Barbara Heller facts for kids

Barbara Heller, born on November 6, 1936, is a talented German composer and pianist. She creates beautiful music and also plays the piano. She lives in different places, including Darmstadt, a region called Odenwald, and sometimes on the sunny Canary Island of La Gomera.

About Barbara Heller

Her Early Life and Learning

Barbara Heller was born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. Her father, Eugene Heller, was an artist who restored church art. In 1943, their home was damaged, so her family moved to Hammelbach/Odenwald. They returned to Ludwigshafen in 1948. Later, they moved to Mannheim, then to Cologne, and finally to Darmstadt.

Barbara Heller studied music in Mannheim and Munich. She finished her studies in 1957. She started trying to compose music on her own in 1949. She later learned more about composing from teachers like Hans Vogt and Harald Genzmer. She even studied film music for a short time in Siena, Italy. Barbara received special awards to attend the Darmstädter Ferienkurse. There, she learned from famous musicians like Hermann Heiss and David Tudor. From 1958 to 1962, she taught piano at the School of Music and Performing Arts in Mannheim.

Helping Music Grow

In 1970, Barbara Heller started the "Hermann Heiss Archive, Darmstadt." This archive keeps important papers and information about the composer Hermann Heiss. She continued to collect documents for it. In 1978, she helped create the International Working Group on Women and Music. She was part of its leadership until 1981. In 1980, she also helped organize the first big festival celebrating women in music. This event took place in Bonn and Cologne. From 1986 to 1993, she served on the board of the Institute for New Music and Music Education Darmstadt.

Barbara Heller was an active pianist until 1990, performing often. In 1991, she helped start a group called "Bluna Bluna" with Nicholas Heyduck and Michael Harenberg. This group creates unique projects. They make music using tapes, set up sound art in different places, and create art projects that combine sound and visuals. They also enjoy improvising music together.

Her Music

Barbara Heller has created many different kinds of musical pieces. She has composed music for the piano and the harpsichord. She has also written music for orchestras and smaller groups of instruments. Some of her compositions are even film scores, which are the music for movies.

Music You Can Hear

• Feminae in Musica (Feminae Records, 2007)
  • Lalai, Schlaflied zum Wachwerden?
    • Performed by: Aleksandra Maslovaric (violin) and Tania Fleischer (piano)
    • Available: [1]