German composer and conductor Matthias Pintscher first studied piano, percussion, and violin, and later, conducting, quickly going on to lead the youth orchestra of his hometown. This experience reinforced his love of orchestral music, and influenced his early works, which are characterised by their “symphonic” nature.

After study in London in 1988, Pintscher studied composition with Giselher Klebe at the Detmold Hochschule für Musik. In 1990, he met Hans Werner Henze, and from 1992 to 1994, studied with Manfred Trojahn in Düsseldorf.

Numerous study grants and residencies punctuated Pintscher’s rapid development as an artist. His catalogue includes two operas - Thomas Chatterton (1994-98) and L’espace dernier (2004), with a libretto by the composer based on the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud - and the ballet Gesprungene Glocken (1992-93, revised in 2000). In his instrumental music, a sort of “imaginary theatre” is alluded to; works such as Allegoria sonora, per un violoncello e gruppo stumentale (1992), Fünf Orchesterstücke (1997), and Sur « Départ » (1999) are experienced as veritable musical dramaturgies. The influence of visual arts and poetry is also palpable in Pintscher’s music: for example, Giacometti’s work is evoked in Figura - Zyklus, Frammento (1997), and Rimbaud’s poetry has been included in several pieces which seek to embody the “colour” of the French language and musically depict the poet’s distinct style. Pintscher uses the term Sprach-musiken to describe the dramaturgical nature of his compositions and the declamatory power which he seeks to give musical sound. In 2009, he composed Songs from Solomon’s garden, based on the biblical Song of Songs.

In 2008, Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra premiered Pintscher’s Osiris. Subsequent works of note include a cycle for string instruments (with orchestrations ranging from solo violin, in Study III for Treatise on the Veil, to string quartet, Study IV for Treatise on the Veil [2009]), she-cholat ahavat ani (2008) for mixed choir a cappella, and the Sonic Eclipse cycle, comprising three concertos for brass instruments: celestial object I for trumpet, celestial object II for horn (2009), and Occultation for horn and trumpet (2010). In April 2013, Hérodiade-Fragmente was performed by the Vienna Philharmonic at Musikverein Wien, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.

Matthias Pintscher has taught composition at the Munich Hochschule für Musik und Theater and served as Artistic Director of the Heidelberg Spring Festival Workshop since 2007. As a conductor, he is regularly invited to lead the world’s most revered ensembles and orchestras (BBC Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, Ensemble Contrechamps, Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, Museumorchester Frankfurt, NDR Sinfonierorchester, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, etc.).

Following residencies with the Saarbrücken Radio Orchestra in 2006-07, the Cologne Philharmonic in 2007-08, and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony in 2008-09, Pintscher moved to New York. In 2012, he was named Music Director of Ensemble Intercontemporain, a post that he has occupied since the 2013-14 season. In 2014, he became a composition professor at the Juilliard School. In 2015, he was Composer-in-Residence at the Grafenegg and Moritzburg Festivals. From 2016 to 2018, he was Head Conductor of the Orchestra of the Lucerne Festival Academy, and in 2017-18, undertook further work as a mentor of students and young musicians during the Berlin Philharmonic Karajan Academy. In the following season, he finished a nine-year Artist-in-Association contract with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and was the Artistic Director of the Tonhalle Orchester in Zurich and Artist-in-Residence with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Also in the 2018-19 season, he conducted the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, with whom he premiered Beat Furrer’s opera, Violetter Schnee. Pintscher’s piano concerto, Nur, was premiered in January 2019 by Daniel Barenboim and the Boulez Ensemble, and the following June, a work for baritone, choir, and orchestra was premiered by Dietrich Henschel and the Tonhalle-Orchester in Zurich.

In February 2020, he conducted the premiere of his new work for baritone, choir, and orchestra, Shir IV, performed by Georg Nigl and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks at the Musica Viva festival. In the summer of 2020, Matthias Pintscher took up the position of Music Director of the 74th Ojai Music Festival. In 2020-2021, he began a three-season tenure as the new Creative Partner of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Awards, Grants, and Prizes

• First Prize in the Hitzacker-Kompositionswettbewerb, and Audience Prize at the ISCM World Music Days in Warsaw, for String Quartet No. 2
• First Prize in the Agosto Corcianese Composition Competition (Perugia)
• 1994: SACEM Prize (Paris)
• 1995: Kasseler Kunstpreis
• Körber Foundation Prize for Vocal Music for Thomas Chatterton (Hamburg)
• 1999: Prince Pierre de Monaco Prize for Thomas Chatterton
• VR-Leasing AG Culture Prize (Frankfurt)
• 2000: Composition Prize at the Salzburg Easter Festival
• Hindemith Prize from the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival
• 2001: “Grand Prix” from the Charles Gros Academy for the CD published by Teldec in the “New Line” Series; Cecilia Prize (Belgium)
• 2002: Hans-Werner-Henze Prize (Westphalia)
• 2012: 6th Roche Commission Prize for Chute d’étoiles