NEWS

AUSTRIA/SWITZERLAND

WASBE member Ueli Kipfer, conductor and euphonium player, was the soloist together with his wife Cornelia, clarinet, in the world premiere of Images de L’Amour, a double concerto for Clarinet, Euphonium and Band written by Franz Cibulka of Graz.

Ueli writes

Church concert by Konkordia Reinach.

This concert is so far very special in that it has to offer a world premiere. Franz Cibulka, a composer with an international reputation of Graz has a Double Concerto for Clarinet, Euphonium and wind band under the title "Images de L` amour "for my wife Cornelia and written me. Cornelia and I will also take over the soloist part in the first performance.

Franz Cibulka will conduct the premiere in person as a guest conductor.

Franz Cibulka, born in 1946, is an Austrian composer. Franz Peter Cibulka is a freelance composer from Graz, Austria. His list of works includes more than 300 compositions of the most diverse instrumentation and styles resulting from his artistic collaboration with various performers. Cibulka mainly arranges compositions on demand, respecting the artists' wishes and ideas. However, he also writes music that reflects his own creativity and visions. This can be thoroughly felt in pieces such as Aquarius, in which he transformed his despair about humans' misuse of nature into an exceptional musical work. Although Cibulka's music is rather unconventional, his career is a traditional one. Having completed his musical studies in clarinet, composition and orchestral conducting at the Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria, he served as Professor of Clarinet, Chamber Music and Music Theory at the Johann Joseph Fux Conservatory in Graz until July 2002. Cibulka achieved an international reputation following the performance in 1997 of several of his works at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles held in Schladming, Austria. Ever since then he has been invited to Australia, America, Russia and many European countries as a composer, conductor, performer, juror and lecturer.