Franz Martin Olbrisch

Franz Martin Olbrisch, born in 1952 in Mülheim an der Ruhr, is recognized as one of the leading figures in contemporary German music. Since the late 1980s, Olbrisch has increasingly focused on intermedia and experimental forms: his oeuvre spans orchestral works, music theater, ensemble and chamber music, as well as a wide range of electroacoustic compositions, sound environments, installations, performances, and video works. With a keen openness to new technologies and a willingness to cross boundaries between artistic disciplines, Olbrisch continually explores the possibilities of sound in space.

From 1988 to 2008, Olbrisch taught composition and studio technology at the Berlin University of the Arts, and from 1999 to 2008, he also taught composition at the Electronic Studio of the Technical University of Berlin. He has been a sought-after lecturer at the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt and, in 2011, was elected Vice President of the German Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music (IGNM).

His works have been performed at renowned festivals and concert series worldwide, including the World Music Days in Yokohama and Stuttgart, the Donaueschingen Festival, the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, the Festival international des musiques expérimentales in Bourges, the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), and the VIPER Festival in Basel.

Leading ensembles such as the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Arditti Quartet, Klangforum Wien, Musikfabrik NRW, and Ensemble Recherche have performed his compositions. Olbrisch lives and works in Berlin and is regarded as a vital force in the development of intermedia music in the 21st century.