Thomas Daniel Schlee Dies at 68

He was one of the influential music creators of southern Austria - Thomas Daniel Schlee, as a composer, organist, but above all as the long-time director of the Carinthian Summer, significantly influenced the musical scene in the country. Now the native Viennese passed away yesterday, shortly after his 68th birthday. The family shared this with Ö1. Thus, after Gerda Fröhlich, the second former leading figure of the Carinthian Summer passed away within a few days.

Born on October 26, 1957, Thomas Daniel Schlee, as the eldest son of musicologist Alfred Schlee, had the world of sounds literally laid in his cradle. The young Schlee took organ lessons with Friedrich Lessky and studied organ and composition at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts, but also earned a doctorate in musicology and art history at the University of Vienna. This dual perspective on music - the viewpoint of the theorist and enabler combined with practical music-making and composing - also became formative for Schlee's professional career.

Career of Schlee

In 1986, he became a music dramaturge at the Salzburg State Theater and in 1990, music director of the Linz Brucknerhaus. At the end of the millennium, he moved to Germany, where Schlee was deputy director of the Bonn Beethovenfest from 1999 to 2003. And then followed the position that would decisively shape the work of music manager Thomas Daniel Schlee.

In 2004, he became the director of the Carinthian Summer and remained so until 2015. Among the highlights of his tenure was the premiere of his church opera "I, Job" in 2007. However, in 2015, there was a separation due to disputes over new funding contracts, which Schlee believed restricted the director's decision-making freedom.

But even though leadership roles defined Schlee's life, he never gave up concert playing. As an organist, Schlee was active internationally, and as a composer, he was significantly influenced by a stay with Olivier Messiaen in Paris. The compositional oeuvre of Thomas Daniel Schlee includes works for orchestra, ensembles, vocal and instrumental music, with the composer working on new pieces until the end.

Tributes to Schlee

Accordingly, the number of honors bestowed upon Schlee throughout his life is also large. These range from winning the organ composition competition "Olivier Messiaen" in Bologna in 1989, to the Austrian Federal Chancellery's Promotion Prize in 2003, to the Honorary Cross for Science and Art of the Republic in 2012, as well as the Grand Golden Decoration of Carinthia in 2015 and of Lower Austria last year.

Ö1 will commemorate the deceased next Monday (November 17) with a repeat of the program "Sound Art: Zeit-Ton". This talk show was created by Johannes Leopold Mayer together with Schlee in 2017.

"A Great Composer"

The Carinthian Summer, as his long-standing place of work, mourned the deceased, who significantly increased the diversity of the festival's program during his eleven years at its helm. "We are deeply saddened that with Thomas Daniel Schlee, a great composer has left us, who, based on his extensive knowledge, was able to create exquisite programs at the Carinthian Summer that received great international attention," said Schlee's successor Nadja Kayali in a statement.

Norbert Trawöger, as Artistic Director of the Linz Brucknerhaus, also expressed his sorrow at the news of the death. Schlee, as Music Director of the Brucknerhaus and Artistic Director of the Bruckner Festival from 1990 to 1998, provided unforgettable events and brought the music of greats like Arvo Pärt or Olivier Messiaen to Upper Austria: "His spirit will and should always remind us of the essential, the human, the wonder of music, even though we will painfully miss Thomas Daniel Schlee as a person in the future!"

From the state of Carinthia, Governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) issued a statement on Schlee's passing. "We are losing an outstanding personality of the Austrian music and cultural scene," who "culturally shaped Carinthia for many years. His commitment to the Carinthian Summer and his passion for music will remain in our grateful memory," said Kaiser.

(APA/Red)

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