Wolfgang Meyer

Wolfgang Meyer was a long-time member of the board of trustees of the ZKM. »He has accompanied the work of the ZKM in a competent and collegial manner,« says Manfred Popp, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Peter Weibel and Christiane Riedel, Executive Board members of the ZKM, in commemoration of the excellent musician and brilliant person.

Wolfgang Meyer was born in Crailsheim in 1954. As a child, he was an enthusiastic clarinet player, and so was his sister Sabine. At the age of 15 Wolfgang Meyer was awarded 1st prize in the national competition »Jugend musiziert«. He won this title twice in the following years. He studied clarinet under Otto Hermann at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart and under Hans Deinzer at the Musikhochschule Hannover. This was followed by many prizes for the young and talented musician: At the age of 20 he was awarded the »Kranichsteiner Music Prize« and in 1975 he won the »International Music Competition of the ARD«. It became clear that Wolfgang Meyer was not only an outstanding soloist, but also an exciting chamber musician. Wolfgang Meyer was devoted to classical music. In 1976 he won first prize in the competition of the German music academies, three years later he received a teaching position at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe, where he worked as professor until 2016 and even held the position of principal from 2001 to 2007.

As a soloist, Wolfgang Meyer was particularly committed to contemporary compositions that had been dismissed as primeval music in the classical music scene for far too long. In 2008 he premiered the work »Levitation«, composed by Peter Eötvös for him and his sister Sabine. He was also a member of the »Zemlinsky Trio«, the »Carmina Quartet« and the »Quatuor Mosaïques« in addition to the »Trio di Clarone« founded in 1983 with his sister and Reiner Wehle. He inspired audiences all over the world with several world premieres of Tiberiu Olah, Jean Francaix, Hubert Stuppner and Edison Denissow.

His chamber music activities were very varied. Various vinyl and CD recordings, among others with EMI, Amati, Beyer Records and harmonica mundi france, document the repertoire of the deceased musician. Through his fine feeling for free-spirited experiments Wolfgang Meyer was able to unfold the whole beauty of clarinet sound. Whether in South American evergreens, contemporary pieces, jazz compositions or on historical instruments – his great love for music was unmistakable.