Prof. Werner Schulze

Werner Schulze was born in Wiener Neustadt in 1952. He graduated from the University of Vienna (Philosophy, Akkadian) and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (Bassoon, Harmonics), and subsequently combined all his academic studies in his professional life, which can be regarded as a fortunate coincidence: Schulze is author, composer, and scientist and was university professor until 2014 (International Centre of Harmonics, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna). In 1995, he was visiting professor at the Institut Seni Indonesia in Jogjakarta/Indonesia.

Being familiar with the Faroese culture and promoting the musical life on the Faroes, he has built up a close relationship with the archipelago in the North Atlantic since 1976.

He retired from his 30 years of activity as a chamber musician including more than 400 performances on 4 continents. Moreover, his once lively international lecturing and publications activity has lately become less important to him in order to give room to his work as composer and stage director

His compositions include orchestral, choral, solo and chamber music works as well as pieces for pedagogical purposes and music for (his own) poetry and prose. Since 1998, he has placed special emphasis on philosophically and theologically oriented artistic syntheses and sees this concept, collectively referred to as “Philosophy on Stage” and “Theology on Stage”, as the essence of his creative work. This group includes 7 works in total and focuses in particular on the following: 1. LLULL (2000), a “Logo-Mysterion” combining theology and philosophy, 2. SOKRATES (2002/03), a music station theatre, 3. ANCHIBASÍE (2004), a dance-music-language-work including fragments of Heraclitus and Empedocles. In these works, the composer, who is responsible for whole artistic concept from the very beginning, combines his main objectives by creating a synthesis of philosophy (theology), poetry, music, and scene. The 4th work of this group, KALKÜL (text: Carl Djerassi), a theatre-opera, was performed first at the opera in Zürich on the occasion of the 150th jubilee of the “Eidgenössisch-Technische Hochschule” (2005). In the same year, the first performance of OIDIPUS TYRANNOS was given. The Sophocles’ tragedy was realised as a shadow theatre and composed for the Javanese gamelan. In 2007, a new version of this project was performed as a wayang kulit drama.

Back to the roots: In 2009, Werner Schulze returned into the house in Wiener Neustadt, where he had spent his youth. At the same time, as artistic director of Teater Tetas, his commitment to Indonesia and the cooperation with the group from Jakarta rose to new heights: Schulze created the concepts of and directed the dance-music-theatre-works MIMPI (2011 Jakarta, 2012 European tour), 13 Jendela (2013 Jakarta), and BELENGGU PROMETHEUS (Greek tragedy Prometheus Bound, 2015/16 Surakarta, Jogjakarta, Jakarta, 2016 European tour). After reducing all his other activities and thus concentrating on the essential, this project is the focus of his work aiming at connecting the cultures and arts of Greece and Java.

The attention Werner Schulze gives to the Amadeus Music Foundation is enormous - through him, the cooperation between Amadeus and JSBM was established. Every year, he returns to Amadeus to teach and assist the growth of the wind department, as well as assisting the Amadeus teachers who go to Vienna.