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Wendelin Bitzan

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Berlin
Wendelin Bitzan

Musician, researcher, and digital content creator. Based in Berlin and Düsseldorf.

Recordings available at:
www.soundcloud.com/wendelinbitzan
www.soundcloud.com/wendelin82

Sheet music available at:
www.imslp.org/wiki/Category:Bitzan,_Wendelin

Writings available at:
rsh-duesseldorf.academia.edu/WendelinBitzan
www.twitter.com/wendelinbitzan

Consider a donation:
www.paypal.me/wendelinbitzan

16/04/2026

The summer term at Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf has begun, and I am looking forward to my upcoming classes. In addition to the regular undergraduate music theory programme, I will be teaching two seminars that explore intersections between musicology, music analysis, and the study of historical treatises.

The first one focuses on the chamber music of Croatian composer Dora Pejačević in collaboration with pianist Kyra Steckeweh, the violin studio of my colleague Andrej Bielow and other RSH faculty appearing in a lecture series that will also see me presenting on Dora's piano trio, opus 29. The other one traces back the development of sonata analysis and theories of sonata form throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, starting from Heinrich Christoph Koch's rhetorical conception, and ending up delineating contemporary Anglo-American approaches to sonata theory. Both seminars will be held remotely every other werk, which means guest participation is easily possible—let me know in case you would like to join in.

23/03/2026

Today I would like to share some ambivalent experiences with the German youth competition Jugend musiziert, which I have had the chance to explore from different perspectives: as a participant, parent, committee delegate, and jury member. After serving on a chamber music jury in last year's competition, I was designated to be a chairman of the solo voice category this year, and meant to recruit the other jury members and supervise the submitted programmes. Unfortunately, interaction and collaboration within the relevant committee turned out to be so inefficient and unsatisactory that I saw no other option than resigning from both functions as a delegate and jury member.

The subsequent actions of the committee and project management at Landesmusikrat Berlin led to a rash and unnecessary replacement of the whole jury, which appeared harmful with regard to the eligibility and appreciation of the previously chosen jury members, who are likely to be discouraged from future participations, and might even have had a loss of earnings after their short-notice cancellation. This is a pity, given the preconditions of the competition which essentially relies on a vast amount of voluntary work of the persons involved. These developments also point to a need of general reforms in the routines and organisational structures of the competition. I would be interested to know what you think of this, or if any of you has made similar observations and experiences.

On another note: The appearances of my daughter Cosima, a 15-year-old harpist, in the Berlin regional and state competitions have been immensely delightful. It is my pleasure to report that her performances of music by Handel, Tournier, and Andrès, as well as her own composition »Dreaming Willow«, earned her one of the highest scores in her category and the advancement to the federal competition, which will take place in Regensburg in May 2026.

07/03/2026

I somehow managed to compose something again, after quite a time without any creative musical output. The product of my intermittent efforts during the second half of last year is now finally completed and engraved, leaving me with the duty of preparing it for an occasional performance—or, maybe before that, a private presentation to the person to whom it owes its existence, Tine Tl'dr, the dedicatee of this three-movement SonaTine for piano solo.

To anyone else who would fancy taking a look: you may find the score at your favourite source of sheet music on the internet (see first comment). As always, I will be delighted to hear your comments and appreciations.

26/02/2026

In her recent piece for VAN Magazin, music educator and communicator Barbara Balba Weber sketches an exit strategy from the corrupted business of classical music. As she describes and analyses her change of profession, leaving behind the feudal gatekeeping system of concert halls, festivals, and music universities for a decent teaching position in a small alpine village, the author presents her personal letter of resignation from a system that has outlived itself as a cultural practice and means of artistic identification. I, for one, can relate to these feelings very strongly, and felt much inspired by this article (see first comment).

»Classical music has been heavily guarded for centuries.«
»Die klassische Musik wird seit Jahrhunderten streng bewacht.«

»Classical music is designed so that people stay with their own kind.«
»Die klassische Musik ist dazu da, dass man unter sich bleiben kann.«

08/02/2026

New choral performances upcoming! I will be appearing on stage with Vokalsystem Berlin again in two concerts featuring music by Johann Sebastian Bach, John Tavener, Arvo Pärt, Caroline Shaw, Pink Floyd, and Radiohead. The programme is named »Symmetries« and will present a multi-perspective crossover experience, blending influences from classical music, swing, and contemporary styles, and confronting vocal sounds with percussion, electric guitar, and organ. Join us at Martin-Luther-Kirche Neukölln on Saturday 14 February, 8 pm, or Sunday 15 February, 6 pm. See the first comment for tickets!

09/01/2026

Earlier this week I had the opportunity of speaking in front of the Committee of Cultural Affairs in the Berlin House of Representatives. I appeared as a spokesperson for my association Tonkünstlerverband Berlin in a consultation of experts and cultural administration, discussing questions of how to fund and recruit more permanent positions on the faculty of Berlin's public music schools. In my statement I advocated for fair payment of all persons in music education and equal treatment of teachers in state and private institutions, as well as freelance educators. Please find a link to the recording of the committee meeting in the first comment (my contributions start at timecodes 51:37 and 2:09:36).

27/12/2025

Remembering Stephan today, whom I dearly miss. Requiescas in pace, my friend! 😥

24/12/2025

Für den Tonkünstlerverband Berlin habe ich eine Stellungnahme zur aktuellen Musikschulpolitik des Berliner Senats verfasst. Darin begrüßen wir den Vorstoß der Regierungskoalition, mehr Festanstellungen an den öffentlichen Musikschulen zu schaffen, halten die derzeitigen Pläne aber für unzureichend, um eine nachhaltige Versorgung mit Musikschulunterricht zu gewährleisten. Wir nehmen einen differenzierten Blick auf die musikpädagogische Landschaft in Berlin ein, die nicht nur aus den Angeboten der Bezirksmusikschulen, sondern auch denen der freien Musikschulen und der selbstständigen Musikpädagog*innen besteht. Dabei vertreten wir die Interessen von Lehrkräften in jeder dieser drei Säulen und setzen uns für faire Vergütungen in allen Tätigkeitsformen und Erwerbsmodellen ein. Im ersten Kommentar befindet sich ein Link zu dem vollständigen Statement.

Fröhliche Feiertage in die Runde, und einen guten Jahreswechsel! Möge der Dezember für euch auf gelungene Weise zu Ende gehen :)

02/12/2025

Liebe Kolleg*innen, ich suche eine Person für die Mitnutzung meines Studios in Berlin-Gesundbrunnen. Es sind tageweise Buchungen oder regelmäßige Wochentage möglich, bevorzugt montags, donnerstags und freitags. Das Studio (55 qm) liegt in einer Hinterhofremise, ist völlig ruhig, hat Außenwände ohne Nachbarn zu drei Seiten und ist zum Üben, Unterrichten, für Schreibtischarbeiten oder Meetings bestens geeignet.

Näheres zur Ausstattung:
– Bösendorfer Flügel, ein weiteres Klavier
– akustische Gitarre, Akkordeon, MIDI-Keyboard
– Mikrofone, Monitorlautsprecher, USB-Mixer, Kompaktrecorder
– kompakte HiFi-Anlage mit Plattenspieler, Kassettendeck und Digitalisierungsfunktion
– Stative und Notenständer
– Schreibtisch, Desktop-PC, Laserdrucker
– Ecksofa, großer Esstisch mit Stühlen
– Küchenzeile mit Kühlschrank und Kaffeemaschine

08/11/2025

Yesterday I participated in the conference »Music, Copyright Law, and Open Education«, hosted by the Open Music Academy and Hochschule für Musik und Theater München at Saal X, Gasteig München. The event featured a stunning line-up of artists, lecturers, and legal experts, and I thoroughly enjoyed the exchange of thoughts with colleagues from all over Germany. There were papers by Frédéric Döhl, Friederike von Franqué, and Fabian Rack, as well as an intriguing panel discussion with contributions from Matthias Hornschuh, Ulrich Kaiser, Renate Schmid, and others. I myself had the pleasure of leading a workshop on the possibilities of the platform Open Music Academy and its potential for teaching music theory. Many thanks to all the organizers, in particular Ilka Mestemacher and Shinta Walker from the OMA team!

24/10/2025

My association of musicians, Tonkünstlerverband Berlin, has issued a new edition of their fee guidelines for freelance gigs, rehearsals, and teaching without public funding. The recommended fees have been moderately adjusted due to inflation in comparison to the first edition of 2023. Even though these standards might not be attainable immediately or in the near future, they can serve as a point of reference for the value of the work of professionally trained musicians and as a basis for fee negotiations. Freelancers in music and their customers need to be made aware of how fair payment and sufficient remuneration should look like to be able to make a living in the music business. Please feel free to pass on the guidelines (see link in the first comment) and inform your friends and colleagues!

Adresse

Berlin
13347

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https://www.wendelinbitzan.de/

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