Orff, Carl (1895–1982)

German composer. An individual stylist, his work is characterized by sharp dissonances and percussion. Among his compositions are the cantata Carmina Burana (1937) and the opera Antigone (1949).

He studied at Munich and became professor of composition at the Günther School there. He was also a conductor and editor of early music, notably the operas of Monteverdi. His early success with Carmina Burana, founded on rhythmic ostinati (persistently repeating rhythms) and appealing vocal melody, was not repeated in later works.

Works Opera and stage music 11 operas and musical plays, including Carmina Burana (settings of medieval poetry, 1937), Die Kluge (1943), Catulli Carmina, Antigonae and Oedipus der Tyrann (after Sophocles, 1949, 1959); Trionfo di Afrodite (1953), Prometheus (1966), De temporum fine comoedia (1973), ballet Der Feuerfarbene; incidental music for Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream (first version composed to replace Mendelssohn's music, banned by the Nazis, 1939–62).

Other Schulwerk for combinations of popular instruments and similar compositions intended for use by amateurs; cantata Des Turmes Auferstehung.