Composers

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Schnelzer, Albert  (b. 1972)

  Schnelzer, AlbertALBERT SCHNELZER is one of Sweden's most frequently performed contemporary composers and made his international breakthrough at the Présence Festival in Paris 2004. His music is often described as energetic and forwardgoing, lyrical and fragile, but also directly accessible and intensly personal.

Albert Schnelzer was born in Södra Visnum, Sweden on June 3 1972. Between 1994 and 2000 he studied at the Malmö Academy of Music and he has also studied at the master's level at the Royal College of Music in London. In 1998, while still a student, Albert Schnelzer won the competition Composers of Tomorrow with the orchestral work "Erupto", which was premiered by the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. Albert Schnelzer was chosen to be a member of the Society of Swedish Composers in 2001.

INTERNATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH
Albert Schnelzer made his international breakthrough at the Présence Festival in Paris 2004. The premiere performance of "Predatory Dances" (commissioned by Radio France) was a tremendous success and the concert was broadcast all over Europe through the EBU. He is now in great demand as a composer with commissions from a vast number of ensembles and institutions such as the Swedish Radio Corporation, The Nordic Music Committee and the Swedish National Concert Institute (Rikskonserter). Albert Schnelzer's music is currently played all over the world and he is represented on several CD recordings and published by Gehrmans Musikförlag and Edition Suecia. His music has been performed by orchestras such as the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Musica Vitae, The Västerås Sinfonietta, The Dalasinfonietta and is programmed by The Nordic Chamber Orchestra, The Göteborg Wind Orchestra and The Stockholm Chamber Orchestra. He has been performed by ensembles such as Ensemble Ader (France), Kaskados (Lithuania), Ensemble Nordlys (Denmark), Nils-Erik Sparf and David Härenstam, Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, John Ehde and Carl-Axel Dominique, The Swedish Recorder Quartet, Tango Fatale and many others. Albert Schnelzer has represented Sweden at numerous festivals including MAGMA - The Biennal Festival of Nordic Contemporary Music in Berlin 2002, Musikbro 2001 (Denmark), Colloque Fou de Basson 2002 (France), Nordic Music Days 2004 (Denmark), IDRS 2004 (Melbourne, Australia) and the IDRS 2006 (Indiana, USA).

THE MUSIC
Albert Schnelzer's music has been described as "forwardgoing", "aggressive", "instrumentally demanding" but also as "fragile and vibrating" and "an aestetic that is more about personal expression than being modernistic correct".The Music Press have praised his inventiveness and personal musical language and he has a firm reputation among musicians for his ability to write idiomatic, but at the same time highly original. Albert Schnelzer has openly declared that communication is a key element in his music and he explains with his own words: "For me, there are basically two primary activities in human music history: dancing and singing. Therefore, I have worked intensively with developing such somewhat neglected elements such as pulse, meter and melody. Gaining complexity by combining simple musical elements has always been very interesting to me". The interest in dance has resulted in a suite of works, where "Dance with the Devil" for solopiano is the first. The composer called this piece "a cross between Franz Liszt and Iron Maiden" and that might give you an idea what is channeled in his music. Another important ingredient is folk music, for instance the Balkan influenced "Limpin' Dances" for accordion, cello and piano where the composer have fused Klezmer scales with Swedish "polska" rhythms.

Photo: Hans Lindén ©

 
Example of Works:
A Freak in Burbank
Azraeel Suite
Bassoon Concerto - Auroral Dances
String Quartet No 2 - Emperor Akbar
Symphony No 1 - Azraeel

read more: Albert Schnelzer homepage
 
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