Miller Theatre Opens 2025-26 Composer Portraits Series With Helmut Lachenmann
The performance is on Thursday, October 9, 7:30PM.
By: Stephi Wild Aug. 28, 2025
Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts will open its 2025-26 Composer Portraits series with Helmut Lachenmann, Complete String Quartets. JACK Quartet celebrates the iconic German composer's 90th birthday with a rare performance of his complete string quartets. The performance is on Thursday, October 9, 7:30PM.
From Melissa Smey, Executive Director of Miller Theatre: "Helmut Lachenmann is one of my favorite composers. His string quartets invite us to listen differently — to sound, to texture, and even silence. They are rigorous, with hints of humor and playfulness, demanding virtuosity from the musicians. They are also so rewarding for listeners, opening our ears and minds in unexpected ways. Experiencing these works live, performed by the extraordinary JACK Quartet, who have worked closely with Helmut over many years, is a unique and special opportunity we are excited to share with audiences."
Marking the 90th birthday celebration of Helmut Lachenmann—the iconic visionary who has profoundly shaped the landscape of modern classical music—the intrepid JACK Quartet performs his complete string quartets. The last time the complete quartets were performed in New York was over ten years ago. This promises to be an unforgettable performance of one of contemporary music’s most influential voices.
Program:
String Quartet No. 1 Gran Torso (1971/78/88)
String Quartet No. 2 Reigen seliger Geister (1989)
String Quartet No. 3 Grido (2001)
Helmut Lachenmann studied piano, theory, and counterpoint at the Music Conservatory in Stuttgart from 1955 to 1958 and composition with Luigi Nono in Venice from 1958 to 1960. The first public performances of his works took place at the Venice Biennale in 1962 and at the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt. After teaching at the University in Ludwigsburg, Lachenmann served as Professor for Composition at the Music Conservatory in Hannover (1976-81) and in Stuttgart (1981-99). Additionally, he managed many seminars, workshops, and master classes in Germany and abroad, including the Summer Courses in Darmstadt between 1978 and 2006. In 2008, Lachenmann was appointed the Fromm Visiting Professor at Harvard University and in 2010 he became a fellow of the Royal College of Music, London. He received numerous awards for his compositional work, including the Siemens Musikpreis (1997), the Royal Philharmonic Society Award London (2004) and the Berliner Kunstpreis as well as the Leone d’oro of the Biennale di Venezia (2008). Lachenmann holds an honorary doctorate at the Music Conservatory Hannover and a member of the Academies of the Arts in Berlin, Brussels, Hamburg, Leipzig, Mannheim, and Munich. His works are performed at festivals and concert series throughout Germany and internationally.
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