Heiner Goebbels

The German composer and stage director Heiner Goebbels is one of the most important artists of contemporary music. His productions include works for radio, film, and ballet, as well as opera and compositions for ensemble and for big orchestra. Since 1980, Goebbels stages musical theater pieces which are compositions for what he calls the “accoustic stage”. In Goebbels’ productions, each field (visual, textual, aural) is independent from the others and is not subordinate to the narrative structure. His staged concerts and musical theater plays are produced by the Théâtre Vidy Lausanne (Switzerland) and by the Ensemble Modern (Germany). Goebbels’compositions convey an eclectic style in which genres as disparate as rock, jazz, and classical music coexist. Goebbels is Director of the Institute for Applied Theatre Studies of the Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, and, since 2006, President of the Theatre Academy of Hesse. He worked with Heiner Müller for ten years in radio works, and his theater production Black on White included an interview with the German playwright.


Photo: Wonge Bergmann