Richard Heller

Richard Heller was born in Vienna (Austria) on April 19^th, 1954. He studied composition at the Vienna State University of Music with Augustin Kubizek and Erich Urbanner, but attended also lectures in mathematics, abstract logics and musicology at the University of Vienna. He completed his music studies with lectures in conducting (with Otmar Suitner), pedagogics (piano) and cultural management. After graduation (1979) he worked as a contributor to the music department of the Austrian TV while teaching music theory in Augsburg/Germany  at the Leopold Mozart Conservatory, (later renamed “Leopold Mozart Center” at Augsburg University in 2008).

His music has been performed and broadcasted in numerous European countries as well as in Japan, South Africa, Argentina, the USA and many others and several of his pieces are recorded and published in CD.

Performers of his works include Gewandhaus-Quartet Leipzig (string quartet), Vienna State Opera Choir, Augsburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra Ljubljana (Slovenia), Tonkünstler-Orchester (Vienna), Mecklenburgische Staatskapelle (State Orchestra) Schwerin, Orquestra Sinfonica  Santa Fe (Argentina),Maximilian Hornung (violoncello) and piano duo Köhn-Matthies (ARD prize winners), Helmut W. Erdmann (flute), Choir of Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF), Vienna Chamber Players, Rostock Nonet, Prague String Quartet, Garde Republicaine (Paris) and numerous others.

Heller received many commissions from soloists, ensembles and organizations and was awarded several prizes, including grants from the city of Vienna and the city of Augsburg, a prize of the Austrian Ministry of Arts and Education, 1^st prize at the International Composition Competition “Eisteddfodd 1989“, Roode-poort/South Africa, 2^nd prize  at the 3^rd International Composition Competition “Ciudad Ibagué“/Colombia (1984), winner of the Composition Competition of World Cello Congress III (Baltimore 2000), 3^rd prize in the category “vocal music/song cycles” at the 2015 competition of the Paul Lowin Foundation (Australia) in cooperation with the Austrian Composers’ Association, the Johann-Wenzel-Stamitz-Prize of “KünstlerGilde“ (Germany) for his life’s work (2018), 1^st prize at “New Vision” Composition Competition, New York, organized by “Four Corners Ensemble” and the 20th “Chopin & Friends” Festival (2018)

Richard Heller has composed music for almost all music genres, writing solo concertos, orchestral music, music for keyboards and vocal music, for symphonic wind orchestra and a considerable number of chamber music pieces.

His publishers include Edition Kunzelmann (Zürich), Bärenreiter-Verlag (Kassel), Vogt & Fritz (Schweinfurt), ISG Publications (Bellingham, WA, USA), Edition Avantus (Augsburg) and Verlag Neue Musik (Berlin).

His aim is to balance emotion and construction for the professional and the more general audience alike. Starting point of his composing style is the imagine of instrumental colours (and the sense for rare combinations) leading to motif materials which in turn lead to the architecture of the pieces. The harmonic construction of his works is strongly influenced by Jazz harmonies blended with tonality and atonality.

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