Born in 1966 in Zell am See in Austria, Clemens Gadenstätter studied Composition under Erich Urbanner and Helmut Lachenmann. In addition, he graduated in Performance Studies (flute) at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
Gadenstätter’s musical undertaking explores the compositional resynthesis of perception, sensation and feeling. For him, this should bring together the trinity of listening, comprehension, and composition.
His recent work concerns the transformation of acoustically triggered, pre-formed feelings: (in the series E.P.O.S.: les premiers cris, les cris des lumières, les derniers cris for different ensemble arrangements; „HÖREN VERSTEHEN KOMPONIEREN” [LISTENING COMPREHENSION COMPOSITION] – Essay); daily work and the banal (in Semantical Investigations 1 for violin and ensemble, Semantical Investigations 2 for small ensemble; as well as the essay, „Was heißt hier banal” [What do we mean banal?]); the poly-modality of listening (platzen/bersten for cello and piano, häuten, schlitzen, reißen, String Quartet 1, 2, and 3, ES, minimal opera for voice, ensemble, and film; les derniers cris / E.P.O.S. 1; les cris des lumières / E.P.O.S. 2; les premiers cris / E.P.O.S. 3) as well as musical iconography (the series ICONOSONICS 1 – 3). At present, Gadenstätter has invigorated his engagement with other media: les cris des lumières for ensemble and light; and daily transformations for voices, instruments, electronics, video, space, and light, a work realized in collaboration with Anna Henckel-Donnersmark (film) and Lisa Spalt (text).
Since 1992, various collaborations with artists such as Joseph Santarromana (video installation), Rose Breuss, Toni Kay (media, conceptual, and video art), Lisa Spalt (author), Anna Henckel-Donnersmark (film, video, installation), and others.
Since 2003/04, Professor at the University of Music Graz for Music Theory and Analysis, as well as lecturer for Composition. In the summer semester of 2013, a guest professor for Composition at the University of Music and performing arts Carl-Maria von Weber, Dresden. 2017/18 guest professor for Composition at the Nordic Music High school, Oslo.
In 2014, Clemens Gadenstätter was a lecturer at the Darmstadt holiday course for new music; in 2013 and 2015, a lecturer at Impulse Academy Graz; as well as a lecturer at COURSE – Master class for Composition Kiew/Lviv in 2015 and 2017.
From 1995 to 2000, Gadenstätter published „ton”, the music journal of the IGNM-Sektion Österreich. Until 2002, he organized many events (most recently: SALON13: Six Evenings of Music, Literature, Film, Art, and Science in Echoraum, Vienna)
Web: http://www.clemensgadenstaetter.eu (2018)