German composer, 'master of vocal music,' Aribert Reimann dead at 88

German composer Aribert Reimann died in Berlin on Wednesday at the age of 88, his music publisher Schott Music announced on Thursday, citing his family.

At his last public appearance in February, Reimann had personally accepted the German Music Author Award from the GEMA collection society for his life's work.

With more than 70 works, he was considered one of the most important and most frequently performed creators of contemporary music. His opera "Lear," based on William Shakespeare's tragedy "King Lear," which premiered in 1978, made him world-famous.

Having grown up in a musical family, Reimann studied composition with Boris Blacher and Ernst Pepping after leaving school in 1955.

At the same time, he made a name for himself as a concert pianist and song accompanist - especially for the singers Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Brigitte Fassbaender. He composed the majority of his songs for them, including the "Five Poems by Paul Celan" (1960).

Reimann wrote his first opera "Ein Traumspiel" (A Dream Play) based on a play by Swedish playwright August Strindberg when he was not yet 30 years old.

In addition to the famous "Lear," other major works for music theatre include "Troades," Euripides' "The Trojan Women," "Das Schloss" based on Franz Kafka's novel "The Castle," and "Medea."

The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, which honoured him with its prestigious prize for his life's work in 2011, called him the "undisputed master" of vocal music.

"Aribert Reimann, who never ran after the music business, never followed any direction, ... has played a decisive role in shaping the musical scene of recent decades," the laudatory speech said.

He also composed numerous instrumental works such as chamber music pieces, solo concertos and two piano concertos, in 1961 and 1972. From 1974 to 1983, he held a professorship for contemporary song at the Hamburg Music Academy, then for almost 15 years at the Berlin University of the Arts.

In 1988, he founded the Busoni Composition Prize to promote young composers. His numerous honours include the Grand Cross of Merit with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany.