We say farewell

With great sadness, we say farewell to Uwe Dierksen, who died on February 10 after a lengthy illness. Since 1983, Uwe was a driving force within Ensemble Modern, both as its trombonist and a partner in the company. With unceasing effort, he championed access to music in all its facets and genres. The immediacy of musical experiences was dear to his heart; it is what he sought to bring to listeners, as an instrumentalist and composer. Consequently, working with children and teenagers was very important to him. In a gentle yet focused way, he introduced them to their own musical creativity, supporting their individual means of expression and helping to transform many a project into a blissful moment for performers and audience, for example in his youth opera ›Mina‹ at the Frankfurt Opera.

Uwe faced his grave illness for many years with impressive openness and a courageous fighting spirit. The evening last October when he presented the album ›Hirngespinste // Pipedreams‹ together with his oncologist remains unforgettable; on that occasion, he traced the history of his illness without sparing himself or his audience. Already marked by suffering, he gave his last concert with Ensemble Modern on December 2, celebrating Helmut Lachenmann’s 90[sup]th[/sup] birthday as part of the series ›Happy New Ears‹ at the Frankfurt Opera.

In Uwe, we are losing a faithful companion and dear friend, a phenomenal trombonist and a wonderful musician who helped build our ensemble and shaped it throughout all these years. His artistic attitude, his strong presence and his great commitment had a lasting influence on our shared work, and they will live on in our sound, our thinking and our memories.

Our thoughts are with Uwe’s wife Barbara and his son Lou, who accompanied him to the very end with love and infinite care.

With deepest sympathy,

All the musicians and staff of Ensemble Modern, the International Ensemble Modern Academy and the German Ensemble Academy

Only recently, Uwe Dierksen's cinema revue ›Flucht ins Glück‹ featuring his music premiered at the Volksbühne im Großen Hirschgraben. The production is scheduled for further performances on February 15, February 20, March 15 and March 28.