Rolf Riehm

Biography

Rolf Riehm (15 June 1937 – 3 January 2026) was a German composer who wrote stage and orchestral works as well as music for ensembles and solo instruments. He began as an oboist and music teacher and was later a professor of music theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main from 1974 to 2000. He joined the wind ensemble Sogenanntes Linksradikales Blasorchester from 1976 to 1981 as oboist and arranger; they played at political demonstrations. His opera Sirenen was premiered at the Oper Frankfurt in 2014.

Life and career

Riehm was born in Saarbrücken on 15 June 1937 and grew up in Frankfurt. His father, Karl Riehm, was a school music teacher, and his mother, Elly, was a piano teacher. During his schooling he served already as organist at the American Central Chapel. He completed school with the Abitur in 1957.
Riehm began to study musicology at the Universität Frankfurt. From 1958 to 1961, he studied music pedagogy, with a focus on oboe, at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt. For studies of composition, he moved to Wolfgang Fortner's master class at the Musikhochschule Freiburg.
Riehm worked first as a solo oboist. He wrote a composition for solo oboe in 1964, Ungebräuchliches, which was premiered in Frankfurt in 1965 and won him recognition at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse the following year. Riehm co-founded the Frankfurter Vereinigung für Musik in 1964. After a brief period as a school teacher, he became a lecturer at the Rheinische Musikschule in Cologne in 1968, teaching there until 1974. He was also a member of the Gruppe 8 Köln, an association of Cologne composers, from 1968 to 1972, and is counted as a composer of the Cologne School.
In 1968, he received the award Premio Marzotto and a scholarship from the Villa Massimo. From 1974 to 2000 Riehm was a professor for composition and music theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main. From 1976 to 1981, he was a member of the Sogenanntes Linksradikales Blasorchester, a wind band for which he also wrote arrangements; they played at political protest demonstrations. He travelled to Central America, South America, Sweden and Japan for concerts, lectures and workshops. In 1992 he received the Kunstpreis des Saarlandes and in 2002 the Hindemith Prize of the City of Hanau.
From 2010, Riehm was a member of the Academy of Arts, Berlin. His writings were published under the title Texte in 2014.
Riehm's opera Sirenen had its premiere at the Oper Frankfurt in 2014. His orchestral work Die Tode des Orpheus was premiered by the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken in 2017. On 27 November 2018, the Ensemble Modern held a Porträt Rolf Riehm as a Werkstattkonzert (workshop concert) in the series Happy New Ears at the Oper Frankfurt. The composer was interviewed by Klaus Zehelein, and music including Lenz in Moskau and Adieu, sirènes was performed by soprano Sarah Maria Sun and members of the Ensemble.
Riehm died on 3 January 2026, at the age of 88.

Stage music

Das Schweigen der Sirenen, premiered by Staatsoper Stuttgart (1994)
Sirenen – Bilder des Begehrens und des Vernichtens, premiered by Oper Frankfurt (2014).

Orchestral works

Die Erde ist eine Schale von dunklem Gold (1966/1999), 2 Bach adaptations for soprano, tenor, baritone and orchestra
Gewidmet (1976)
He, tres doulz roussignol joly after old French ballades and virelais (1978)
Tänze aus Frankfurt (1980)
O Daddy (1984)
Berceuse (1984/85)
Das Schweigen der Sirenen (1987) for soprano, tenor, orchestra and electronic recordings
Les Chants de la Revolution sont des Chants de l'Amour (1989, revised in 1998) for soprano, orchestra and electronic recordings
Schubert Teilelager (1989) for string orchestra
Odysseus aber hörte ihr Schweigen nicht (1993)
Shifting (1995) violin concerto
Die Tränen des Gletschers (1998)
Archipel Remix (1999)
Restoring the Death of Orpheus (2000) Akkordeonkonzert
Fremdling, rede – Ballade Furor Odysseus (2002) for mezzo-soprano, speaker and orchestra
Die schrecklich-gewaltigen Kinder (2003) for coloratura soprano and large ensemble
Ihr, meine und eines ruchlosen Vaters (2006) for soprano, speaker (via feed) and orchestra
Au bord d'une source (2006) for tenor recorder, orchestra and feeds
Wer sind diese Kinder (2009) for piano, large orchestra and playback
Die Tode des Orpheus (2017) for countertenor and orchestra

Music for ensemble

Uncertain Melody (1989) for eight instruments
Double Distant Counterpoint (J. S. Bach, Kunst der Fuge, Contrapunctus XI) (1994) for large ensemble and keyboard
Sarca – il fiume Sarca (1995) for 7 wind instruments and double bass
Schlaf, schlaf, John Donne, schlaf tief und quäl dich nicht (1997) for violin, bass clarinet, accordion, keyboard
Hawking (1998) for piano, bass drum and six instruments
aprikosenbäume gibt es, aprikosenbäume gibt es (2004) for double bass clarinet, violin, trumpet, violoncello, trombone and playbacks (dedicated to Wolfgang Stryi)
Der Faden ist gerissen (2005) for seven instrumentalists
in der luft waren vögel, im wasser waren fische (2006) for piano and eight instruments
Lenz in Moskau (2011) for trombone, guitar, cello, piano, two percussionists and feeds
Der Asra (2014) for soprano and piano
Basar Aleppo oder Die Straße nach Tyros (2015) Sound scenes for tenor saxophone, marimba, piano and playback
Adieu, sirènes (2015) for mezzo-soprano, 2 cellos, 2 trumpets

Chamber music

Ein Sommerabend am Lindleinsee (1976) for violin, cello, piano and playbacks
Tempo strozzato (1978) for string quartet
"Ich denk viel." / Mr. President / pizz / 13 (1987) for viola, cello and double bass
Gracieusement (1990) for viola, cello and double bass
FIORETTI Within My Bosom (2000) for clarinet, cello and piano
Short Message Piece (2001) for flute and tenor recorder
Adieu, Marie, mon amour – Drei Liebeslieder in den Tod (2002) for viola and accordion
No Velvet Mute For Lullabies (2005) for four trombones
Pasolini in Ostia (2012) for soprano, piano, cello and percussion

Solo music

Ungebräuchliches (1964) for oboe
Notturno für die trauerlos Sterbenden (1977) for guitar
Don't cry, mummy isn't here anyway − memories of a temptingly morbid summer (1982) for viola
Scheherazade (1990) for accordion
Toccata Orpheus (1990) for guitar
Weeds in Ophelia's Hair (1991) for alto recorder
Push Pull (1995) for accordion
Hamamuth – Stadt der Engel (2005) for piano
Ach, Königin (2005) for cello
Ton für Ton (Weiße Straßen Babylons) (2007) for double bass and clarinet
Im Nachtigallental (2007) for cello
So ist es (2015) for double bass and clarinet
Ciao, carissimo Claudio oder Die Steel Drums von San Marco (2017) for piano and playback

Obituaries

"Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst trauert um Rolf Riehm". nmz – neue musikzeitung (in German). 9 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.