A German composer born January 1st, 1962 in Murnau (Germany).
A violinist by training, Johannes Schöllhorn studied composition with Klaus Huber and Emmanuel Nunes, as well as conducting with Peter Eötvös.
In quest of a balance of simplicity and complexity, he has composed chamber music (Rota for clarinet and string quartet, 2008), orchestral music (Clouds and sky for piano and orchestra, 2010), vocal music (Senza Parole, 2000) and also works for the stage (Les petites filles modèles, chamber opera, 1997; Rote Asche, 2004). He has worked with ensembles such as the Ensemble Intercontemporain, MusikFabrik, Klangforum Wien, Neue Vocalsolisten of Stuttgart and various German radio orchestras. He has constructed his output from the poetry of sound and from a sensitivity to tone-colour, using instrumentation that is clear and without heaviness.
Johannes Schöllhorn has often found inspiration in other works that he recomposes: Berstend-starr (1992) is based on Pierre Boulez’s Explosante-fixe; Anamorphoses (2004) recalls Bach’s Art of Fugue; A self-same-song (2010) goes back to A foggy day by George Gershwin. He has makes reference to the visual arts, notably Chinese painting in Liu-Yi/Wasser (2002) and the painting of Barnett Newman in Red and blue (1999).
He conducts the ensemble Für Neue Musik of Freiburg. Also teacher of composition, Schöllhorn has taught successively at the Musikhochschule in Zürich, in Hanover and in Cologne.