Friedrich Heinrich Kern

Friedrich Heinrich Kern (born March 19, 1980 in Ludwigshafen) is a German composer, pianist, and glass harmonica player.

Friedrich Heinrich Kern
Friedrich Heinrich Kern live in Leipzig, 2017
Born (1980-03-19) March 19, 1980
Ludwigshafen, Germany
NationalityGerman
EducationHochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim, New York University
Occupation
  • Musician
  • Pianist
  • Composer
  • Glass Harmonicist
Years active1997–present
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
Labels
  • M-MAXIMAL
  • Sony Classical
Websitefhkern.com

Kern began his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim where he graduated with a Diplom in Music Composition and Piano. His principal teachers included Ulrich Leyendecker and Rudolf Meister. Additionally, he spent one year studying traditional Korean music at Seoul National University.[1] In 2007, he was a visiting composer at Wesleyan University.[2] From 2008, Kern studied in New York with Matthias Pintscher and Louis Karchin.[3] He received a MacCracken Research Fellowship[4] and now teaches at New York University. Over the past 20 years, Kern has composed and produced hundreds of new compositions and dozens of new works. He has made lauded appearances as performer and composer in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.[5] In addition to his work with electronic instruments and media, Kern has composed works for acoustic instrumentations, ranging from soloist to full orchestra. Friedrich Heinrich Kern published his dissertation, entitled An Exploration of Compositional Technique in the Operas of Kaaija Saariaho and Christian Jost[6], in 2016. He teaches a composition class at New York University,[7] where he earned a PhD, and is based in New York City. Important works include Von Taufedern und Sternen for soprano and orchestra, premiered by the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany;[8] "...pour une nuit seule", a string quartet written for the Jack Quartet, and Eins.Zwei for piano and percussion, premiered by the Either/Or Ensemble. His works are published by syncron-arts, Cecilia Music Concept, and Edition Impronta, his recordings are released by M=MAXIMAL and Sony Classical.

Career

In 2011, Kern began to teach at New York University’s College of Arts & Science, and in 2017, he began to teach a composition class. It was there that he received his PhD in music theory and composition and was appointed director of the Washington Square Contemporary Music Society in 2016.

In 2014, Kern was appointed president of the League of Composers / International Society for Contemporary Music, the oldest organization for contemporary music in the United States, founded and based in New York City in 1923.

On July 24, 2018, Kern made his Mostly Mozart Festival debut with members of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. On July 25, 2018, Kern presented a late night recital, performing alongside pianist Emanuel Ax and Philipp Marguerre. Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times that Kern showcased "the wonders of the modern glass harmonica"[9] at that concert. Earlier that evening, the "splendid soloists"[10] performed Mozart's Adagio & Rondo with two glass harmonicas and ensemble at David Geffen Hall for second evening in a row, an event critic Meche Kroop described as an "extraordinary state of shock, a pleasant shock."[11] Kern also made guest appearances during this time, appearing on Niklas Liepe's 2018 album, "The New Paganini Project".

Kern premiered his arrangement of Mozart's Adagio and Rondo for glass harmonica, flute, oboe, viola and cello with leading members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Calidore String Quartet in May 2019.[12] He appeared with the same arrangement in Amsterdam in June 2019 with members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in a joint concert with Pierre-Laurent Aimard.[13]

In January 2020, Kern performed the American premiere of Johann Friedrich Reichardt's "Rondeau for Glass Harmonica and Strings" with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.[14] The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb presented the first Croatian production of Gaetano Donizetti's original version of Lucia di Lammermoor with Glass Harmonica in February 2020, with Kern as soloist.[15] His first performance in Paris on March 13, 2020 at the Cité de la Musique was held without audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic but was recorded for broadcast by Radio France.[16]

Instruments

Kern performs on piano, electric piano, synthesizers, and electronics. He plays several glass instruments, primarily built in the workshop of Sascha Reckert. His preferred glass instrument is the verrophone, most recently used in his appearances with Opera Philadelphia, Shanghai Symphony, and the Metropolitan Opera.[17]

Works

Singles and EPs
  • Anatomy of a Dance (2019)
  • Flow (2019)
  • Consolation (2018)
  • Behind the Wall (2018)
  • The New Paganini Project (2018) with Niklas Liepe
  • If you get There Before I do (2017)
  • Once Upon a Time, There Was You (2017)
  • Within (2017)

Albums
  • The Singles Collection. Beyond the Darkness (2020)

Compositions
  • Impromptu for Piano Solo - 2002
  • Nachtschatten for Piano for Four Hands - 2002
  • Von Taufedern und Sternen for soprano and orchestra - 2010
  • Les Adieux for two violins - 2009
  • "...pour une nuit seule" for string quartet - 2009
  • Eins.Zwei for piano and percussion - 2009
  • Fanfare - movimiento sin progresión for brass ensemble - 2008
  • Ellipses for violin and piano - 2007
  • Anima II (Kern vs. Gould) for piano and quadraphone speaker system - 2007
  • Almost Romance for tuba and orchestra - 2007
  • Anima for Korean komungo and speaker system - 2006
  • Essence - ballet music for Korea gayageum quartett and ensemble - 2006
  • 5 Lieder for baritone and piano - 2005
  • Keine Spuren...fixpunktlos for soprano, speaker and ensemble - 2004
  • Walzer for violoncello and piano - 2004

Arrangements and orchestrations

References
  1. Barber, Simon (2009-02-14), "Friedrich Heinrich Kern", Composers Forum Website, Dresden: Komponistenforum.de
  2. Wesleyan University music department website, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-10. Retrieved 2010-11-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Friedrich Heinrich Kern Biography
  4. New York University music department website,
  5. "Personal Website". Friedrich Heinrich Kern. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  6. "Proquest: Dissertation Friedrich Heinrich Kern".
  7. "NYU Music Department".
  8. "Baden-Baden Philharmonic website". Archived from the original on 2010-07-26. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  9. Tommasini, Anthony (3 August 2018). "Lincoln Center Still Has Mostly Mozart, but What Is It?". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  10. Stempleski, Susan. "Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart – Louis Langrée conducts Candide Overture & An American in Paris – Emanuel Ax plays Mozart K453". Classical Source. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  11. Kroop, Meche. "Mostly Mozart Goes Glass". Voce di Meche. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  12. "Parlance Chamber Concerts". www.parlancechamberconcerts.org. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  13. "Aimard in the Amsterdamzaal". www.concertgebouworkest.nl. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  14. Obenreder, Gail. "A glass from the past". BroadStreetReview.com. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  15. Martinčević, Jagoda. "PREMIJERA OPERE Savršena Lucija Ivane Lazar između očaja i ludila". Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  16. Szpirglas, Jérémie. "L'armonica de verre". Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  17. Simpson, Eric C. (23 March 2018). "Grigolo provides fleeting highlights in Met's lackluster "Lucia"". New York Classical Review. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
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