Ludger Hofmann-Engl
Ludger Hofmann-Engl was born in 1964 in Bamberg (Germany). He has been living in London since 1992 and was the Chair Person of Chameleon Group of Composers. He also worked at Essex University, at the Link Schools (Beddington), The Rathbone Society (Lambeth) and Croydon Family Groups. In 2011, he successfully demonstrated in court that Ashgrove School (Bromley) has been conducting unlawful business. Currently, he is working as an IT technician and piano instructor at Coulsdon College.
He studied composition with Ludwig Schilling at the Conservatory Nuremberg. In piano, he was instructed at the Sacred Music Institute Erlangen and by E. Sternlicht in Berlin. At the Technical University Berlin he completed his MA with Carl Dahlhaus and Helga de la Motte-Haber in music science, philosophy and theoretical physics. During his studies he modified Ernst Terhardt's model on virtual pitch and pitch salience. Apparently, this model, supported by experimental data, solves problems of previous models as put forward by other researchers. The model also allows for the development of a contemporary harmony theory, which Hofmann-Engl presented during the VI Brazilian symposium of computer music in Rio de Janeiro in 1999. In 2003, he presented a stringent analysis of Schoenberg's op 19.2 based upon this virtual pitch model during the Interactive Musicnetwork Workshop at Leeds University. A software application of the theory in form of a harmony analyzer can be found here. In a paper delivered during the 9th ICMPC (Bologna, 2006), he demonstrated that the pattern approach to virtual pitch is superior to the temporal approach. The paper can be viewed here. In 2008, he made an aural presentation during ICMPC 10 in Sapporo (Japan), showing that his virtual pitch model (here coined Hofmann-Engl pitch) and Riemann's functional harmony theory are in support of each other. His paper on a historical perspective on consonance and dissonance appeared within the proceedings of ICMPC 11, Seattle, USA.
He completed his PhD in 2003 in psychology (Keele University) with John Sloboda as his main supervisor and Alan Marsden (University of Lancaster) as his external supervisor. In his research project he investigated issues related to cognitive/melodic similarity and melodic transformations. Talks given regarding these issues include the University of Southampton, the University of Texas at Dallas, City University London and King's College London. He presented a paper on melodic similarity models during the 2nd international conference on Music Information Retrieval at Bloomington (Indiana) in 2001. In 2002 his paper on rhythmic similarity was read by Richard Parncutt during the ICMPC 7 (7th international conference on music perception and cognition, Sydney). Hofmann-Engl also moderated a panel on What makes music similar during the 3rd international symposium on music information retrieval in Paris in 2002. He contributed to Axmedis 2008 in Florence with a paper on similarity software engineering. Other papers were included in conferences in France and Italy. A list of his publications is here.
In 2005, he devoted himself to investigating issues related to narcissistic personality disorder producing popular web-support material. Additionally, he published a paper on the issue of child abuse in 2006, which was welcomed by the NHS.
Between 2007 and 2011, he trained as a support worker with focus on child protection. He completed accredited courses in family support, supporting people with learning difficulties, safe handling medicines and others. In Autumn 2008, he delivered a speech on The Ethics of a seamless service towards economic independence during the general annual meeting of Croydon Family Groups.
As a composer he endeavours to create music of cognitive relevance. Thus, many of his compositional tools are based upon cognitive concepts. He further attempts to develop complex musical structures which are in accordance with life experiences - exceeding descriptions via simple models - creating music which he understands to be life affirmative. In this sense his music is related to basic concepts of descriptive statistics and information theory. His aesthetics are influenced by Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and Hume. At present he is working on his opera Über die Sprache (About language) with the overture and first scene completed and the second scene in progress. The opera will be completed in 2014.
Three pieces based upon poems by A. E. Housman were completed in 2004 and have been reviewed by Kevin Whittingham (Housman Society Journal, volume 30, 2004).
At the end of 2003, he premiered his three waltzes and his Fantasia in London. In his review, Paul Reader claimed that Chopin's op 68.2 was played to perfection. In 2006 he participated during the XV symposium of contemporary music in Rosario (Argentina) as a pianist, composer and lecturer. His talk The Role of the Composer in the Contemporary Society can be downloaded here. As a pianist, he appeared last in a concert in January 2009 during the Mussorgsky Family Project sponsored by the National Lottery via CALAT. He presented the results of this project during Meryc 2009 in Bologna. He recorded BWV 1080.14 in autumn 2009. He further recorded Schumann's Kinderszenen in 2010. The Best of Kinderszenen was released online on the 8th of June 2010 in order to commemorate Schumann's 200th birthday anniversary. In 2011, he recorded and released online Bach's Inventiones.
He has been delivering services during the project Music Talks to All as part of the national programme of Every Child a Talker with ca 50 music session having been held in Early Years Settings. He presented the findings of this project during Meryc 2011 in Helsinki. Until Croydon Family Groups was closed down, he was in process of designing a music curriculum for Children Centres. Due to national and local spending cuts the project was cut short after ca 12 sessions had been delivered in 2010/2011. For autumn 2012, he has been invited to contribute to the symposium: Neue Musik - heute? with a talk on nusic pedagogical projects in Vienna.
Hofmann-Engl's work includes ca 60 compositions (List of works). His zweite symphonische Arbeit is published on CD (VMM 3003), a recording by the Polish Radio and TV Orchestra Krakow in 1991, so is his erste Klaviersonate (VMM 2016) recorded in 1995 with him as the performer. His music has been featured regularly on German radio (Concerto Bavarese). As a pianist he appeared on German Radio and in concerts in London, Vienna, Berlin, Rosario and elsewhere. His composition Abstract I for viola, bassoon and harpsichord (duration ca. 35 min) was produced by Bavarian Radio in February 2004. Composers Library (18 Aylward Close, Hadleigh, Suffolk, UK) has released two of his works: Cyclone (piano solo) and the facsimile edition of his zweite symphonische Arbeit. He recorded his composition Klangfarbenmusik for piano in 2005 and premiered this composition in Rosario (Argentina) in 2006.
In 1999, he organized two simultaneous concerts with Internet live broadcasts held at the ICA London and New York in collaboration with the New York group Friends and Enemies of New Music. During the 5th anniversary and last concert of Chameleon Composers in 2000, he was acclaimed for his pianistic skills.
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