultur – DIE WELT
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Karola Obermueller, composer
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Heft 85 (6/2006) | MATHILDE – Das nicht kommerzielle Frauenmagazin aus Darmstadt
- ↑ Jugendpreis | Indien-Institut
- ↑ fromm_foundation
- ↑ Sequenza21/The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly
- ↑ Alumni des Deutschen Studienzentrums in Venedig: Karola Obermüller, Komponistin
- ↑ UNM Department of Music: Faculty – Gilbert
- ↑ http://www.the-global-composition-2012.org/media/Programm.pdf
- ↑ http://www.balance-unbalance2013.org/uploads/1/3/2/6/13266267/balance-unbalance_program.pdf
- ↑ Thursday Spotlight: Peter Gilbert | Clara Lieu
- ↑ Ein Alptraum-Asyl auf dem Airport – Karola Obermüllers Musiktheaterstück "Dunkelrot" wurde im Staatstheater Nürnberg uraufgeführt – Wiener Zeitung Online
- ↑ C.F. Peters – Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig
- ↑ Mark Moebius, Helges Leben, Karola Obermüller, Bielefeld
- ↑ Rudi E Scheidt School of Music :: Copeland Woodruff (M.M., M.S.), Opera :: University of Memphis
- ↑ Nichts als Verzweiflung | GA-Bonn
- ↑ RICORDI Berlin | Obermüller, Karola
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