(b. 19 May 1963, Dortmund).
German composer of mostly orchestral and chamber works that have been performed in Asia, Europe and North America.
Prof. Birkenkötter studied composition with Nicolaus A. Huber and piano with Detlef Kraus and Catherine Vickers at the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen from 1982–89. He then studied composition with Helmut Lachenmann at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst Stuttgart from 1990–94.
Among his honours are residencies at the Künstlerhof Schreyahn (1989–90, on a fellowship from the state of Lower Saxony) and the Deutsche Akademie at the Villa Massimo in Rome (1994–95), as well as First Prize in the competition of the Internationale Gaudeamus Muziekweek in Amsterdam (1992), the Busoni-Kompositionspreis from the Akademie der Künste in Berlin (1992) and the Schneider-Schott-Musikpreis Mainz (1994, shared with Hanspeter Kyburz). His music has been performed in Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, and the USA.
He taught music theory at the Musikschule in Dortmund from 1990–2002 and taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main in 2002–03. He taught as a visiting professor of composition at Hansei University in Gunpo and directed a masterclass in composition at Yonsei University in Seoul, both in 2005–06. He has taught as Professor für Komposition at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen since 2011.
His publisher is Breitkopf & Härtel.
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS
ORCHESTRAL:
... zur Nähe – voran, large orchestra (80 players), 1987–88
Klänge Schatten, small orchestra (16 players), 1989–90
Halt!, small orchestra (16 players), 1995
gekippte Genauigkeiten, piano obbligato, large orchestra (63 players), 1995–96
Vier Stücke, small orchestra (16 players), 1996
gekoppelt – getrennt, 2 pianos, 4 violins (around hall), large orchestra (75 players), fixed media, 1997
Tripelkonzert, saxophone, piano, percussion, small orchestra (13 players; around hall), large orchestra (69 players), 2001–03
Schumann ist der Dichter, large orchestra (66 players), 2004
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Solo für Violoncello, cello, 1986
...kaum einen Hauch, clarinet, cello, piano, 1988
Vier Stücke für Akkordeon, accordion, 1989
Entwurf einer Landschaft, 5 percussion, 1990–92
Wiederholte Annäherung, clarinet (+ bass clarinet), trombone, cello, piano, 1992–93
Spiel/Abbruch, oboe, trombone, cello, piano, accordion, 2 percussion, fixed media, 1993–94
getrennt – untrennbar, flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, cello, piano, 1998
ins weite..., alto flute (+ piccolo), bass clarinet, percussion, 1998
in nomine..., flute, oboe, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, viola, cello, 1999 (unpublished)
Schwebende Form, flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, viola, cello, 1999
Streichtrio, violin, viola, cello, 1999–2000
Drei Sätze und Coda, baritone saxophone (+ soprano saxophone), piano, percussion, 2000–01
paysage neuf, percussion, 2001
Quartett "Die entzweite Denkmusik...", 4 percussion, 2005–06
with keys... Vier Stücke, 2 pianos, ensemble (flute [+ piccolo], oboe, 2 clarinets [2nd + bass clarinet], bassoon [+ contrabassoon], French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, 2 violins, viola, 2 cellos, double bass, 2 percussion), 2008–09
Widerschein "Die entzweite Denkmusik..." [II], flute (+ piccolo), oboe, 2 clarinets, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, piano, percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, 2011
why Tristan? Nocturne für Bassklarinette und Harfe, bass clarinet, harp, 2012
bel Canto, oboe, 2013–14
BlackBox... (-untrennbar?), accordion, ensemble (flute [+ piccolo], clarinet [+ bass clarinet], trumpet, violin, cello, piano), 2009–15
cross-mapped... (l. b. n. l. a. h.), oboe, piano, percussion, 2015–16
fragrant music, violin, cello, piano, 2017
"a different scent", viola, accordion, percussion, 2017–18
Invention über einen Sechsklang von Younghi Pagh-Paan, piano (+ kkwaenggwari [small brass gong from the Koreas], jing [large gong from the Koreas], janggu [hourglass drum from the Koreas], buk [barrel drum from the Koreas]), accordion, 2020–21
CHORAL:
Sieben Stücke nach Gedichten von Friedrich Hölderlin und Paul Celan (texts by Friedrich Hölderlin, Paul Celan), 10 mixed voices, flute, clarinet, trumpet, piano, percussion, violin, viola, cello, 1994–95
Départ (text by Arthur Rimbaud), 4 mixed voices, 2000
Départ – zweiter Versuch über Rimbaud (text by Arthur Rimbaud), 6 mixed voices, trombone, percussion, 2002–03
Ins Offene Kontrapunkte zu J. S. Bachs 'Weihnachtsoratorium', 2 boy sopranos, soprano, 2 boy altos, alto, tenor, bass, 12 mixed voices, mixed chorus, trombone, accordion, percussion, Baroque orchestra (2 flutes, 4 oboes [3rd, 4th + oboe da caccia], bassoon, 2 corni da caccia, 3 D-trumpets, archlute, theorbo, timpani, 8 violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, double bass), 2007
VOCAL:
Vorgespräch über Fragment, soprano, piano, 1997
PIANO:
Schwebung und Strenge, 1991
DISCOGRAPHY
...kaum einen Hauch. Serge Daval, clarinet; Elena Andreyev, cello; Vincent Leterme, piano (Vand'œuvre: 9508, 1995)
Sieben Stücke nach Gedichten von Friedrich Hölderlin und Paul Celan. Manfred Schreier/Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Ensemble Varianti (Koch International Classics: 3-5037-4, 1996)
Spiel/Abbruch; Wiederholte Annäherung; ... zur Nähe – voran. ensemble avance; Johannes Kalitzke/musikFabrik; Dennis Russell Davies/WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln (WERGO: 6536 2, 1997)
getrennt – untrennbar. Ives Ensemble (Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik 1998, documentation CD)
Schwebung und Strenge. Hwa-Kyung Yim, piano (col legno: WWE 20055, 2000)
gekoppelt – getrennt. Sven Thomas Kiebler, piano; Hwa-Kyung Yim, piano; Bernhard Kontarsky/Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (col legno: WWE 20082, 2002)
Solo für Violoncello; Schwebung und Strenge; Vier Stücke für Akkordeon; paysage neuf. Matthias Lorenz, cello; Hwa-Kyung Yim, piano; Teodoro Anzellotti, accordion; Thomas Oesterdiekhoff, percussion (Cavalli Records: CCD 247, 2003)
Départ – zweiter Versuch über Rimbaud. Uwe Dierksen, trombone; Dirk Rothbrust, percussion; Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart (Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik 2003, documentation CD)
in nomine.... ensemble recherche (Kairos: 0012442KAI, 2004)
ins weite.... Helen Bledsoe, alto flute, piccolo; John Corbett, bass clarinet; Thomas Oesterdiekhoff, percussion (BMG/RCA: 74321 73664 2, 2005)
Drei Sätze und Coda. Trio Accanto (Edition Zeitklang: ez-31029, 2009)
why Tristan? Nocturne für Bassklarinette und Harfe. Duo Imaginaire (TYXart/Chromart Classics: TXA13035, 2014)
bel Canto. Christian Hommel, oboe (Ensemble Modern Medien: EMCD-041–42, 2015)