Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf

Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf (born 22 October 1962) is a German composer, editor, and author.

Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf was born in Mannheim, West Germany, and studied composition with Brian Ferneyhough, Klaus Huber und Emanuel Nunes and music theory at the music academy in Freiburg, where he graduated in 1992. At the same time, he studied musicology, philosophy with Jürgen Habermas and sociology at university. In 1993 he was awarded a doctorate in philosophy for his dissertation on Arnold Schönberg. For his compositions Mahnkopf has won numerous international prizes, among them the Gaudeamus International Composers Award in 1990, the composition prize of the city Stuttgart and the Composers Award of the Ernst-von-Siemens Music Foundation in 1998. Mahnkopf went to Rome (Villa Massimo), Italy, Venice (Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani), Italy, and Basel (Paul-Sacher-Stiftung), Swiss, on scholarships. In 1995 he was one of the founders of the Gesellschaft für Musik und Ästhetik (society for music and aesthetics) and he is also one of the editors of the society’s magazine. Mahnkopf worked as music theory teacher and as consultant for opera houses and he published many essays in musicological magazines. In 1999 he married professor doctor Francesca Yardenit Albertini, a Jewish philosopher of religion. From 2001 until 2005 Mahnkopf worked regularly at the Experimental Studio of the SWR. Since 2005 Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf teaches composition at the University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in Leipzig. His music is being performed by many ensembles, like SurPlus or ensemble recherche on international festivals, for example on the Salzburger Festspiele or the Flandern Festival. Among the artists to perform his works regularly are oboist Peter Veale, Sophie-Mayuko Vetter, Carin Levine, James Avery and Frank Cox.

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