Siegfried Kurz

Kurz appeared as a composer mainly from the 1950s to the 1970s; later his duties as a conductor predominated.[3] The focus of his work is on orchestral compositions. He first wrote in a neoclassicist, playful-musical idiom. In addition to the influence of Paul Hindemith, echoes of jazz music can also be detected, for example in the Trumpet Concerto, probably his best-known work.[2] The concerto was part of school education.[2][3]

Towards the end of the 1950s, Kurz began to intensify his musical expression. He leaned more towards Béla Bartók and experimented with the possibilities of the twelve-tone technique (symphonies).[2] Kurz treated twelve-tone rows more as stylistic devices, dealt with them freely and used a freitonal harmony. 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.[3]

Particularly as conductor of the Staatsoper Dresden and Staatskapelle, Kurz was one of the most important personalities of the Dresden music scene in the second 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. He collaborated with stage directors including Ruth Berghaus. Kurz conducted as a guest internationally, at the Leipzig Opera Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, in Paris Wagner's Das Rheingold, Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss in Venice and Buenos Aires, Wagner's Parsifal and Prokofiev's Der feurige Engel at the Oper Bonn, and Weber's Der Freischütz in Japan.[3]

Kurz was strongly committed to 20th century operas. The production of Schönberg's Moses und Aron, directed by Harry Kupfer, found international recognition.[3] He conducted Berg's Wozzeck, Paul Dessau's Die Verurteilung des Lukullus and Lanzelot, Orff's Antigonae, Bartók's Herzog Blaubarts Burg, and the world premiere of Udo Zimmermann's Levins Mühle in 1972.[3]

Kurz taught at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber from 1976, and became a professor in 1979.[3][1] Among his students were Michael Güttler, Martin Hoff, Hans-Christoph Rademann and Eckehard Stier.[3]

Kurz was married to a former harpist; the couple had a daughter. He was a passionate mountaineer.[3]

Kurz died on 8 January 2023, aged 92, in Dresden[1][2][4][6] after a long illness.[3]