Aribert Reimann 75

On the occasion of Aribert Reimann’s 75th birthday on 4 March 2011, we would like to take the opportunity not only to offer our heartfelt congratulations but also our thanks to our Berlin composer for entrusting us with a wonderful catalogue of works. The inspiration engendered by his compositions has been passed on through generations of musicians and composers, and this sense of dedication and continuity extends to fifty years of loyalty to his publishers and the harmonious relationship with his team at Schott, which we have all found highly motivating and uplifting.

With his new opera Medea, Reimann has produced an undisputed masterpiece which has guaranteed full houses and unanimous acclaim in Vienna and Frankfurt. Medea shows Reimann’s unique ability to temper highly complex musical structures and an extremely ambitious tonal language (which characterises his operatic and orchestral works in general) with clarity and comprehensibility. This consummate skill has its foundations in Reimann’s profound sense of humanity and his compassionate affinity with his characters, which permits him and his audiences to experience the immediacy of the drama.

This year Reimann will receive the highest award for musical achievement, the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, for his complete oeuvre, encompassing his stage works and lieder, which have long since entered the musical canon, numerous solo concertos, orchestral works and chamber music. Congratulations, and our warmest good wishes.

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