Robin Hoffmann
b. 1970
German
Summary
Robin Hoffmann was born 1970 in Gadderbaum (now: Bielefeld), childhood in Wiesbaden, youth in Oldenburg i.O., community service in Munich; first studied guitar at Dr. Hochs Conservatory and at the Musikhochschule in Frankfurt (educational and artistic training), followed by composition studies with Nicolaus A. Huber at the Folkwanghochschule in Essen. Since then he has lived in Frankfurt Main and, in addition to his freelance work as a composer, has taught composition/music theory at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt from 2005 to 2022, with additional teaching assignments at the Musicological Institute of the Philipps-Universität Marburg (2013-2020), the Kronberg Academy (2013-2016) or at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart (Substitue in the composition class of Martin Schüttler, 2022). Since 2021 he has been in charge for the composition class at the Music Institute of the Hochschule Osnabrück.
He composes for solo instruments, chamber music, ensembles, orchestras and vocal ensembles; also electroacoustic compositions and experimental improvisation; numerous cooperative projects, music internally and beyond them with dancers, choreographers, visual artists, media artists or writers; performances alone, in twos, with bands or ensembles, electric or unplugged, with or without guitar, sometimes also music-theatrically as a speaker, shouter, bait piper and hunting caller, jaw's harp player, cactus picker or art whistler among others.His works are performed worldwide, equally by young, committed musicians and by ensembles and orchestras established in the music business, at festivals such as the Warsaw Autumn, Gogol Festival Kiev, Stockholm New Music Festival, Eclat Stuttgart, the Witten Days for New Chamber Music, Ultraschall Berlin and many others.
Robin Hoffmann has received several awards for his compositions, including a first prize at the Deutsche Studienpreis of the Körber Foundation in 2002, the Stuttgart Composition Prize in 2005, the Kranichsteiner Composition Prize in 2006, and the Hans-Werner-Henze-Prize of the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe 2019.
Biography
Robin Hoffmann was born on March 6 th 1970 in Gadderbaum (Bielefeld), childhood in Wiesbaden, youth in Oldenburg i.O. Throughout his schooldays and later, during his community service in Munich, he worked in various rock, wave, punk and noise bands as an electric bassist, guitarist, singer and songwriter. His interest in radical forms of artistic expression, which he had already developed at this time, continued during his studies of classical guitar in Frankfurt Main, which he began at Dr. Hoch's Conservatory in 1991 and continued at the Frankfurt Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in 1995. In addition to intensive instrumental training with Thomas Bittermann and Michael Teuchert, he began composing, attended courses in new music and experimental improvisation and began his studies in composition with Claus Kühnl, who played a decisive role in his artistic development. He participated as a guitarist in numerous performances of 20th century repertoire works in the class of Bernhard Kontarski (Chamber Music New Music), as well as in premieres of Hans Zender's composition class. After completing his guitar studies, he focused on his compositional activities and studied composition with Nicolaus A. Huber at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen from 1999 to 2002, which left a lasting impression on him.
Robin Hoffmann lives together with his wife, the composer Annesley Black, and son Bodo in Frankfurt Main. He was lecturer for composition/music theory at the Frankfurt University of Music from 2005 to 2022, with additional teaching assignments at the musicological institute of the Philipps University Marburg (2013-2020), at the Kronberg Academy (2013-2016) or at the Stuttgart University of Music (substitute in the composition class of Martin Schüttler, 2022). Since 2021 he leads the composition class at the Institute of Music of Hochschule Osnabrück.
He composes for solo instruments, vocals, chamber music, ensemble or orchestra, as well as electroacoustic compositions and experimental improvisation. His works have been performed worldwide by young, committed musicians as well as by established ensembles and orchestras at festivals such as the Warschauer Herbst, the Gogolfest Kiew, Stockholm New Music Festival, Eclat Stuttgart, Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik, Ultraschall Berlin and many others.
Robin Hoffmann also appears as an interpreter of his own works or as a performer in ensemble collectives. He has performed numerous performances of his compositions An-Sprache for bodypercussion solo (2000), Birkhahn-Studie for black grouse call (2005) and œhr for listener solo (2006) and acted as soloist in Kunst pfeifen for art whistler and ensemble, which he premiered together with Klangforum Wien (Graz and Vienna 2007) and produced with MAM.Manufaktur für aktuelle Musik for his portrait CD published on Thorofon in 2018.
He has acted as vocal performer in Sergej Newski's Fluss together with Klangforum Wien (Vienna 2005) or Ensemble Modern (Stuttgart 2007), as shouter in his own 4 sehr späte Lieder together with MAM (Bremen 2016) or in Alexander Schubert's Bird Snapper with Ensemble l'art pour l'art (Winsen 2017), as speaker in Frederic Rzewski's Coming Together with Ensemble l'art pourt l'art in Winsen, as well as the International Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt 2019. He often employs small devices, jaw's harps, hunting-and birdcalls, with or without electronics, for example as a "performer from the woods" („Waldperformer“) in Benedikt von Peter's production of Verdi's I Masnadieri (Frankfurt Opera 2009), at White Series with Annesley Black, Andrew Digby and Dieter Assmann (Witten 2013) or in Pfeifkonzert together with Annesley Black (Frankfurt 2018).
1996-2005: Numerous concert activities as a solo guitarist, in the guitar duo with Christopher Brandt and in ensembles with engagements in theatres Giessen, Darmstadt, Frankfurt opera, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt or the ohton-Ensemble, Oldenburg and others.
In 1997/98 he performed as a vocal performer at sound poetry events together with Dirk Hülstrunk, Mitch Heinrich and Hans-Jürgen Lenhart.
In 2001, together with Mark L. Kysela, he founded STROM – das Ensemble der Autoren under whose name the two musicians developed performances and joint compositions with the inclusion of live electronics. In the year of its foundation, STROM won the Junge Kultur competition of the Düsseldorf Altstadtherbst.
Robin Hoffmann's works are published by Edition Peters.
https://robinhoffmann.de