Karlheinz Essl Jr.


Karlheinz Essl is an Austrian composer, performer, sound artist, improviser, and composition teacher.

Biography

Essl was born in Vienna. His studies at the University of Music in Vienna included: composition, electro-acoustic music and double bass. At the University of Vienna he studied musicology. In 1990-94 he was "composer in residence" at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, while in 1992-93 he worked on a commission at IRCAM in Paris. From 1992 to 2016, he was the music curator of the Essl Collection in Klosterneuburg/Vienna. Between 1995–2006 he taught Algorithmic composition at the Studio for Advanced Music & Media Technology at the Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance in Linz, Austria. As of 2007, Essl is professor of composition for electro-acoustic and experimental music at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.

Characterisation

Karlheinz Essl's work with computers and a prolonged occupation with the poetics of serial music have been a formative influence on his compositional thinking. Besides writing instrumental music, Karlheinz Essl also works in the field of electronic music, interactive realtime compositions and sound installations. Since the early 1990s, he has developed various which he uses himself for his own live performances and also in collaboration with artists from other fields.
In 1998, Essl started to develop a computer-based electronic instrument called m@ze°2 which he uses as an improviser in live performances. Since 2008, he is working on a series of compositions for various solo instruments and live electronics named Sequitur. Recently he has written several solo and ensemble pieces for electric guitar.

Projects

Since the 1990s, Karlheinz Essl carried out a number of projects for the Internet and became increasingly involved with improvisation. In 1997, Karlheinz Essl was featured at the Salzburg Festival with portrait concerts and sound installations. In 2003, he was artist-in-residence of the festival musik aktuell, and in 2004 he was presented with a series of portrait concerts at the Brucknerhaus Linz. 2008–2009 he was composer-in-residence of the Belgium ensemble Champ d'Action.

Selected works