H-J Koellreutter was a composer, conductor, and educator that had a mostly teaching career of more than 60 years in a country of his choosing. He was born in Germany and emigrated to Brazil in 1937, he lived in India and Japan for many years and went back to the country he identified the most, Brazil. He was a citizen of the world as he believed we should be. Koellreutter was from a western European country and said he learned from ancient, eastern, and third world countries concepts that would change his views of the universe and music. This article will briefly describe his life and most important events that involved him and the music of Brazil.
Koellreutter dedicated his life to education and taught many of the great names of Brazilian pop and classical music scenes. Among his students were from the Brazilian pop music, the creator of Bossa-Nova Tom Jobim, Tim Rescala, and Tom Zé; from the classical music Gilberto Mendes, Diogo Pacheco, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Oliver Toni, Benito Juarez, and Claudio Santoro.
He revolutionized 20th century Brazilian music and the impact of his thoughts continues in many of his disciples. His pedagogy and approach to music shook the old style education and provoked admiration and outrage throughout his career.
He was always concerned with the terminology and thought that it was one of the most important aspects of the twentieth century music. For decades he worked on his Terminologia de Uma Nova Nova Estética da Música (Terminology of a New Aesthetics of Music) in an attempt to set the grounds for his new music aesthetics. He also coined several new terms to represent concepts of his relativistic view of music.
Koellreutter was extremely influenced by modern Physics, Philosophy, Eastern Philosophy, and Semiotics. His aesthetics and consequently his teachings would merge all this in a unique view of music and the universe.
When I first met him in 1983 in Tatui, Sao Paulo for a two-week intensive program he was already a legend and I was only 20 years old and very intimidated by him. I took two courses: Introduction to Art Aesthetics and Pedagogic Update and Teaching Methodology on Ear Training Theory; besides a few other group analysis classes with my college friends who were his students.
Koellreutter had a fantastic sense of humor but his face sometimes scared people who did not know him. Sometimes when asked a question he would stay quite for a few seconds while his brain was at work. His face would be transfigured and the tension of the silent moment would make perfect Koellreutter music.