Friedrich Cerha (German pronunciation:[ˈfʁiːdʁɪçˈt͜sɛʁha]; 17 February 1926 – 14 February 2023) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and academic teacher. His ensemble die reihe [de] in Vienna was instrumental in spreading contemporary music in Austria. He composed several operas, beginning with Baal, based on Brecht's play. He is best known for completing Alban Berg's Lulu by orchestrating its unfinished third act, which premiered in Paris in 1979.
Life and career
Cerha was born in Vienna on 17 February 1926.[1] He played the violin at age six, instructed by Anton Pejhovsky, and began composing two years later.[1][2]
At 17, Cerha was drafted as a Luftwaffenhelfer in 1943,[1][2] and initially served in Achau, near Vienna.[1] During this time, he participated in a number of acts of resistance against the fascist regime. After a semester at the University of Vienna, he was sent to an officer's school in occupied Denmark. While there, he obtained a number of blank, but signed, marching order papers and deserted. These papers allowed him to remain within German territory for some time as he could use them as proof that he was supposed to be there. However, after a period, he was forced to rejoin a military unit during an advance by the Russian forces near Pomerania. He deserted a second time and made his way to the west of Austria, where he lived in the mountains for several months to avoid capture by the Allied forces, until he was eventually able to return to Vienna[3] in November 1945.[1]
At the Vienna Music Academy, Cerha studied violin with Váša Příhoda, composition with Alfred Uhl, and music pedagogy.[1][2] Simultaneously, he studied musicology, German culture and language, and philosophy at the University of Vienna[1][4] His dissertation there, on the Turandot topic in music, was completed in 1954.[5]
In 1958 Cerha founded the ensemble die reihe [de] together with Kurt Schwertsik, which was instrumental in spreading contemporary music in Austria. In addition to composing, Cerha earned a reputation as an interpreter of the works of Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg, and Anton Webern. This work included the completion of Alban Berg's unfinished three-act operaLulu. Cerha orchestrated sections of the third act using Berg's notes as a reference, beginning studies of the subject in 1962.[1] The completed opera was premiered by Pierre Boulez in Paris in 1979,[2] and directed by Patrice Chéreau.[6]
Alongside his career as a composer and conductor, Cerha taught at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna from 1959, where he was professor of composition, notation, and interpretation of new music from 1976 to 1988.[1][2]
Spiegel I, 1960 for movement groups, light objects, orchestra, and tape[4]
Spiegel II–VII, 1960–72
Sinfonie, 1975
Requiem für Hollensteiner, Text: Thomas Bernhard 1982/83,[4] dedicated to Kurt Ohnsorg, commissioned by Austrian Musical Youth for the 25th anniversary of the Vienna Youth Choir.[16]
