Gander, Bernhard

Born in 1969 in Lienz (Austria), he studied piano, composition, and conducting at the Tyrolean Provincial Conservatoire before continuing his composition studies with Beat Furrer in Graz as well as electroacoustic music at Studio UPIC in Paris and the Swiss Centre for Computer Music in Zurich. His accolades include the Young Composer Grant of the City of Vienna (2004), Erste Bank Composition Prize (2005), Austrian Federal Grant for musical composition (2005–7), SKE Publicity Prize (2009), and Ernst Křenek Prize (2012, for Melting Pot). 

His works have been performed by ensembles such as Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble intercontemporain, Intégrales, Talea, Arditti Quartet, Ensemble Phace, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Brussels Philharmonic, SWR Symphony, WDR Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and Tonkünstler Orchestra. 

His music has been featured at leading festivals and venues such as Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Steirischer Herbst, ORF, Klangspuren, Transart Bozen, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Wiener Festwochen, Wien Modern, Musica Strasbourg, Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, Munich Biennale, Burgtheater Wien, and many others. 

Selected works: bodyguards for soprano saxophone (1998), welcome for tape, piano and clarinet (1999), Der Melonenbaum for accordion, bass clarinet and percussion (2000), poème concret for string trio and electronics (2001), splitting romance for saxophone quartet (2001), fète.garefor 14 musicians (2002), LEIM for ensemble (2004), Mr. Vertigo for two basset horns and electronics (2004), Peter Parker for piano (2004), öfor quintet (2005), Die Orpheus Akte for ensemble (2005), bunny games for ensemble (2006), schöne Worte for piano quartet (2007), uc’n’ ex for accordion (2007), horribile dictu for voices, strings and trombones (2007), king’s message for tenor and ensemble (2007), Beine und Strümpfe for ensemble (2008), Die Orpheus Akte II for viola, piano and electronics (2008), schlechtecharakterstücke for piano trio (2009), khul for string quartet (2010), Dirty Wings for ügelhorn and accordion (2010), beijing for two bass clarinets (2010), Blood Beat for orchestra (2010), Dirty Angel for orchestra (2010), lovely monster for orchestra (2011), khul cuts for string quartet and dancer (2011), wegda! for soprano and ensemble (2011), deathtongue for contrabass clarinet and six singers (2012), 2bad for violas da gamba and electric guitar (2012), Melting Pot for orchestra (2012), hukl for orchestra (2012), take nine (for twelve) for ensemble (2012), Take Death for ensemble and DJ (2013), Fourchanniballads for orchestra (2013), darkness awaits us for soprano and viola da gamba (2013), Das Leben am Rande der Milchstrasse, music theatre (2013–14), morbidable for contrabass clarinet (2014), insincere sermon for two trumpets and horn (2015), morbidable II (“une charogne”) for contrabass clarinet and bass (2015), victim of vermin for accordion (2015), moaning maggots for soprano and bass (2016), Totenwacht for voices (2016), Cold cadaver with thirteen scary scars for Hammond organ, electric bass, percussion and ensemble (2016).