Kurt Schwertsik: The master of music celebrates his 90th birthday!

Kurt Schwertsik: The master of music celebrates his 90th birthday!

On June 4, 2025, a solemn event took place in the cinema in the Kesselhaus in Krems in honor of Kurt Schwertsik. Born in Vienna, who celebrates his 90th birthday on June 25, 2025, was recognized by friends, companions and prominent guests from art, culture and politics. Among them was also the Governor of Lower Austria, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, who described Swords as "one of the most important composers of the present" and highlighted his connection to Lower Austria. noe.gv.at reported that Mikl-Leitner Schwertsik thanked for his present, which he left in 2015 to the archive of contemporaries.

The front contains scores, letters, photos and sketches, which is seen as a great contribution to the preservation of contemporary music in Austria. In his speech, swordsics reflected on the place of art in today's time and illuminated musical stations of his life.

a life for the music

Kurt Schwertsik was born in Vienna on June 25, 1935 and is an influential composer and music teacher. At the age of six he began to be interested in the opera, and at the age of twelve he regularly visited the theater at Vienna. Schwertsik studied composition, among others, with Joseph Marx, whose influence was formative for his musical development. In the 1950s he was a hornist at the Lower Austria Tonkunstler Orchestra and turned intensively to the new music, visiting the Darmstadt holiday courses in order to deal with serial composition. wikipedia explains that in 1958 he founded the ensemble "Die Reve" to present new music works.

Schwertsik's compositions are diverse. These include operas, chamber music, orchestral works and music theater that have been performed worldwide, including the Salzburg Festival and the Viennese festival weeks. The Austrian Society for Contemporary Music (ÖGZM) has always encouraged Schwertsik's significant works. The ÖGZM has organized over 900 events since its foundation in 1949 and thus offers a platform for contemporary music. ÖGZM Every year 20 to 25 concerts and workshops is dedicated to promoting exchange about contemporary music.

His best-known works include “earthly sounds”, “Sinfonia Sinfonietta” and numerous concerts for various instruments. His music is characterized by an accessible sound language and a humorous-ironic disposition. Perspectives and access to music have changed over the decades, but swordsics remains a central figure in the contemporary music scene.

As part of the jubilee celebration, the preliminary premiere of the film “Kurt Schwertsik im Wunderland” by director Herbert Eisenschenk was also presented. Other speakers were Helmut Neundlinger, head of the archive of contemporaries, and Viktoria Weber, Vice Rector of the Donau University Krems. These aspects also illustrate swordsics influence on music and its profound connection to the culture in Austria.