York Holler
York Höller (born 11 January 1944 in Leverkusen) is a German composer and Professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik Köln. He was
awarded the 2010 Grawemeyer Award for his orchestral cycle, Sphären. Between 1963 and 1970 Höller studied at the Cologne Musikhochschule:
composition with Joachim Blume and Bernd Alois Zimmermann, piano with Else Schmitz-Gohr and Alfons Kontarsky, and orchestral conducting with
Wolfgang von der Nahmer. In parallel to this he studied musicology and philosophy at the University of Cologne. He did further musical studies at the
Internationale Fer ...read more
York Höller (born 11 January 1944 in Leverkusen) is a German composer and Professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik Köln. He was
awarded the 2010 Grawemeyer Award for his orchestral cycle, Sphären. Between 1963 and 1970 Höller studied at the Cologne Musikhochschule:
composition with Joachim Blume and Bernd Alois Zimmermann, piano with Else Schmitz-Gohr and Alfons Kontarsky, and orchestral conducting with
Wolfgang von der Nahmer. In parallel to this he studied musicology and philosophy at the University of Cologne. He did further musical studies at the
Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt with Pierre Boulez, and in 1967 sat his examination in music education.
Höller was active for a short time as a répétiteur at the Staatstheater Bonn. At the electronic studio of WDR in 1971–72, he “continued his studies with
Karlheinz Stockhausen” (Stenzl 1991, 12) or, alternatively, “was given the chance, at Stockhausen’s invitation, to realize works of his own”
(Lichtenfeld 2001). In any case, the technique he developed at this time—a form of extended serialism which he calls “Gestalt composition”—bears a
resemblance to the older composer’s formula composition (Stenzl 1991, 12–15; O’Súilleabháin 1992), and in 1982 Höller dedicated his orchestral work
Schwarze Halbinseln to Stockhausen (Blumröder 1983, 15/30). He quickly gained international recognition with his works. « hide |
