Hans Zender facts for kids

Johannes Wolfgang Zender (born November 22, 1936 – died October 22, 2019) was a talented German musician. He was known as both a conductor and a composer. A conductor is someone who leads an orchestra or choir. A composer is someone who writes music.

Hans Zender led many opera houses. His musical pieces, especially those with singing, were played at big music festivals around the world. He worked at famous places like the Theater Freiburg and the Hamburg State Opera. He also led the Radio Symphony Orchestra. Zender also taught music at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt.

A Musician's Journey

Hans Zender was born in Wiesbaden, Germany. When he was 13, he started going to the Maifestspiele. This was a music festival where he heard famous conductors like Carl Schuricht. He learned to play the piano and the organ.

From 1949, he went to the Darmstädter Ferienkurse every year. There, he learned about new music styles. He met important composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage. From 1956 to 1959, he studied music at two schools: the Hochschule für Musik Frankfurt and the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. He learned piano, conducting, and how to compose music.

Leading Orchestras

From 1959 to 1963, Zender was a Kapellmeister at the Theater Freiburg. A Kapellmeister is like a music director. Then, from 1964 to 1968, he was the main conductor at the Theater Bonn. In 1968, he became the Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the Opernhaus Kiel. This means he was the main music director for the opera house. He stayed there until 1972.

In 1971, he also became the main conductor for the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Saarbrücken. Later, in 1984, Zender took charge of the Hamburg State Opera. He was also the GMD for their orchestra. From 1987 to 1990, he led the Chamber Orchestra of Radio Netherlands. He was also a guest conductor for the SWR Symphony Orchestra from 1999 to 2011.

Creating Operas

Hans Zender wrote several operas. An opera is a play where the story is told mostly through music and singing. His opera Stephen Climax was first performed in 1986. It was shown at the Oper Frankfurt.

His third opera was called Chief Joseph. It was based on the life of a famous Native American leader. This opera was first performed in 2005. It took place at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin.

Teaching Music

From 1988 to 2000, Zender shared his knowledge with younger musicians. He taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt. Composition is the art of creating music. One of his students was a composer named Isabel Mundry.

In 2011, he was honored at the Rheingau Musik Festival. This festival celebrates living composers. His works were performed, including pieces for string quartet and voice.

Hans Zender passed away on October 22, 2019, in Meersburg, Germany.

Zender's Compositions

Hans Zender wrote many different kinds of music. Many of his works were published by Breitkopf & Härtel, a famous music publisher. Here are some of his notable compositions:

• Canto I–VI: These are a series of pieces for different groups of instruments and voices.
  • Canto I: For choir, flute, piano, strings, and drums (1965).
  • Canto II: For a female singer, choir, and orchestra (1967).
  • Canto III: For three singers, ten instruments, and live electronic sounds (1968).
  • Canto IV: For 16 voices and 16 instruments (1969/72).
  • Canto V: For voices, sometimes with drums (1972/74).
  • Canto VI: For a bass-baritone singer, a choir without instruments, and sometimes a tape recording (1988).
• 3 Rondels nach Mallarmé: Three songs for a female alto singer, flute, and viola (1966). The words were by a poet named Stéphane Mallarmé.
• Modelle: Music that can be played by different groups of instruments (1971–73).
• Zeitströme: A piece for a full orchestra (1974).
• Elemente: A tape recording with sounds played through two sets of speakers (1976).
• Hölderlin lesen I, II, III, IV: A series of pieces that use spoken voice and instruments. They are based on words by the poet Friedrich Hölderlin.
• Fünf Haiku (LO-SHU IV): Five short pieces for flute and strings (1982).
• Dialog mit Haydn: A piece for two pianos and three groups of orchestral instruments (1982).
• Stephen Climax: An opera (1979–84, first shown in 1986).
• Don Quijote de la Mancha: Another opera (1989–91, first shown in 1993).
• Schuberts "Winterreise" — Eine komponierte Interpretation: Zender's own version of Franz Schubert's famous song cycle, arranged for a male tenor singer and a small orchestra (1993).
• Shir Hashirim—Lied der Lieder (Canto VIII): A large musical work called an oratorio. It's for solo singers, choir, orchestra, and live electronic sounds (1992/96, fully premiered in 1998).
• Schumann-Fantasie: A fantasy piece for a large orchestra (1997).
• Chief Joseph: A musical play in three acts about the life of Chief Joseph (first shown in 2005).

Writings

Hans Zender also wrote books about music. These books shared his thoughts and ideas on how to listen to and understand music.

• Die Sinne denken. Texte zur Musik 1975-2003: This book collects many of his writings about music from 1975 to 2003.
• Happy New Ears. Das Abenteuer, Musik zu hören: This book is about the adventure of listening to music.
• Wir steigen niemals in denselben Fluß. Wie Musikhören sich wandelt: This book talks about how the way we listen to music changes over time.

Awards and Honors

Hans Zender received several important awards for his contributions to music:

• 1963/64: Villa Massimo scholarship (a scholarship for artists to study in Rome).
• 1968/69: Villa Massimo second scholarship.
• 1980: Kunstpreis des Saarlandes (Art Prize of Saarland).
• 1997: Frankfurter Musikpreis (Frankfurt Music Prize).
• 1997: Goethe Prize of Frankfurt (a very important cultural award).
• 2002: Hessian Cultural Prize.
• 2011: Preis der Europäischen Kirchenmusik (Prize for European Church Music).