Biography

Ernst Mahle (1929), a German-born composer, holds a respected position in the music field in Brazil, his adopted country since 1951. He studied composition with Johann Nepomuk David, Hans Joachim Koellreuter, Ernst Krenek, Olivier Messiaen, and Wolfgang Fortner.

Mahle is the artistic director and cofounder of the "Escola de Musica de Piracicaba," one of the most important musical institutions in Brazil. Since the founding of this school, Mahle's work has focused on the musical education of youth, conducting, and composition. The initial phase of his composing career began when Mahle perceived a lack of repertoire for his students. Afterwards, he devoted his effort to composing pedagogical works for all the instruments. Today his extensive work covers all levels of difficulty, major musical genres, and a large variety of instruments. Although his early works made incursions into atonal, electronic, and dodecaphonic music, his compositions have been described stylistically neoclassic and are praised in Brazil due to the inclusion of national characteristics. During his evolution as a composer, Mahle incorporated the use of modalism and Brazilian folk materials.

Source: ERNST MAHLE: 55 YEARS OF MUSICAL LEGACY IN BRAZIL AND A PEDAGOGICAL OVERVIEW OF HIS WORKS FOR PIANO SOLO

Ernst Mahle and João Paulo Casarotti at a concert of Mahle's music in Philadelphis, USA