Biography

Florian Bergmann (born in 1984 in Berlin) is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer. His artistic focus spans a wide spectrum of contemporary music, ranging from new music to contemporary music theater and experimental jazz and improvisational music. From 2004 to 2009, he studied at the Hanns Eisler School of Music and the Berlin University of the Arts.

The core of his work lies in composing instrumental chamber music, where he combines his passion for exploring unusual sounds and sound combinations with a deep understanding of the rhythmic flexibility and complexity of jazz, alongside a penchant for theatrical staging of music. Many of his works feature innovative preparations of instruments, performative elements, or incorporate non-instrumental sounds (often through electroacoustic means) into the musical discourse.

He has composed works for his trio Transmitter (with Benedikt Bindewald and Alba Gentili-Tedeschi), the saxophone quartet Fo[u]r Alto, the Kreuzberger Clarinet Collective, the Circuit Training Ensemble, the Ensemble 5of6, the No Input Ensemble Paris, percussionist Sabrina Ma, various jazz formations, and more.

Additionally, he has written music for numerous music theater productions, including Bubbles(Theater o.N. Berlin, 2022), Music Adventure Game (online release, 2022), Stadt der Arbeit (Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, 2021), Dunkel ist die Nacht, Rigoletto! (Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra, 2020), Klangquadrat (Theater o.N. Berlin, 2017), Perspectives (Ballhaus Ost, 2012), and The Wood Project (Pumpenhaus Münster, 2011).

Bergmann has received composition scholarships from the Musikfonds (2022 and 2023), the Berlin Senate Department for Culture (2021 and 2024), and the German Orchestra Foundation (2021). His projects have been supported by the Capital Cultural Fund, Musikfonds, the initiative neue musik berlin, and the Berlin Senate Department for Culture.

As a (bass) clarinetist and saxophonist, he has performed at the Acht Brücken Festival Cologne, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Grec Festival Barcelona, Munich Biennale, Musiktheatertage Wien, Glatt&Verkehrt Krems, Multiphonic Festival Cologne, Unerhörte Musik and Kontraklang Berlin, Philharmonie and Konzerthaus Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berliner Ensemble and Deutsches Theater, National Theater Weimar, Neukölln Opera, and across Europe, the USA, Brazil, Taiwan, and Singapore. In 2011, he won the Hanns Eisler Prize for Contemporary Interpretation.

Since 2024, his works have been published by Universal Edition, with recordings released by NEOS Music, Transmitter Music, and Umlaut Records.

Florian Bergmann at Universal Edition
 
Florian Bergmann at Wikipedia

photos © Ola Orlikowska

Kontakt

Florian Bergmann
Berthelsdorfer Str. 9
12043 Berlin