Siegfried Kurz

German conductor and composer Siegfried Kurz (b. 1930) began his musical career as a trumpeter. From 1945, he studied composition, orchestral conducting and trumpet at the Academy of Music and Theatre in his home town Dresden. Already in 1949, a year before completing his studies, he was given the direction of the drama music at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden. He remained in this position until 1960, then moved to the Staatsoper Dresden, where he began as Kapellmeister, was promoted to Staatskapellmeister in 1964, to General Music Director in 1971 and finally to executive musical director in 1976. In addition, Kurz taught at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber from 1976, and became a professor in 1979. From 1984, he was Kapellmeister at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Particularly as conductor of the Staatsoper Dresden and Staatskapelle, Kurz was one of the most important personalities of the Dresden music scene in the 2nd half of the 20th century. He conducted numerous opera performances, some of which were also released on record. His repertoire was extraordinarily broad: in addition to the standard German repertoire from Mozart to Richard Strauss, it included works from the Italian and Slavic cultural areas. Kurz was also strongly committed to 20th century operas. Kurz appeared as a composer mainly from the 1950s to the 1970s; later his duties as a conductor predominated. The focus of his work is on orchestral works. At first he wrote in a neoclassicist, playful-musical idiom. In addition to the influence of Paul Hindemith, echoes of jazz music can also be detected to a limited extent, for example in the Trumpet Concerto, probably his best-known work. Towards the end of the 1950s, Kurz strove to intensify his musical expression. He leaned more towards Béla Bartók and experimented with the possibilities of the twelve-tone technique (symphonies). Further characteristics of his style are Counterpointish design, powerfully emphasised rhythm, vitality and freshness. His mature works combine serious and thoughtful to exuberant and cheerful passages in the sense of an optimistic attitude.