Zimmermann, Bernd Alois, 1918–1970, German modernist composer, b. Bliesheim. He began studying music at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne in 1938, was drafted into the military (1939–42), then earned his degree in 1947; he also later studied with René Leibowitz and others. He often earned a living composing free-lance for radio and film, and taught at his alma mater from 1957. Zimmerman compositions ranged from neoclassicism to atonality and serial music. Early works include Sinfonia Prosodica (1945) and Concerto for Orchestra (1946–48). His three-movement Violin Concerto (1950) contains the dark “Dies Irae” plainchant in the second movement. Later works include Perspektiven (1955–56), Omnia Tempus Habent (1957), Cello Sonata (1960), Die Soldaten (1957–65, his only opera and best-known work), Intercomunicazione (1967), Photoptosis (1968), and Requiem for a Young Poet (1967–69).
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