Hermann Heiß

Hermann Heiß often operated under the pseudonym George Frauenfelder. In World War I he was a prisoner of war of the United States and then studied music (composition) in Frankfurt am Main and Wien until 1927. His main work focus was 12-tone music and electronic music. From 1928-33 Heiß taught at Spiekeroog, an island in the North Sea. In 1939 he married the dancer Maria Muggenthaler. In the 1940s he was a teacher at the army music school. In 1944 90% of his works were destroyed in an air raid on Darmstadt, but from 1946 he taught there as a lecturer. In 1948 Heiß was awarded the Büchner Prize. In 1955, he established one of the first electronic music studios in Germany.

In 1931/32 he composed Das Jahresrad (The Year’s Wheel), a 75-80 minute “choral festival … for choirs, movement choirs and orchestra” based on a poem by Edwin Redslob (1884-73), who was responsible for the German participation in the 1928 and 1932 art competitions. Later, a choreography by famous Hungarian dancer Rudolf von Laban was added. With regard to the Jahresrad, in 1933 there is still talk of a performance at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. After Redslob’s dismissal from the civil service, however, this was not possible any longer. Other intended performances did not materialize, so that the composition was never performed. The score is lost.