Alexander Wagendristel
Alexander Wagendristel was born in 1965 in Vienna, Austria. He studied flute with Werner Tripp and composition with Friedrich Neumann, Heinrich Gattermeyer and Erich Urbanner at the Vienna Music University. He graduated from both studies with unanimous distinction.
He also attended the “Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik” in 1988, as well as a flute masterclass lead by Aurèle Nicolet. Since 1987, Alexander Wagendristel is working as first solo flute in the ”Vereinigte Bühnen Wien“ Orchestra.
His over 130 works have earned prizes at several international composition competitions and as well recieved awards from the Austrian Ministery of Culture, the City of Vienna, the federal state of Lower Austria and the Theodor Körner Fund. In 1995, his second opera „Der Narr“ (based on a Edgar Allan Poe short story) was premiered to much critical and public acclaim at the Schönbrunn Palace Theater, Vienna and in 2001, his piano concerto „TYPHON“ was chosen by the Austrian ISCM section for a performance in the Vienna Konzerthaus, which took place in March 2002. The same work was also included in the 2007 ISCM World Music Festival in Hongkong. In 2010, he was commissioned to compose the music for the Austrian pavillon at the EXPO 2010 in Shanghai. Other performances of his music include festivals in Austria and various places in Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Macedonia, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Egypt, USA and Taiwan.
From 1988 to 1992 he was a member of the improvisation group “Things of NowNow” together with drummer Lukas Ligeti. Further collaborations include visual artist Anna Mitterer (short film “Sonate”, 2008) and electronic musician/DJane Susanne Kirchmayr aka Electric Indigo (EXPO 2010).
In 2002, together with Roland Freisitzer and Thomas Heinisch, he founded “ensemble reconsil vienna”, which is specialized in new music and has premiered over 100 new works since.