Hermann Kretzschmar

Hermann Kretzschmar studied music education and German literature and subsequently piano with Bernhard Ebert in Hanover. He became a member of the Ensemble Modern in 1985, where he works as a soloist and chamber musician. In 1994 he founded HCD Productions together with Catherine Milliken and Dietmar Wiesner. HDC has released the CDs “Migrations” (works by Paul Bowles), “Surface Tension” (works by Howard Skempton) and the audio plays “Denotation Babel” (Prix Italia 1999), “Cosmic Memos” based on Calvino and “Die Blüte des nackten Körpers” (R. Schrott, 2011). Since 2001, Kretzschmar has realised the following audio plays: “Strahlungen” (2004), “Harmonies of Paradise” (2006), “Doktor Faustus” (2007), “Arnold auf dem schönen Berg” (2009), “Der Tod in Rom” (2009), “Het Witte Kind” (2010), “Kuno Kohns Capriccio” (2011), “Soundcuts Wasserkuppe” (2011) and “Superpsalm” (2016). In 2016 has been released the audio piece “Manhatten Transfer” with Leonard Koppelmann, 2017 his two early audio plays “Zur Zeit – revisited” (2001) and “John Cages Stufen” (2003) (with voices of Walter Zimmermann, Fredric Rzewski, Hans Zender and Dieter Schnebel). In 2017, “SaVaSa Games” for brass trio as well as the three-part audio piece “Sodom und Gomorrha” after Proust with Ensemble Modern (Hörverlag) were published, in 2018 the audio piece “Das Bad im Knall” (SWR). In 2020, Kretzschmar arrangend a version of Mauricio Kagel's “Ludwig van” for the Ensemble Modern, as well as the radio play “Die Gefangene” after Proust with the Ensemble Modern, the “32 Scansonaten” (all Beethoven sonatas in 85 minutes) and “Rattenfloh” (HR radio play with Wolfram Koch). In 2021, followed “Phantome” with Ensemble Modern (SWR radio play). On his portrait CD released by Ensemble Modern Media he performs “Knotts Klavier”, works from 1991-2007.