Johannes Maria Staud

Born in Innsbruck in 1974, the composer repeatedly draws inspiration for his music from other arts such as literature, film and visual art. Philosophical questions, social processes and political events provide inspiration for his compositional work as well. His artfully constructed works, which range from solo pieces to full-length music theater compositions, always follow a consistent dramaturgy.

Staud studied composition in Vienna and Berlin, including with Michael Jarrell and Hanspeter Kyburz. He has been commissioned to write works for the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the Lucerne Festival, the Aldeburgh Festival, the Cité de la Musique, IRCAM/Centre Pompidou, the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics, the Cleveland Orchestra, the BR Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Intercontemporain and Klangforum Wien, among others.

He has worked with soloists such as Midori, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Martin Fröst, Martin Grubinger, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Heinrich Schiff, Christoph Sietzen, Tamara Stefanovich, Katrien Baerts and Sarah Aristidou, as well as with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Mariss Jansons, Susanna Mälkki, Emilio Pomàrico, Simon Rattle, Franz Welser-Möst, François-Xavier Roth and Matthias Pintscher.

Staud was a visiting professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in 2015/2016 and has been a professor of composition at the Mozarteum Salzburg since 2018. He is co-initiator of the Arco Composition Summer Academy.