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Biography |
by Uncle Dave Lewis
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Rolf Riehm is a composer and oboist whose work has mainly been centered in Frankfurt. Riehm studied composition with Wolfgang Fortner in Freiburg and made his debut at the 1966 Darmstadt Festival playing his solo oboe piece Ungebräuchlisches. However, he never allied himself to the international style of academic serialism, as he is a highly political composer who takes inspiration not only from his teacher Fortner, but also to the example of Hanns Eisler as well. He has worked as an organizer of several agitprop-type musical groups, such as the Gruppo 8 (the Group of Eight, a composer's collective based in Cologne), Sogenanntes Linksradikales Blasorchester (The So-named Left Wing Radicals' Wind Band), and the Frankfurter Vereinigung für Musik (Frankfurt Music Association).
In 1974, Riehm took permanent residence at Frankfurt after accepting a position as a composition professor at the Musikhochschule there. Riehm's best-known work is his musical theater piece based on the Brothers Grimm, Machandelboom. He has also written several pieces for orchestra and for solo instruments with interesting and unusual titles such as O Daddy, Don't Cry, Mummy Isn't Here Anyway, and others. Riehm's work is eclectic, polystylistic, and, by his own admission, "politically incorrect." |
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