Nikolaus Brass is a composer who brings thoughts to life through sound. Born in Lindau in 1949, he initially studied medicine and worked as a doctor for several years before devoting himself entirely to music. His path led him to Peter Kiesewetter and Helmut Lachenmann, whose influences he shaped into his own unique musical language: precise, thoughtful, intense. Since his first publication in 1981 (Traumrede), his works have been heard on the major stages and at the major festivals of new music – from the Donaueschingen Music Days to ECLAT and musica viva.
Brass is interested in the relationship between the individual and society – sound as a mirror of human structures. He seeks new forms of expression, particularly in music theatre: works such as Sommertag, earth diver and Die Vorübergehenden combine music, scene and philosophy to create haunting spaces of experience. His music questions responsibility and perception – and touches us because it listens where others speak.
