# Kolja Lessing

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{{short description|German violinist, pianist and composer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name                = Kolja Lessing
| image               = 
| image_upright       = 
| caption             = 
| birth_name          = 
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1961|10|15|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [Karlsruhe](/source/Karlsruhe), [West Germany](/source/West_Germany)
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| education           = 
| occupation          = {{plainlist|
* Violinist
* Pianist
* Composer
* Academic teacher
}}
| organizations       = {{plainlist|
* [Hochschule für Musik Würzburg](/source/Hochschule_f%C3%BCr_Musik_W%C3%BCrzburg)
* [University of Music and Theatre Leipzig](/source/University_of_Music_and_Theatre_Leipzig)
* [State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart](/source/State_University_of_Music_and_Performing_Arts_Stuttgart)
}}
| awards              = {{plainlist|
* Johann Wenzel Stamitz Preis
* [Deutscher Kritikerpreis](/source/Deutscher_Kritikerpreis)
* [Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany](/source/Order_of_Merit_of_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany)
}}
}}
'''Kolja Lessing''' (born 15 October 1961) is a German violinist, pianist, composer and academic teacher. His focus as a soloist and chamber musician has been the neglected repertoire by composers who were ostracised under the [Nazi](/source/Nazi) regime. His recordings include four volumes of works by students of [Franz Schreker](/source/Franz_Schreker) in his master classes in Vienna and Berlin.

Lessing has taught violin at the [Hochschule für Musik Würzburg](/source/Hochschule_f%C3%BCr_Musik_W%C3%BCrzburg) and the [University of Music and Theatre Leipzig](/source/University_of_Music_and_Theatre_Leipzig), and has been professor at the [State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart](/source/State_University_of_Music_and_Performing_Arts_Stuttgart) from 2000. He has been awarded numerous honours, especially for his dedication to the music of neglected composers.

== Life ==
Lessing was born in [Karlsruhe](/source/Karlsruhe). He received his basic music education from his mother.<ref name="Stuttgart" /> From 1978, he attended the violin [master class](/source/master_class) of [Hansheinz Schneeberger](/source/Hansheinz_Schneeberger) in [Basel](/source/Basel).<ref name="Stuttgart" /><ref name="Bechstein" /> There, he also studied piano with Peter Efler from 1979. He passed his concert examinations in 1982 and 1983. He also received formative impulses through his collaboration with [Berthold Goldschmidt](/source/Berthold_Goldschmidt), [Ignace Strasfogel](/source/Ignace_Strasfogel) and [Zoltán Székely](/source/Zolt%C3%A1n_Sz%C3%A9kely).<ref name="Stuttgart" />

As a professor of violin, he taught at the [Hochschule für Musik Würzburg](/source/Hochschule_f%C3%BCr_Musik_W%C3%BCrzburg) from 1989 to 1993, at the [University of Music and Theatre Leipzig](/source/University_of_Music_and_Theatre_Leipzig) from 1993, and followed a call to the [State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart](/source/State_University_of_Music_and_Performing_Arts_Stuttgart) in 2000.<ref name="Stuttgart" /> From 1998 to 2015, he was a regular guest lecturer at the [Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity](/source/Banff_Centre_for_Arts_and_Creativity).<!-- Since 2011, he has been working with the Israeli writer [Elazar Benyoëtz](/source/Elazar_Benyo%C3%ABtz).<ref>[https://www.kairos-music.com/artists/kolja-lessing Kolja Lessing] on KAIROS</ref> - will see, cite doesn't support it-->

Lessing has performed worldwide as a violinist and pianist, also giving musicological lectures and master classes at European and North American universities.<ref name="Bechstein" /><ref name="Musikhochschule" />

Lessing has dedicated to wide-ranging repertoire, with a focus on works by composers who were ostracised under the [Nazi](/source/Nazi) regime, including [Franz Schreker](/source/Franz_Schreker) and his circle of students.<ref name="Schott" /> He revived stylistically different compositions for solo violin by [Haim Alexander](/source/Haim_Alexander), [Tzvi Avni](/source/Tzvi_Avni), [Abel Ehrlich](/source/Abel_Ehrlich), [Jacqueline Fontyn](/source/Jacqueline_Fontyn), [David Paul Graham](/source/David_Graham_(composer)), [Ursula Mamlok](/source/Ursula_Mamlok), [Krzysztof Meyer](/source/Krzysztof_Meyer), [Klaus Hinrich Stahmer](/source/Klaus_Hinrich_Stahmer), [Hans Vogt](/source/Hans_Vogt_(composer)).<ref name="Schott" /> [Berthold Goldschmidt](/source/Berthold_Goldschmidt) composed a work for him that he premiered. As a violinist and a pianist, he premiered compositions including the piano concerto ''Rivages solitaires'' by Jacqueline Fontyn, [Rudolf Hindemith](/source/Rudolf_Hindemith)'s Suite, [Ignace Strasfogel](/source/Ignace_Strasfogel)'s ''A Child's Day'', the violin concertos by Haim Alexander, [Sidney Corbett](/source/Sidney_Corbett)'s ''Yael'', works by Abel Ehrlich and [Stefan Hippe](/source/Stefan_Hippe), [Zoltán Székely](/source/Zolt%C3%A1n_Sz%C3%A9kely)'s Allegro, ''A une Madone'' by [Dimitri Terzakis](/source/Dimitri_Terzakis), and ''Le Violon de la Mort'' by [Grete von Zieritz](/source/Grete_von_Zieritz).<ref name="Musikhochschule" />

== Recordings ==
Lessing has recorded extensively both with violin and piano, including numerous first and complete recordings, also with a focus on neglected composers. He made a series of four CDs of music by composers who studied with Schreker, both as violinist and as pianist.<ref name="Richter" />
* [Johann Paul von Westhoff](/source/Johann_Paul_von_Westhoff): Complete Suites for Solo Violin (Capriccio)<ref name="Musikhochschule" />
* [Georg Philipp Telemann](/source/Georg_Philipp_Telemann): [12 Fantasias for Solo Violin](/source/12_Fantasias_for_Solo_Violin_(Telemann)) (Capriccio)<ref name="Musikhochschule" />
* [Ernst von Gemmingen](/source/Ernst_von_Gemmingen): Complete Violin Concertos (cpo)<ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/ernst-von-gemmingen-violin-concertos-nos-1-2-mr0003602003 Kolja Lessing / Ulf Schirmer / Munich Radio Orchestra / Ernst von Gemmingen: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2] [Allmusic](/source/Allmusic)</ref><ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/album/ernst-von-gemmingen-violin-concertos-3-4-fran%C3%A7ois-joseph-gossec-symphony-op-62-mw0002899985 Kolja Lessing / Ulf Schirmer / Munich Radio Orchestra / Ernst von Gemmingen: Violin Concertos Nos. 3 & 4] [Allmusic](/source/Allmusic)</ref>
* [Carl Czerny](/source/Carl_Czerny): The Art of Preluding, [Op](/source/Opus_number). 300 (cpo)<ref>Rucker, Patrick: [https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/czerny-piano-works-zhao-lessing Czerny Piano Works (Zhao. Lessing)] [Gramophone](/source/Gramophone_(magazine)) October 2019</ref>
* [Max Reger](/source/Max_Reger): Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra, Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, cond: [Christoph-Mathias Mueller](/source/Christoph-Mathias_Mueller) (telos music)<ref name="Mabille" /><ref name="Dixon" />
* Reger: Complete chamber music with Clarinet (Oehms)<ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/album/max-reger-integrale-kammermusik-f%C3%BCr-klarinette-mw0002960986 Stephan Siegenthaler / Leipziger Streichquartett / Kolja Lessing / Max Reger: Integrale Kammermusik für Klarinette] [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)</ref>
<!--* [Berthold Goldschmidt](/source/Berthold_Goldschmidt): Complete Piano Works (various labels)
* [Vladimir Rudolfovich Vogel](/source/Vladimir_Rudolfovich_Vogel): Complete Piano Works (Gramola)-->
* [Ignace Strasfogel](/source/Ignace_Strasfogel): Complete Piano Works (Decca)<ref>Rucker, Patrick: [https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/strasfogel-piano-works Strasfogel Piano Works] [Gramophone](/source/Gramophone_(magazine)) March 1998</ref>
<!--* [Ursula Mamlok](/source/Ursula_Mamlok): Violin Sonatas and Aphorisms I (Bridge Records)-->
* [Franz Reizenstein](/source/Franz_Reizenstein): Solo Sonatas for Piano, Viola and for Violin (eda records)<ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/album/franz-reizenstein-solo-sonatas-mw0001858364 Kolja Lessing / Franz Reizenstein: Solo Sonatas] [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)</ref>
* ''Franz Schreker's Masterclasses in Vienna and Berlin'', vol. 1-4, with works by [Karol Rathaus](/source/Karol_Rathaus), [Jerzy Fitelberg](/source/Jerzy_Fitelberg), [Grete von Zieritz](/source/Grete_von_Zieritz), [Wilhelm Grosz](/source/Wilhelm_Grosz), [Vladas Jakubėnas](/source/Vladas_Jakub%C4%97nas), Berthold Goldschmidt, Zdenka Ticharich, [Kurt Fiebig](/source/Kurt_Fiebig), Alexander Ecklebe, [Felix Petyrek](/source/Felix_Petyrek), {{ill|Hugo Herrmann|de|Hugo Herrmann (Musiker)}}, [Leon Klepper](/source/Leon_Klepper) and Isco Thaler (eda records)<ref name="Richter" /><ref name="Lewis" />

== Compositions ==
Compositions by Lessing are held by the German National Library, including:<ref name="DNB" />
* Sonata for clarinet solo 1978
<!--* ''The Disquieting Muses'' (after [Giorgio de Chirico](/source/Giorgio_de_Chirico)) for violin solo 1978/79
* ''Metaphysical Muse in a Street Illuminated by the Evening Sun'' for violin solo 1979-->
* Two duos for clarinet and violin: ''The Journey into the Unknown'' 1979, ''The Beauty of a Dream'' 1980
<!--* ''Frozen Time'' for two clarinets and violin 1980
* Meditation for violin solo 1982-->
* ''Gliding Figures'' for flute and viola 1998
* ''Sinking Mists'' for flute and alto flute 1998
<!--* ''Ravelesken'' for two violins 2006/07-->

Lessing wrote [cadenza](/source/cadenza)s to Mozart's violin concertos [K. 218](/source/K._218) and [K. 219](/source/K._219), and to all violin concertos by [Ernst von Gemmingen](/source/Ernst_von_Gemmingen).<ref name="DNB" />
<!--== Arrangements ==
* [Tzvi Avni](/source/Tzvi_Avni): ''Pas de deux'' (violin and piano) arranged for violin and string orchestra
* Claude Debussy: ''[La sérénade interrompue](/source/La_s%C3%A9r%C3%A9nade_interrompue)'' (''Préludes I'') arranged for violin and guitar-->

== Awards ==
<!--* Prize of Musikkredit Basel for the composition ''Die Schönheit eines Traumes'' (1980)
* 1992 [Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik](/source/Preis_der_deutschen_Schallplattenkritik)-->
* 1999 {{ill|Johann-Wenzel-Stamitz-Preis|de}}, special prize for his commitment to ostracised Jewish composers<ref name="Stuttgart" />
* 2008 [Deutscher Kritikerpreis](/source/Deutscher_Kritikerpreis)<ref name="Stuttgart" />
<!--* 2008 [Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik](/source/Preis_der_deutschen_Schallplattenkritik)-->
* 2015 [Otto-Hirsch-Auszeichnung](/source/Otto-Hirsch-Auszeichnung) of [Stuttgart](/source/Stuttgart)<ref name="Stuttgart" />
* 2020 [Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany](/source/Order_of_Merit_of_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany) for his merit for ostracised composers<ref name="Richter" />
<!--* 2020 {{Ill|Deutscher Musikeditionspreis|de}}-->

== References ==
{{Reflist
| refs =

<ref name="Dixon">{{cite web
| last = Dixon
| first = Gavin
| url = http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2012/Mar12/Reger_VC_TLS097.htm
| title = Max Reger (1873-1916) / Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra
| website = musicweb-international.com
| date = March 2012
| access-date = 11 March 2021
}}</ref>

<ref name="Lewis">{{cite web
| last = Louis
| first = Uncle Dave
| url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/franz-schrekers-masterclasses-in-vienna-and-berlin-vol-3-mw0001855630
| title = Kolja Lessing / Franz Schreker's Masterclasses in Vienna and Berlin, Vol. 3
| website = [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)
| date = 
| language = fr
| access-date = 11 March 2021
}}</ref>

<ref name="Mabille">{{cite web
| last = Mabille
| first = Olivier
| url = https://www.resmusica.com/2011/08/25/le-concerto-de-reger-une-grande-oeuvre-ignoree/
| title = Le concerto de Reger : une grande œuvre ignorée
| website = resmusica.com
| date = 25 August 2011
| language = fr
| access-date = 4 March 2021
}}</ref>

<ref name="Richter">{{cite web
| last = Richter
| first = Elisabeth
| url = https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/anspiel-schrekers-kompositionsklassen-lohnende-raritaeten.2825.de.html?dram:article_id=490269
| title = Schrekers Kompositionsklassen / Lohnende Raritäten
| publisher = [Deutschlandfunk](/source/Deutschlandfunk)
| date = 6 January 2021
| language = de
| access-date = 11 March 2021
}}</ref>

<ref name="Bechstein">{{cite web
| url = https://www.bechstein.com/en/the-world-of-bechstein/pianists/kolja-lessing/
| title = Kolja Lessing
| publisher = [Bechstein](/source/Bechstein)
| date = 
| access-date = 4 March 2021
}}</ref>

<ref name="DNB">{{cite web
| url = https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&reset=true&cqlMode=true&query=komRef%3D12400508X&selectedCategory=any
| title = Compositions by Kolja Lessing
| publisher = [German National Library](/source/German_National_Library)
| date = 
| language = de
| access-date = 23 March 2021
}}</ref>

<ref name="Musikhochschule">{{cite web
| url = https://www.hmdk-stuttgart.de/about/academic-and-administration-staff/?no_cache=1&L=1&tx_wtdirectory_pi1%5Bshow%5D=50
| title = Prof. Kolja Lessing / Fach: Violine
| publisher = [Musikhochschule Stuttgart](/source/Musikhochschule_Stuttgart)
| date = 
| language = de
| access-date = 10 March 2021
}}</ref>

<ref name="Schott">{{cite web
| url = https://en.schott-music.com/shop/autoren/kolja-lessing
| title = Kolja Lessing
| publisher = [Schott Music](/source/Schott_Music)
| date = 
| language = de
| access-date = 10 March 2021
}}</ref>

<ref name="Stuttgart">{{cite web
| url = http://www.stuttgart.de/item/show/273273/1/9/558805
| title = Musiker Kolja Lessing erhält Otto Hirsch-Auszeichnung
| publisher = [Stuttgart](/source/Stuttgart)
| date = 26 January 2015
| language = de
| access-date = 4 March 2021
| archive-date = 11 March 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160311222138/http://www.stuttgart.de/item/show/273273/1/9/558805
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

}}

== Further reading ==
* [Alain Pâris](/source/Alain_P%C3%A2ris): ''Klassische Musik im 20. Jahrhundert.'' 2nd edition. DTV, Munich 1997.
* Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich: Unser Musikjahrhundert. Residenz Verlag, Salzburg 1999.
* [Christoph Kammertöns](/source/Christoph_Kammert%C3%B6ns), [Siegfried Mauser](/source/Siegfried_Mauser) (ed.): ''Lexikon des Klaviers.'' Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2006.
* Ingo Harden, Gregor Willmes: ''Pianisten Profile.'' Bärenreiter, Kassel 2008.
* Ulrike Kienzle: ''Die Robert-Schumann-Gesellschaft Frankfurt (1956–2016).'' Verlag Frankfurter Bürgerstiftung, Frankfurt, 2016.

== External links ==
* {{Official|http://www.kolja-lessing.de}}
* [https://www.nmz.de/tags/kolja-lessing Kolja Lessing] (articles, in German) Neue Musikzeitung
* [http://www.klassik-heute.com/4daction/www_interpret?id=7230&disko Kolja Lessing] (reviews of recordings, in German) klassik-heute.com
* {{discogs artist}}

{{authority control}}
{{portal bar|Classical Music|Germany}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lessing, Kolja}}
Category:1961 births
Category:Musicians from Karlsruhe
Category:German classical pianists
Category:German classical violinists
Category:20th-century German classical composers
Category:Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg
Category:Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig
Category:Academic staff of the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart
Category:Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Category:Living people
Category:20th-century German male composers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kolja Lessing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolja_Lessing) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolja_Lessing?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.