Jörg Birhance - Wiener Meisterkurse

Jörg Birhance, Orchestra Conducting

26 July - 03 August

La loge olympique and something from between the times:

Haydn, Rathaus, Winterberg, Zeisl

Jörg studied conducting with Sergiu Celibidache, Constantin Bugeanu and Jorma Panula. Further important impulses he received through the conducting school of Viennese legend Hans Swarowsky. He also studied Viola with Berta Volmer and Reiner Schmidt.

For years he has been dedicated to advancing and supporting young colleagues and musicians, be it as an Artistic Director of EMIV or before as Vice Artistic Director of Wiener Meisterkurse.

Besides the symphonic standard repertoire, his passion and dedication belongs to the symphonic œuvre from Haydn to the 20th century and the operas of Mozart.

Jörg is also constantly seeking after re-discovering orchestral and opera masterworks of composers being lost or forgotten through the turmoil of the first half of the 20th century, such as Egon Wellesz, whose 1st symphony he conducted as American firts-performance in 2018, as well as Ernst Krenek, Edmund von Borck, Erwin Schulhoff and Rudi Stephan.

As a sought-after conducting teacher he has recently published his fundamental study "The Observation of Form" with academia.edu and has held master courses in conducting at Wiener Meisterkurse as well as in Germany, Hungary, Italy and México. From 2013 to 2018 he was Guest Professor for conducting at ARTS2, École supérieure des Arts de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles in Mons, Belgium.

Not everyone is aware of how far Haydn, as the creator of the symphony itself, also set the foundation for the profession of conducting.
It is not so much a matter of the technical mastery of works that often did not yet call for a conductor, but of the fundamental understanding of the symphonic, for which no one is a better teacher than Joseph Haydn.
To quote Hans Swarowsky, everything that appears later in symphonic music is already laid out in Haydn and is therefore an essential element for the understanding and mastering of our profession.

As always, this course will draw a line from Haydn to modern times, this time three Exile composers, Karol Rathaus, Erich Zeisl and Hans Winterberg.

Repertoire:

Joseph Haydn:

Symphony no. 78 in c
Symphony no. 81 in G

Erich Zeisl:

Scherzo und Fuge für Streichorchester, (1937)

Karol Rathaus:

Music for Strings, Op. 49

Hans Winterberg:

Suite für Streichorchester (1950)

Photo: Exhibit from the current exhibition
‘Erich Zeisl – Vienna's Lost Son in Exile’
at the Exilarte Centre (©) of the mdw Vienna

WienSinfonietta is committed to perform master pieces by linking unusual repertoire from Haydn to the present time. Thus we begin at the time when Viennese music became Viennese Classics – and here primarily with the rich symphonic oeuvres of Joseph Haydn and W. A. Mozart.

Another focus of our work begins with Viennese Modernism and its traces, some of which have been lost in the 20th century in the European world catastrophes – or elsewhere in history. Some of them reappear, some remain lost to the present day, in which WienSinfonietta seeks to re-discover all these artistic movements and take them up.

See further here.

Program:

Conducting Piano
Rehearsals and concert with WienSinfonietta
Observation of Form as Movement / Bar Group / Gestalt (after Constantin Bugeanu, N.B.: Chapter II. from "The Observation of Form" is recommended as preparation for the method of study)
Conducting technique (Functional technique after Sergiu Celibidache)
Melos, Tempo, stylistic aspects, rehearsal technique

- Day 1-5: 09:30-13:00 | 14:30-17:00 preparatory part, conducting Piano
- Day 6-8: 10-13 Rehearsals with WienSinfonietta
- Day 9: 11:30 Concert

The course is designed for 6-10 active conductors. No age limit. Please note study and conducting experience in the online application form.
Workshop Languages: German, English, Spanish, French
Video: rehearsals and performance will be video recorded; every participant will receive a copy for private use (copyright remains with EMIV).
Course Fee conducting Orchestra:
- Deposit payment (as part of the course fee): EUR 600
- Regular Course (register and pay until June 01): EUR 1300
Course Fee without conducting Orchestra:
- EUR 640
Application Deadline Course: 01 June
Late application after deadline upon availability of spots/waiting list

Click here to register

Jörg Birhance, Orchestra Conducting

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