(b Berne, 24 Jan 1918). Austrian composer. In 1938 he started work as a répétiteur in Bayreuth and Berlin, where he studied composition with Blacher (1941-3). In 1944 the success of his ballet Prinzessin Turandot gained him a post at the Dresden Staatsoper, and in 1947 he came to international attention when his first opera, Dantons Tod, was staged at Salzburg. He moved to Vienna in 1953 and became a leading figure in Austrian musical life as teacher, administrator and composer. The most important of his later works are further operas: Der Prozess (1953), Der Zerrissene (1964), the admired Dürrenmatt opera Der Besuch der alten Dame (1971), Kabale und Liebe (1976) and Jesu Hochzeit (1980). Starting from a Bergian expressionist style, they draw on a wide range of influences including Stravinsky and Blacher.

The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.