Beat Furrer

About Beat Furrer

Beat Furrer was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland and has lived in Vienna since 1975. He studied composition with Roman Haubenstock-Ramati and conducting with Otmar Suitner. In 1985, Furrer, together with Viktor Liberda, founded Klangforum Wien, and was the group’s artistic director for seven years. Furrer was Composer in Residence at the Lucerne Festival in 1996. From 2006 to 2009, he was a guest professor for composition at Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. He taught composition classes at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich in 2010–2011. Furrer has, in addition, received a number of international awards for his work as a composer.

Since 1991, he has been a professor for composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. Also a successful conductor, Furrer is particularly interested in contemporary music. He is a member of the Akademie der Künste Berlin and is on the Board of Trustees of the German Federal Cultural Foundation’s Netzwerk Neue Musik.