Leopold Spinner

Leopold Spinner's individualised serial style enriched the Webern tradition in the post-war era * Born of Austrian parents who moved to Vienna in 1914 * Studied privately with Paul Amadeus Pisk 1926-30 * First attracted attention within the Schoenberg circle in early 1930s * Private pupil of Webern from 1935 until the Austrian annexation in 1938 * Fled to England following year but failed to win a hoped-for teaching post * Worked in a Midlands locomotive factory between 1942 and 1946 * Death of Webern in 1945 cut off support of his mentor * Gained employment as an editor at Boosey & Hawkes, working closely with Stravinsky's scores * Isolation as composer deepened when he became critical of the post-Webern Darmstadt school on theoretical grounds * At his death, a neglected figure, ripe for rediscovery * Works championed by Heinz Holliger, Reinbert de Leeuw and Friedrich Cerha and perfomed by Ensemble Modern, Schoenberg Ensemble, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble 20 Jahrhundert, RSO Wien

Works by Leopold Spinner include:
Passacaglia (1934) for chamber orchestra
Piano Concerto (1947) for piano and ensemble
Ricercata (1965) for orchestra
Chamber Symphony (1979) for ensemble