AKADEMIE FORUM: THOMAS VON STEINAECKER AND DAVID VON BASSEWITZ

Karlheinz Stockhausen is considered one of the leading composers of the 20th century. Beginning in the mid-1950s, he won particular acclaim as a pioneer of electronic music, creating sounds that had not been heard before. Over the following decades, his radical innovations and compositions, including avant-garde orchestral and stage works, had a major impact far beyond Germany. In their graphic-novel biography, author Thomas von Steinaecker and illustrator David von Bassewitz draw a multifaceted portrait of the composer and his music.

Born in 1977 in Traunstein, Bavaria, Thomas von Steinaecker is a writer and filmmaker and holds a PhD in literature. His debut novel, Wallner beginnt zu fliegen, made the shortlist for the 2007 German Book Prize; later novels have been nominated for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize, among other honors. His film Richard Strauss und seine Heldinnen won the 2015 International Classical Music Award as well as an ECHO Klassik. He enjoyed a long-standing personal friendship with Karlheinz Stockhausen.

David von Bassewitz was born in 1975 and is among the foremost German illustrators of his generation. He was named Best Illustrator by the Art Directors Club of Europe in 2010. His work has been published in Die Zeit, Stern, and L’Obs and was seen at venues such as the National Portrait Gallery in London. He published his first graphic novel, Vasmers Bruder (with a scenario by Peer Meter), in 2014.

In German.
Admission is free; registration is required.