Born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, in 1954.

 

In 1960, he started taking piano lessons at the Schaffhausen Conservatory. In 1975, he moved to Vienna where he trained and found international success. He won an award at the ‘Young Generation in Europe’ composition competition which took place in Cologne, Venice and Paris in 1984. In 1985, after studying at the Vienna School of Music and the Performing Arts under Roman Haubenstock-Ramati (composition) and Otmar Suitner (conducting), he founded the Klangforum Wien Ensemble of which he has since been a conductor. Furthermore, he served as the Ensemble’s artistic director until 1992.

 

Commissioned by the Vienna State Opera, Beat Furrer wrote his first opera, „Die Blinden”, which premiered in 1989 at the Wien Modern festival. He won another award at the Young Composers Forum in Cologne that same year. In 1993, he received the Music Prize of the City of Duisburg. Beat Furrer's second opera, „Narcissus”, premiered at the steirischer herbst festival in Graz in 1994. His concerto for two pianos, „Nuun”, had its highly acclaimed premiere at the Salzburg Festival in 1996. In 2001, the concert performance of his opera “Begehren” premiered at the steirischer herbst festival. In 2003, the first staged performance of that opera took place in Graz. He won the Music Prize of the city of Vienna in 2004. In 2006, he was awarded the Golden Lion for „Fama” at the Venice Biennale.

 

Beat Furrer has been professor of composition at the Graz University of Music and Dramatic Arts since 1991 and since 2005 he has been appointed member of the Academy of the Arts, Berlin. He lives in Kritzendorf near Vienna.