Michael Gielen facts for kids

{{Infobox person | name = Michael Gielen | image = Uraufführung der Oper "Ein Traumspiel" von Komponist Aribert Reimann (Kiel 35.663) (cropped to Michael Gielen).jpg | image_upright = 1.2 | alt = | caption = Gielen in 1965 | birth_name = Michael Andreas Gielen | birth_date = (1927-07-20)20 July 1927 | birth_place = Dresden, Germany | death_date = 8 March 2019(2019-03-08) (aged 91) | death_place = Mondsee, Austria

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Michael Andreas Gielen (born July 20, 1927 – died March 8, 2019) was an Austrian conductor and composer. He was famous for supporting and performing new, modern classical music. He worked mostly in Europe. People admired his performances for being very precise and lively, which helped him play difficult modern pieces.

Michael grew up in Argentina. He started his career in Vienna and later became the music director (Generalmusikdirektor) of the Royal Swedish Opera. He led the very first performances of many important new musical works. These included György Ligeti's Requiem and Bernd Alois Zimmermann's opera Die Soldaten. From 1977 to 1987, he was the director of the Frankfurt Opera. During his time there, the opera house became one of the best in the world.

Gielen also led other orchestras. He was the main conductor for the National Orchestra of Belgium (1969–1973) and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (1980–1986). Later, he led the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra (1986–1999). As a composer, he wrote music that followed the style of the Second Viennese School. He often set modern poems and stories to music.

Early Life and Family

Michael Gielen was born in Dresden, Germany. His father, Josef Gielen, was a director for theater and opera. His father even directed the first show of an opera called Der Protagonist in 1926. Michael's mother, Rose, came from a Jewish family. She was an actress but stopped acting when Michael's older sister, Carola, was born.

In 1934, Michael went to a special school, but the Nazis closed it. To protect them from Nazi ideas, Michael and his sister were baptized and raised Catholic. In 1936, his family moved to Berlin, and then to Vienna in 1938. Michael took piano lessons there.

His father worked in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1938 and 1939. He was able to get papers for his family to move there. In 1940, the Gielen family left Europe for Argentina, leaving most of their things behind.

Music Career

Michael Gielen started his music career as a pianist in Buenos Aires. He studied music there and worked at the Teatro Colón opera house when he was 20. He played the piano for a performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion. In 1949, he played all of Arnold Schönberg's piano music, which was very new at the time.

In 1950, Gielen moved to Vienna, Austria. His father was now the director of the Burgtheater there. Michael worked at the Vienna State Opera from 1954 to 1960. He helped famous conductors like Herbert von Karajan. He also conducted modern music outside the opera house.

Gielen (right) after the premiere of Ein Traumspiel by Aribert Reimann (center), June 1965

From 1960 to 1965, Gielen was the main music director at the Royal Swedish Opera. He conducted a show of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress. The famous director Ingmar Bergman staged this opera in a very unique way.

After 1965, Gielen became a freelance conductor, meaning he worked for different groups. He led the first performance of Bernd Alois Zimmermann's opera Die Soldaten in Cologne. This opera was thought to be too hard to perform. He also led the first show of Aribert Reimann's opera Ein Traumspiel in 1965.

Leading the Frankfurt Opera

From 1977 to 1987, Gielen was the music director at the Frankfurt Opera. He wanted to bring more modern operas to the stage. He worked with a theater expert named Klaus Zehelein. In 1979, he brought back an old opera called Die Gezeichneten, which had first been shown in Frankfurt in 1918.

His time in Frankfurt is often called the "Gielen Era." He worked with creative stage directors like Hans Neuenfels and Ruth Berghaus. They put on new versions of famous operas, including Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. Because of Gielen's work, the Frankfurt Opera became known around the world.

Other Orchestras and Premieres

Gielen also led the Belgian National Orchestra from 1969 to 1973. He was the main conductor for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the United States from 1980 to 1986. From 1986 to 1999, he conducted the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra. He made this orchestra famous for performing new music, especially at the Donaueschingen Music Festival.

He was very skilled at understanding and conducting even the most complex modern music. He led the first performances of many important pieces. These included György Ligeti's Requiem and Karlheinz Stockhausen's Carré. He also led the first show of Zimmermann's Requiem für einen jungen Dichter in 1969. In 1973, he recorded Schönberg's opera Moses und Aron, which was used in a film.

In October 2014, Gielen announced he would stop conducting because of his health. His eyesight had become very poor. He passed away in Mondsee, Austria, on March 8, 2019, from pneumonia.

Recordings

Michael Gielen made many recordings with the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra. He recorded all of Gustav Mahler's and Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies. He also recorded works by other famous composers like Johannes Brahms and Igor Stravinsky.

He recorded many pieces by modern composers such as György Ligeti and Bernd Alois Zimmermann. His recording of Moses und Aron was the first time that opera was recorded in stereo. His recordings are known for being very precise and exact, which was helpful for playing difficult modern music.

Compositions

Gielen started writing his own music in 1946 and continued throughout his career as a conductor. His music was influenced by the Second Viennese School, a group of composers who wrote very modern music. He often set poems by writers like Hans Arp and Pablo Neruda to music.

One of his pieces, die glocken sind auf falscher spur, was first performed in 1970. His string quartet called Un vieux souvenir, based on a poem by Charles Baudelaire, was first played in Cincinnati in 1985.

Some of his compositions include:

• 1946 Violin Sonata
• 1949 Variations for string quartet
• 1959 Variationen für 40 Instrumente
• 1960–1963 Pentaphonie "Un dia sobresale" – "Ein Tag tritt hervor"
• 1983 Un vieux souvenir, string quartet
• 2001 Klavierstück in sieben Sätzen for piano

Awards

Michael Gielen received several important awards for his contributions to music:

• 1985: Hessian Cultural Prize
• 1986: Theodor W. Adorno Award
• 1999: Frankfurter Musikpreis
• 2010: Ernst von Siemens Music Prize
• June 2010: Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Literature

• Michael Gielen: Unbedingt Musik. Erinnerungen. Insel, Frankfurt am Main 2005; ISBN: 3-458-17272-6.
• Michael Gielen, Paul Fiebig: Mahler im Gespräch. Die zehn Sinfonien. Metzler, Stuttgart 2002; ISBN: 3-476-01933-0.

See also

In Spanish: Michael Gielen para niños