Katzer was born in Habelschwerdt, Lower Silesia, on 10 January 1935. From 1954 to 1960 he studied piano, music theory, and composition with Rudolf Wagner-Régeny and Ruth Zechlin at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in East Berlin, then from 1957 to 1958 he studied in Prague with Karel Janáček. From 1961 to 1963 he was a postgraduate student of Hanns Eisler and Leo Spies at the German Academy of the Arts in Berlin, the last master student of Eisler. In 1963, he became a freelance composer and musician. From 1976 to 1977 he worked in electronic-music studios in Bratislava and Paris. In 1978 Katzer was elected to membership in the Academy of the Arts in East Berlin. In 1980 he was appointed a professor and subsequently taught a masterclass in composition at the Academy of the Arts until 1991. In 1986 he founded the Studio for Experimental Music, affiliated with the Music Department of the Academy of the Arts, and was its artistic director. Katzer was a member of the Academy of Arts in East Berlin until 1993, and then a member of the Berlin section of music until his death. He served as vice president of the music section from 1994 to 2003. From 1989 to 1991, he was president of the German Section of the C.I.M.E. . From 1990 to 2001, he was a presiding member of the Deutscher Musikrat . Katzer lived in Zeuthen near Berlin until his death on 7 May 2019; he was 84 years old.
Compositions
Katzer's earlier works owe a great deal to the music of Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky, and his teacher, Hanns Eisler. In the late 1960s he came under the influence of Witold Lutosławski and Bernd Alois Zimmermann, departing from conventional tonality and forms. From this point on, his vocabulary included serial, aleatory, and collage techniques, as well as electronic sounds. His compositions included works for chamber ensembles, orchestral works, solo concertos, operas, ballets, puppet plays, and oratorios. His work also encompassed electroacoustical pieces, music for radio dramas, multimedia projects, and projects involving improvised music. His compositions are held by the Saxon State and University Library Dresden, including :
String Quartet No. 1
'
Die Igeltreppe for narrator and 13 instruments, text by Sarah Kirsch
Das Land Bum-Bum, opera
', for orchestra
Schwarze Vögel, ballet
Szene für Kammerensemble, instrumental theatre
Bevor Ariadne kommt, for electronic sounds
Concerto for Harpsichord and Wind Quintet
Ein neuer Sommernachtstraum, ballet
Aide-memoire, for electronic sounds
Gastmahl oder über die Liebe, opera, libretto by Gerhard Müller
Antigone oder die Stadt, opera, libretto by Gerhard Müller
