Karlheinz Essl

Portrait KHE


Important Topics at One Glance


RTC-lib - Realtime Composition Library

Software library for algorithmic composition
© 1993-2010 by Karlheinz Essl

vs. 5.0

Universal Binary

A new version of Karlheinz Essl's widely used toolbox for algorithmic composition in Max5.

Released as Open Source on 10 Jan 2010

NEW



New Records

FLECHTWERK (2009)
Karlheinz Essl and Matthew Ostrowski (electronics) live at ISSUE Project Room, Brooklyn
released: 24 Oct 2009, XS Records [xs-68]
Listen...

more or less (1999-2007)
Realtime composition for computer-controlled soloists
released on: Alpenglühen (col legno 2008)
Listen...

O rosa bella (1981/1996)
Transcription of a song by John Dunstable (ca. 1420)
released on: re_naissance transcriptions (Coviello Classics 2008)
Listen...

Gold.Berg.Werk (2008)
Interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations for string trio and live-electronics
released: 25 Jun 2008 (Preiser Records PR 90753)
Listen...



New Compositions

Sequitur XI (2009)
for vibraphone, cymbal and live-electronics
Written for Stephan Froleyks
Chemi(s)e (2009)
for electric guitar and two ensemble groups
Commissioned by the Ensemble Reconsil
Dedicated to Stefan Östersjö
DemoCrazy (2009)
sound performance for computer and live-electronics
Commissioned by the 12th GlobArt Academy
Sequitur XIV (2009)
for kalimba and live-electronics
Written for Jennifer Hymer
Detune (2009)
fragment for oboe and large orchestra
Written for the 40th anniversary of the RSO Vienna


New Videos

7x7
for 4 electric guitars
performed by ZWERM electric guitar quartet (Antwerpen)
Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg (A)
26 Jan 2010
OUT OF THE BLUE
free improvisations for voice and electronics
performed by Agnes Heginger (vocals) and Karlheinz Essl (electronics, kalimba, music box)
Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg (A)
9 Dec 2009
CHAIN REACTION
music interventions in different space
performed by Karlheinz Essl, Gerald Preinfalk, Klaus Burger & Jörg Engels
Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg (A)
21 Nov 2009
Sequitur IX
for mezzo soprano and live-electronics
performed by Margarete Jungen & Karlheinz Essl
University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna (A)
20 Oct 2009
Sequitur XIV
for kalimba and live-electronics
performed by Jennifer Hymer
Klang!-Container, Hamburg (D)
13 Sep 2009


New Sounds

7x7 (2009)
for electric guitar quartet
con una certa espressione parlante (1985)
for piano and tape recorder
While my guitars gently whip (2008/2009)
for electric guitar quartet
Detune (2009)
fragment for oboe and large orchestra
Demo Crazy (2009)
sound performance for computer und live-electronics


Music Software

Real Time Composition Library (RTC-lib) (1992-2010)
Software library for algorithmic composition with Max/MSP/Jitter
freeware for Mac OS X, Windows XP and Pd
Lexikon-Sonate 3.3 (1992 - 2009)
algorithmic music generator
for Apple Macintosh computers (Mac OS X)
freeware - released 22 Dec 2009 (Universal Binary)
REplay PLAYer 3.2 (2000-2007)
generative sound file shredder
for Apple Macintosh computers (Mac OS X)
shareware - released 23 Aug 2007 (Universal Binary)
FontanaMixer 1.1 (2004-2007)
generative sound environment
for Apple Macintosh computers (Mac OS X)
freeware - released 23 Aug 2007 (Universal Binary)
fLOW 3.4 (1998 - 2007)
ambient soundscape generator
for Apple Macintosh computers (Mac OS X)
shareware - released 19 Jan 2007 (Universal Binary)
WebernUhrWerk 2.2 (2005-2007)
generative music generator
for Apple Macintosh computers (Mac OS X) and Intel PCs (Windows XP)
freeware - released 16 Jan 2007 (Universal Binary)
Amazing Maze 2.0 (1993 - 2007)
interactive realtime composition for sampled sound particles
for Apple Macintosh computers (Mac OS X)
freeware - released 14 Jan 2007 (Universal Binary)
more or less 1.3 (1999-2007)
random-generated playing instructions for musical improvisation
for Apple Macintosh computers (Mac OS X)
freeware - released 16 Jan 2007 (Universal Binary)
SEELEWASCHEN 1.2 (2003-2006)
generative sound environment
for Apple Macintosh computers (Mac OS X)
freeware - released 20 Oct 2006 (Universal Binary)


New Recordings

inside/out (2006)
for flute & ive-electronics
Cordula Bösze (flute), Karlheinz Essl (electronics)
CD: entspannte gleichzeitigkeit - released November 2006 (Hammer Records)
Déviation (1993)
for 2 ensemble groups
Ensemble XX. Jahrhundert, dir. Peter Burwik
CD: soundscapes 4 advanced - released December 2005 (Gramola 98783)
Kalimba (2005)
for toy piano and CD playback
Isabel Ettenauer: toy piano
CD: the joy of toy - released November 2005 by Isabel Ettenauer (edition eirelav 001)


New Feature

Digitale Paradiese (2010)deutsch
Generative Kompositionen von Karlheinz Essl
Radiosendung von Patrick Hahn
WDR 3 (13 Jan 2010)
WDR 3


New Articles about Karlheinz Essl

Pataphysische Musikmaschinen (2008)deutsch
by Florian Cramer
Austellungskatalog Zauberhafte Klangmaschinen (Institut für Medienarchäologie, Hainburg 2008)
Der verlängerte Schreibtisch des Komponisten (2007)deutsch
by Andreas Felber
Austellungskatalog PASSION FOR ART (Sammlung Essl: Klosterneuburg 2007)


New Articles by Karlheinz Essl

Der Komponist ist tot - es lebe der Komponist! (2009)english
Statement von Karlheinz Essl über die Rolle des Komponisten heutzutage

sine fine... Unendlich Musik (2007)english
Karlheinz Essl über Musik, die kein Ende hat

Wandlungen der elektroakustischen Musik (2007)english
Karlheinz Essl über Geschichte, Gegenwart und Zukunft der elektroakustischen Musik

Algorithmic Composition (2007)english
published in.: Cambridge Companion to Electronic Music, ed. by N. Collins and J. d'Escrivan, Cambridge University Press 2007


New Interviews with Karlheinz Essl

A-m@ze-ing (2008)german
Der Komponist Karlheinz Essl im Telefoninterview mit Esther Planton und Andrea Lexer über sein Instrument m@ze°2 und sein Portraitkonzert im Rahmen von Campus Musick an der Alpe-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt am 16.01.2009
Elektronische Musik und Emotion (2008)german
Der Komponist Karlheinz Essl im Gespräch mit Silvia Pagano über die Rolle von Emotion und Intuition beim Performen elektronischer Musik.


WebMusic / web@rt

Karlheinz Essl's Playing Strategies (1998)
A mind-challenging text oracle which generates playing strategies for musical improvisations which should provoke you to overcome your internalized playing behaviour.
Champ d'Action (1998)
An interactice realtime composition for computer-controlled ensemble where musicians are playing from computer screens on which playing instructions are projected on the fly.
MindShipMind (1996-98)
A realtime-generated multimedia Web installation which derived from the interdisciplinary seminar on "Order, Beauty & Complexity" at the Copenhagen MindShip, by Karlheinz Essl and Vibeke Sørensen.
Lexikon-Sonate online... (1997)
2 different versions for the Internet, one implemented in Javascript, the other (interactive) as a CGI-script.
Lexicon-Oracle (1996/97)
An automatic Web oracle which sheds some light onto the mysteries of Lexikon-Sonate. Furthermore, it also plays an instantly generated excerpt of that infinite piano piece. There is also a version available that talks (using computer speech).



About Karlheinz Essl's Music

german
Klingende Abbilder der Welt
Peter Blaha (2000)
Die Poesie des Augenblicks
Reinhard Kager (1998)
Karlheinz Essl
Bernhard Günther (1997)
Vrouw Musica goes Internet
Barbara Maria Zollner (1997)
Wagnis Synthese
Christian Baier (1997)
Klangsystem, Spiralnebel: im Kreis, in's Offene
Bernhard Günther (1994)
Systemtheorie und Komponieren
Ulrich Mosch (1993)
Die Spirale als strukturiertes Chaos
Christian Scheib (1989)


english

The Music of Karlheinz Essl
CS Leigh (2009)
Design Work by Karlheinz Essl
Julia (2008)
An Extended Composer's Desk
Andreas Felber (2007)
Ariadne's Thread in the Hand of Karlheinz Essl
Christoph Becher (1991)


french

Karlheinz Essl
Jean-Noël von der Weid (1993)


Selected Articles on Composition Theory by Karlheinz Essl

german
Wandlungen der elektroakustischen Musik
Aktuelle Tendenzen elektronischer Musik (Wien 2007)
Improvisation über "Improvisation"
Musik-Wissenschaft an ihren Grenzen. Manfred Angerer zum 50. Geburtstag (Wien 2004)
Komponieren im Cyberspace
Proceedings of "KlangArt 99": "Global Village - Global Brain - Global Music" (Osnabrück 1998/99)
Realtime Composition. Musik diesseits der Schrift
Positionen. Beiträge zur Neuen Musik, Nr. 36 (Berlin 1998)
Strukturgeneratoren. Algorithmische Komposition in Echtzeit
Beiträge zur Elektronischen Musik, Vol. 5 (Graz 1996)
Wie entsteht eine Komposition?
Bruckner-Symposion Linz 1995 - Zum Schaffensprozeß in den Künsten, hrsg. vom Anton Bruckner Institut Linz (Linz 1997)
Kompositorische Konsequenzen des Radikalen Konstruktivismus
Positionen. Beiträge zur neuen Musik, Heft 11 (Berlin 1992)
Computer Aided Composition
Distel, Nr. 46/47 "Mensch Maschine" (Bozen 1991)
Klangkomposition und Systemtheorie
Darmstädter Beiträge zur Neuen Musik, Bd. XX (Mainz 1990)


english

Algorithmic Composition
Cambridge Companion to Electronic Music (Cambridge 2007)
Playfully earnest
Karlheinz Essl on his collaboration with Jonathan Meese (Klosterneuburg 2007)
Improvisation on "Improvisation"
Karlheinz Essl in discussion with Jack Hauser (Vienna 2002)
Composing in Cyberspace
Proceedings of the conference "Cultural Competence. New Technologies, Culture & Employment" (Linz 1998)
Lexikon-Sonate. An Interactive Realtime Composition for Computer-Controlled Piano
Proceedings of "KlangArt 97": Musik im virtuellen Raum (Osnabrück 2000)
Composing in a Changing Society
International musicological symposion "Austria: 996-1996. Music in a Changing Society" (Ottawa 1996)
New Aspects of Musical Material
Lecture given at the "Darmstädter Ferienkurse" (Darmstadt 1992)


french

Utopies
Les cahiers de l'IRCAM, Nr. 4/93 (Paris 1993)


Selected Interviews with Karlheinz Essl

deutsch
Radioportrait Karlheinz Essl
ORF-Zeitton: Helmut Jasbar (2007)
IM FOKUS: Karlheinz Essl
Christian Baier (2005)
Elektronische Musik / Komposition / Improvisation
Silvia E. Pagano (2004)
Karlheinz Essl neue CD ©RUDE
ORF-Zeitton: Ursula Strubinsky (2001)
Komponieren im Cyberspace
Abele Internent Radio: Hanns Abele (1998)
Intervention
ORF-Zeitton: Christian Scheib (1996)
Portrait Karlheinz Essl
ORF-Zeitton: Lothar Knessl (1994)
Gesättigt mit Intention
ÖMZ: Gerold W. Gruber (1994)

english

NET MUSIC
Golo Föllmer (2000)
Music beyond Scripture
De Standaard, Bruxelles: Maarten Beirens (1998)
Profile Karlheinz Essl
Radio Austria International: Joanna King (1997)
Karlheinz Essl interviewed by Bruce Duffie
WNIB, Chicago: 2 Mar 1997



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Updated: 28 Jan 2010