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ABOUT
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Short
biography:
Hannes
Pohlit (born in 1976 in Heidelberg) is a German pianist and composer
with Polish roots. He grew up in Haßloch (Rhineland-Palatinate) and had his first
Piano lessons at the age of six, also he learnt to play
the French Horn and the
Organ. At
the age of 14, he wrote his first compositions and was
awarded the
Promotional Award by the
German Composers Society. He studied in Frankfurt,
Munich, Leipzig and Weimar
composition (with Hans Zender, Hans-Jürgen von
Bose and Reinhard Pfundt),
orchestral conducting (with Gert Bahner and Gunter
Kahlert), piano (with Hanns-Martin Schreiber) and
music
theory (with Gesine
Schroeder). His rich repertory as a pianist
includes the most notable works by his
favourite composers Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy
and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Since 2010, he has been passionately involved in various teaching positions as a
lecturer for music theory at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig,
as an
assistant
professor for score playing and piano accompanimant at the University
of Music „Franz Liszt“ Weimar as well as a visiting
professor for piano at the
University of Music of Venice (Itlay).
2014 he was the artist in residence of the
Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte in Montepulciano,
a festival which was founded by
Hans Werner Henze. For the new staging
of J. W. Goethe’s Faust at the
Thuringian State Theatre Rudolstadt he created 2015 a new symphonic stage music
for soloists, choir and orchestra. In occasion of the Liszt-year 2011 he wrote the
orchestra paraphrase La Chapelle de François Liszt,
commissioned by the Thuringen
Symphony Orchestra.
Hannes Pohlit’s compositions are published in the
Friedrich Hofmeister Music
Publisher (Leipzig), including Il
Vento für large orchestra, the
piano trio
Les Lumières de la Nuit, the violin concerto Humanité as well as his twelve Paraphrases
de
Tango for solo piano, which continue with the tradition of the virtuoso paraphrase
by Franz Liszt. A
portrait about him was produced and broadcasted by the
SWR
in 2019. In 2021 he produced his Debut Solo albums with the classical
music label
querstand and played on the Blüthner Grand Piano which is his
favourite piano.
Kurzbiografie
(deutsch):
Hannes
Pohlit (* 1976 in Heidelberg) ist Pianist und
Komponist mit polnischen
Wurzelnund lebt in
Leipzig. Aufgewachsen in Rheinland-Pfalz erhielt er seinen ersten
Klavierunterricht im Alter von sechs Jahren und erlernte außerdem die
Instrumente
Horn und Orgel. Mit
14 Jahren schrieb er seine ersten Kompositionen und
wurde
zwei Jahre später mit dem Förderpreis
des Deutschen Komponistenverbandes
ausgezeichnet. Nach dem Abitur studierte er
in Frankfurt/Main, München, Leipzig
und Weimar Komposition (Hans Zender, Hans-Jürgen von Bose, Reinhard Pfundt),
Dirigieren (Gert Bahner, Gunter Kahlert), Klavier
(Hanns-Martin Schreiber) und
Musiktheorie (Gesine Schröder). Den Schwerpunkt seines reichen Repertoires bilden
das Klavierwerk von Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy und
Sergej Rachmaninoff. Seine
umfangreiche Lehrtätigkeit umfasst seit 2010 Lehraufträge
für Musiktheorie
an der
Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig, eine
Festanstellung als Künstlerischer
Mitarbeiter für Partiturspiel und Korrepetition an der Hochschule für
Musik Weimar
sowie eine Einladung als Gastprofessor für Klavier
an die Hochschule für Musik in
Venedig (Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello). 2014 war er Artist in
residence
des von Hans Werner Henze gegründeten Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte in
Montepulciano.
Für die Neuinszenierung von Goethes Faust am Thüringer Landestheater
Rudolstadt
2015 schuf er eine neue Schauspielmusik für Soli, Chor und Orchester,
zum Liszt-Jahr
2011
für die Thüringer Symphoniker die Orchesterparaphrase
La Chapelle de François
Liszt. Seine Kompositionen erscheinen seit 2013 im Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag,
darunter Il Vento für großes Orchester, das
Klaviertrio Les Lumières de la Nuit, das
Violinkonzert Humanité sowie zwölf Paraphrases
de Tango für Klavier solo, die die
Lisztsche
Kunst der virtuosen Paraphrase fortsetzen. 2019 produzierte der SWR
eine
Porträtsendung über ihn in der
Reihe Treffpunkt Klassik extra. Im Herbst
2021
erscheinen – gefördert durch die Medienstiftung der
Sparkasse Leipzig – als Debüt
seine Solo-Alben "The Hour of Spirits" und "Paraphrases de Tango" im
Klassiklabel
querstand,
eingespielt am Blüthner - Konzertflügel, dessen warmen
und gesanglichen
Klang Hannes Pohlit besonders schätzt. .
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Detailed
biography:
In our time, the public expects an artist to have a regular, targeted biography
with early studies and successes, winning competitions, promotional awards
and progresses from station to station. In contrast
to such expectations,
Hannes Pohlit's biography is particularly characterized by the fact that it does
not correspond to this picture, but is shaped by many breaks and changes
with the result of a personal and artistic decision: to be true and individual.
A life for the art.
Hannes' music is classical contemporary music with strong romantic features.
His tonal language is influenced by the music of Hans Werner Henze as well
as by romantic composers like Franz Liszt and Sergej Rachmaninoff. The basis
of his musicality has been the experience of Johann Sebastian Bach's church
music since his childhood. His music is as complex and multi-layered as the
human psyche, multi-faceted and with dramatic developments like life; but
with great warmth and melodic cantability.
The artistical aspect of a work
of art is very important to him, who is himself a virtuoso pianist.
The most important stages in his early artistic career are: as a child
learning
to play piano, organ and french horn; first compositions at the age of 14,
private lessons with Róbert Wittinger (b. 1945), who encouraged
him early
to write symphonic works. Promotional award of the German
Composers'
Association at the age of 16, at the age of 18 young student at the University
of music in Frankfurt with Prof. Hans Zender (1936-2019). Zender promoted
Hannes very much, but had no understanding for his romanticism.
After graduating from high school, he began studying composition with Prof.
Hans-Jürgen von Bose (b. 1953) in Munich, but when he realized that in fact
he did not like contemporary music, a personal crisis led him to terminate his
production as a composer and to decide to want to become a conductor.
In 1998 he moved to Leipzig, where he has lived since. After studying
conducting (with the wonderful inspiring GMD Prof. Gert Bahner,
1930-2019)
and piano in this city, which was still marked by the fall of the GDR, he worked
as a conductor and piano coach (Erfurt Opera House), as well as a pianist and
song accompanist. He has conducted operas in Erfurt and Nordhausen and
concerts with symphony orchestras such as the Jena Philharmonic,
Philharmonic Gotha-Suhl, Erzgebirge Symphony Orchestra Annaberg-Aue and
most recently (2016) the Thuringian Symphony Orchestra Saalfeld-Rudolstadt.
Together with Leipzig-based composers, he founded a chamber orchestra for
contemporary music in 2005 and was its artistic director until 2010.
At the age of 30, when he received the concert diploma from the University
of Music "Franz Liszt" Weimar as a conductor at the end of his master class
studies, he realized that he did not live the life that corresponded to his nature,
quit his job at the theatre Erfurt and began studying composition (with Prof.
Reinhard Pfundt) and music theory in Leipzig. Since 2007 he has been creating
new compositions in a completely different style than when he was young.
From 2006 to 2017, Hannes was a freelance musician. Since ending his activities
as a conductor, he has profilized himself in the last decade as a virtuoso pianist
with a preference for the works of Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy and Sergej
Rachmaninoff. "His nimble fingers connect solid virtuosity with the
elegance
of Chopin and brillancy of Czerny" (Press Review in "Die
Rheinpfalz").
As a pianist, he is a Blüthner Artist and his compositions are published
exclusively in the Friedrich Hofmeister Music
Publisher
(Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag Leipzig).
His first "new" orchestra works were performed by the
Philharmonic Gotha-
Suhl (2009) and the Thuringia Symphony Orchestra
Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
(2011, "La Chapelle de François Liszt" for the Liszt-year).
2014, he was the composer in residence of the famous "Cantiere
Internazionale d'Arte" in Montepulciano (Italy), a festival which
was founded
and supported by Hans Werner Henze (1926-2012), with world premieres of
his
sinfonietta for large orchestra "Il Vento" ("The
Wind") and his piano trio
"Les Lumières de la Nuit" ("The lights of the night").
In 2015, he was the
composer in residence of the State Theatre Rudolstadt with the comission
for
a new stage music to J. W. Goethe's "Faust I" for solo voices,
choir and
orchestra. This production was performed from 2015 till 2018 in several
cities
with 36 performances and has been well recognized in the press across
Germany.
Notable publications in the recent years include the clarinet quintet "Nel Fiume
eterno" for the chamber ensemble of the Dortmund Philharmonic, the violin
concerto "Humanité" for the 500th anniversary of Reformation (2017,
Stefan
Arzberger - violin) and a very special Crossover-project, the twelve virtuoso
"Paraphrases de Tango" for piano after the model of Franz Liszts' paraphrases.
From 2010 to 2016, Hannes Pohlit was a lecturer in music theory at the Leipzig
University of Music and Drama. Since 2017 he has been a senior lecturer for
score playing, score studies and concert accompaniment at the Institute for
Conducting of the University of Music FRANZ LISZT in Weimar.
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