Kranebitter, Matthias

Born in 1980 in Vienna, he studied electroacoustic composition with Dieter Kaufmann and Germán Toro-Pérez, film and media composition with Klaus-Peter Sattler, and piano with Christiane Karajeva at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He continued his studies at the postgraduate course at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam as well as at the University of Graz with Alexander Stankovski and Beat Furrer. 

His music is permeated by various aspects of the media society, dense accumulation of everyday life’s sounds: acoustic “trash” and colourful, heterogenic sound flood, a comic-like, grotesque distortion of clichéd musical gestures with an ironic ambivalence, aiming for a culture-liberated art brut in music. 

His accolades include the 1st Prize at the Gaudeamus Music Week Young Composers Project in Amsterdam (2009), an award at the Impuls Composition Competition in Graz (2013), Publicity Prize of the SKE Austro Mechana (2013) and the Förderungspreis of the City of Vienna (2014), among others. He has cooperated with leading ensembles including Nadar Ensemble (Belgium), Decoder (Hamburg), Klangforum Wien, Phace (Austria), Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, mosaik (Berlin), and Talea (New York). In 2015, he received a scholarship from the Academy of Arts in Berlin. He is the founder of the Black Page Orchestra and one of the initiators and organisers of the Unsafe+Sounds Festival in Vienna. 

Selected works (from 2010): Concerto in E at major for harpsichord and ensemble (2010), Ringelreigen 138,9g CO2 for bass clarinet and turntables / electronics (2010), Ringelreigen 18,4g CO2 for tenor saxophone / bass clarinet and piano (2010), Candlelight Music mit Rondo for piano (2010), Anfall, Unfall, Abfall for piccolo, bass clarinet and electronics (2010), String Quartet no. 2 for viola and electronics (2010), Stop and Change for flute, baritone saxophone, viola, cello and percussion (2011), Ringelreigen 116,9g CO2 for bassoon and electronics (2011), Der Apfel aus Basra, chamber opera for six singers and ensemble (2011), Blödmaschinen for soprano, baritone, double bass and electronics (2011), gegen die Wand for clarinet, violin and double bass (2011), trinklied vom jammer der erde II – dunkel ist das Leben ist der tod for oboe, horn and piano (2011), fröhliche Relativitäten for ensemble (2012), appassionata mit reprise for clarinet, viola and piano (2012), fröhliche Vernstaltungen (Musik als Neurose) for ensemble (2012), Denudationen 1–104 for soprano saxophone, electric guitar, double bass, piano and percussion (2012), Top 10 (Form als Neurose) for cello, piano / keyboard, electronics and video (2012), 3 nihilistische Etüden über eine Liebe der Musikindustrie for piano and electronics (2013), “a söchtener reuter möcht i wern” for flute, cello and accordion (2013), nihilistic study no. 7 for ensemble (2013), 32bit recorder songs for soprano recorder and electronics (2013), pack the box (with five dozen of my liquor jugs) for flute, trombone, piano and electronics (2013), state of surfeit for ensemble (2014), 96-bit music for accordion with electronics (2014), Versuche gegen die Ohnmacht for flute, clarinet and accordion (2014), minced&bulbous, also: fast (thanks to Don Van Vliet) for saxophone quartet (2014), Concerto for the Invisible Hand (Adam Smith) for soprano saxophone, electric guitar, piano and electronics (2015), SAMPLING for three dancers / performers and electronics (2015), Dead Girl (Requiem E) for flute, electric guitar and electronics (2015), nihilistic study no. 13 to 14 for accordion and harpsichord (2015), pitch study no. 1 / contra violin for violin and electronics (2016), Echotecture: Prologue for ensemble (2016), die Auflösung traditioneller Stubenmusik in die Geometrie des Alpenhauptkammes for lyre, zither and electronics (2016), Accumulation of unnecessary needs for two soprano saxophones and electronics (2016), Pancrace Royer: Le Vertigo for ensemble and electronics (2016), Stack over ow: exploiting 24 preludes for bass clarinet, cello, electric zither, keyboard, drums and electronics (2016–17), Vestris 4.0 for dancer, cello and electronics (2017), die Auflösung traditioneller Stubenmusik in die Geometrie des Alpenhauptkammes (2. Versuch) for Alpine zither and electronics (2017), Pancrace Royer: The harpsichord pieces for recorder, flute, harpsichord and electronics (2017),Ghost Box Music for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, accordion, zither and electronics (2017–18), polychotic listening tasks for trumpet, horn, electric guitar, violin, viola and 4-channel electronics (2018),Ghost Box Diaries 24022018 for flute, clarinet, trombone, violin, cello, keyboard and percussion (2018).