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Tier 3 · vertical & regional
York Höller
Person · male · Germany · Leverkusen · born 1944 · recording since 2000
German composer
official homepagedatabasedatabase
Also known as 約克·霍勒
Timeline
8 events▣ Album 5◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1✦ Award 1
1940s
2000s
· Debut release
Debut release: Der Meister Und Margarita
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2010s
Biography
English biography512 words · 4 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1351354360
Biography
York Höller (German pronunciation: [ˌjɔʁk ˈhœlɐ]; born 11 January 1944) is a German composer and professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik Köln.
Biography
Höller was born in Leverkusen. Between 1963 and 1970 he studied at the Cologne Musikhochschule: composition with Joachim Blume and Bernd Alois Zimmermann, piano with Else Schmitz-Gohr and Alfons Kontarsky, and orchestral conducting with Wolfgang von der Nahmer. Parallel to this, he studied musicology and philosophy at the University of Cologne. He did further musical studies at the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt with Pierre Boulez, and in 1967 sat his examination in music education.
Höller was active for a short time as a répétiteur at the Staatstheater Bonn. At the Electronic Music Studio of WDR in 1971–72, he "continued his studies with Karlheinz Stockhausen" or, alternatively, "was given the chance, at Stockhausen's invitation, to realize works of his own". In any case, the technique he developed at this time—a form of extended serialism which he calls "Gestalt composition"—bears a resemblance to the older composer's formula composition, and in 1982 Höller dedicated his orchestral work Schwarze Halbinseln to Stockhausen. He quickly gained international recognition with his works. From the mid-1970s, Höller also composed at the Paris research institute IRCAM, where Pierre Boulez had invited him, and in 1989 his opera Der Meister und Margarita (after the novel of the same name by Mikhail Bulgakov) was premièred at the Grand Opéra.
From 1986 to 1990 Höller was lecturer in analysis and music theory at the Musikhochschule Köln. Subsequently, he succeeded Stockhausen as artistic director of the WDR Studio for Electronic Music from 1990 to 1999. In 1993 he accepted a call to the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin as professor of composition. As a successor to Hans Werner Henze he moved in 1995 in this same capacity to the Cologne Musikhochschule. In addition, Höller has presented lectures and held composition courses at many European and American colleges.
Since 1991, Höller has been a member of the Academy of Arts, Berlin.
Honors
Höller has received numerous distinctions:
The Bernd Alois Zimmermann Prize of the City of Cologne
The Förderpreis of the State of North Rhine–Westphalia
The Prize of the International Composers' Forum of UNESCO
The Rolf Liebermann Prize for Opera Composers
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1986 bestowed by the French Minister of Culture
The 2010 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for the orchestral work Sphären
Writings (selective list)
1982. Gestaltkomposition oder Die Konstruktion des Organischen. In Neuland Jahrbuch II, 1981/82, edited by Herbert Henck, 140–43. Bergisch Gladbach: Neuland.
1989. "Composition of the Gestalt, or the Making of the Organism." Translated by Nigel Osborne. Contemporary Music Review 1, no. 1 ("1984: Musical Thought at IRCAM"): 35–40.
1989. "Resonance: Composition Today." Translated by Nigel Osborne. Contemporary Music Review 1, no. 1 ("1984: Musical Thought at IRCAM"): 67–76.
1994. Fortschritt oder Sackgasse? Kritische Betrachtungen zum frühen Serialismus. Saarbrücken: Pfau-Verlag.
2004. Klanggestalt—Zeitgestalt. Texte und Kommentare 1964–2003. Musik der Zeit 10, edited by Reinhold Dusella. Berlin: Boosey und Hawkes (Text) ISBN 3-7931-1697-2, and Bote und Bock (Music) ISMN M-2025-2231-8
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 5 | 78.9th |
| Studio albums | 5 | 84.6th |
| Awards recorded | 3 | 95.4th |
| Timeline events | 8 | 84.1th |
| Recording span (years) | 16 | 37.8th |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (5 release groups · 5 studio albums)
Albums · 5
2000 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks · 2:41:33
Disc 11Vorspiel - Die Erzählung Des Meisters7:1021. Szene - Auf Dem Patriarchenteichboulevard18:4832. Szene - Restaurant Im Schriftstellerhaus8:3443. Szene - Die Unheimliche Wohnung5:1354. Szene - In Der Psychiatrischen Klinik13:0965. Szene - Im Keller Des Meister/Auf Dem Schädelberg5:2476. Szene - Das Varietétheater17:35Disc 211. Szene - In Der Wohnung Margaritas9:402Zwischenspiel4:4832. Szene - Die Unheimliche Wohnung7:1543. Szene - Der Große Satansball8:5454. Szene - Die Unheimliche Wohnung14:3965. Szene - Eingang Des Restaurants Des Schriftstellerhauses8:12Disc 316. Szene - Anhöhe Uber Der Stadt/Im Keller Des Meisters20:1727. Szene - Auf Den Sperlingsbergen11:55Mahler: Symphony no. 3 / Höller: Der ewige Tag
2003 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 2:08:29
Disc 11Symphony no. 3 in D minor: I. Kräftig. Entschieden35:122Symphony no. 3 in D minor: II. Tempo di Menuetto10:243Symphony no. 3 in D minor: III. Comodo. Scherzando18:19Disc 21Symphony no. 3 in D minor: IV. Sehr langsam, »O Mensch!«10:432Symphony no. 3 in D minor: V. Lustig im Tempo »Es sungen drei Engel«4:343Symphony no. 3 in D minor: VI. Langsam. Ruhevoll25:364Der ewige Tag für Chor, Orchester und Elektronik23:41Topic - Horizont - Mythos - Schwarze Halbinseln
2010 · studio album
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Tracklist · 4 tracks · 1:07:20
1Topic (1967) - For Large Orchestra · Dedicated To Bernd Alois Zimmermann12:562Horizont (1971/1972) - Quadrophonic Electronic Music Dedicated To Ursula Und Cuno Theobald10:393Mythos (1979/1980, Rev. 1995) - Dedicated To Hans Zender For 13 Instruments, Percussion And 4-channel Tape22:524Schwarze Halbinseln (1982) - Dedicated To Karlheinz Stockhausen For Large Orchestra, Vocal And Electronic Sounds On 4-channel Tape20:532010 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 2 tracks · 1:02:00
1Sphären (2001–2006) - For Large Orchestra And Live Electronics39:222Der Ewige Tag (1998–2000, Rev. 2002) - For Mixed Chorus, Large Orchestra And Live Electronics - Texts By Ibn Scharaf, Georg Heym And Pablo Neruda22:382016 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 37 tracks · 2:08:31
Disc 11Five pieces: I. Introduzione / Sostenuto2:072Five pieces: II. Sehr zart, poco rubato1:353Five pieces: III. Sehr energisch, durchaus schroff1:314Five pieces: IV. Pesante2:275Five pieces: V. Toccata, in tempo ferreo1:546Diaphonie - Hommage a Bela Bartok10:497Piano Sonata No. 1: I. Sostenuto / Tempo I4:028Piano Sonata No. 1: II. Tranquillo3:419Piano Sonata No. 1 : III. Introduzione / Molto agitato4:5510Piano Sonata No. 2 - Hommage a Franz Liszt17:1011Partita: I. Preludio. Andante2:5712Partita: II. Fuga polimetrica. Vivo2:1813Partita: III. Fantasia. Lento3:2914Partita: IV. Conductus. In tempo ferreo2:2915Partita: V. Fantasia II. Quasi improvvisando2:3616Partita: VI. Gigue. Presto2:27Disc 21Piano sonata No. 310:502Doppelspiel: I. Duoplay2:423Doppelspiel: II. Figura ritmica3:064Doppelspiel: III. Monument2:515Doppelspiel: IV. Patterns3:556Doppelspiel: V. Ostinato1:507Monogramme: I. Entrée – suono quasi orchestrale (für B. A. Zimmermann)1:428Monogramme: II. Initium (für Karlheinz Stockhausen)2:429Monogramme: III. Widerhall (für Kristi Becker)1:2410Monogramme: IV. Widmung (für Daniel Barenboim)3:0511Monogramme: V. Zwiegespräch (für Ursula)2:4712Monogramme: VI. Artikulation (für György Ligeti)1:5913Monogramme: VII. Frenesie1:3014Monogramme: VIII. Gemäßigter Aufschwung2:3115Monogramme: IX. Verzweigung (für Pierre Boulez)2:0916Monogramme: X. Tastengeläut3:3517Monogramme: XI. Elegia giocosa (für Hans Werner Henze)3:0418Monogramme: XII. Lines and Shadows (für David Drew)3:2719Monogramme: XIII. Fluktuation (für Elena Bashkirova)2:1320Monogramme: XIV. Scanning2:5721Five pieces: V. Toccata, in tempo ferreo (Bonus)1:45
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put York Höller head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 5 | 78.9th |
| Studio albums | 5 | 84.6th |
| Awards recorded | 3 | 95.4th |
| Timeline events | 8 | 84.1th |
| Recording span (years) | 16 | 37.8th |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Grawemeyer Awards | won | |
| — | Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres | won | |
| — | Rome Prize of the German Academy Villa Massimo | won |
Where this record comes from
aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/f932ae58-2a5c-4164-bd7d-203a5f28d218discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/f932ae58-2a5c-4164-bd7d-203a5f28d218core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q96753genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q96753seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_H%C3%B6llerbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_H%C3%B6ller
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: no portrait (not displayed: the licence credit is missing)
Wikidata: Q96753 · MusicBrainz: f932ae58-2a5c-4164-bd7d-203a5f28d218
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