Ernst Widmer

Origin

Salvador, BA

Also known as

Ernest Widmer

Years Active

1950–1990

Genres

classical music, contemporary classical music, erudite music

Instruments

piano

Biography

Ernst Widmer was a Swiss-Brazilian composer, conductor, pianist, and educator whose profound impact shaped generations of modern classical music in Brazil. Born in Aarau, Switzerland, he studied at the Zurich Conservatory under mentors such as Willy Burkhard and Walter Frey before moving to Brazil in 1956. Relocating to Salvador at the invitation of Hans-Joachim Koellreutter, Widmer settled in Bahia, where he became a central figure in the academic and compositional landscape, eventually directing the music seminars at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA).

Throughout his career, Widmer bridged European avant-garde traditions with Brazilian regional elements, incorporating his unique perspectives on Bahian folklore and mentoring significant talents such as Tom Zé, Lindembergue Cardoso, Jamary Oliveira, and Benito Juarez. He was a driving force behind the formation of the Grupo de Compositores da Bahia in 1966 and later occupied a chair at the Academia Brasileira de Música. Naturalized as a Brazilian citizen in 1965, his vast oeuvre encompassed orchestral works, chamber music, and pedagogical texts like Ludus Brasiliensis, cementing his legacy as a pillar of contemporary Brazilian music education and composition.

Discography

• Edino Krieger, Ernst Widmer, J. Lins – MEC 70 Música do Brasil Vol. 1 (1971)
• Lindembergue Cardoso, Jamary Oliveira, Conjunto de Musica Nova da UFBa, Ernst Widmer – Compositores da Bahia 4 (1975)
• Ernst Widmer / Willy Corrêa de Oliveira / Aylton Escobar / Bruno Kiefer / Raul do Vale – I Bienal de Música Contemporânea - Disco 2 (1975)
• Edino Krieger, Raul do Valle, Ernst Widmer, Mário Ficarelli, Ricardo Tacuchian – II Bienal de Música Brasileira Contemporânea - Disco 2 (1977)
• Ernst Widmer, Orquestra Sinfônica da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Elomar Figueira Mello – Sertania (1983)
• Orquestra Sinfônica da UFBA ,Regentes: Ernst Widmer, Piero Bastianelli – Compositores da Bahia No. 11 (1986)
• Ernst Widmer (1992)
• Altenberg Trio Wien, Mauricio Kagel, Ernst Widmer – Piano Trio / The Last Flower Op. 60 (1996)
• Prismen · Trégua-Suite · Bahia-Concerto (1999)
• Kammermusikwerke (2000)
• Ernst Widmer / Valery Voronov - Valentin Johannes Gloor, Emmy Henz-Diémand, Hilmar Dagobert Koitka – Von Der Aare Zum Amazonas (2011)
• Tamás, Widmer, Geiser, Mieg, Sutermeister, Argovia Philharmonic, Douglas Bostock – Swiss Aspects Orchestral Music From Argovia 1945-1970 (2013)
• Othmar Schoeck, Ernst Widmer, Adolf Brunner – Orchestral Masterworks From Switzerland (2014)
• Choir Of The Federal University Of Bahia , Conducted By Ernst Widmer – Estudantes Brasileiros Cantam / Brazilian Students Sing
• Agnaldo Ribeiro / Ernst Widmer / Jamary Oliveira / Lindembergue Cardoso / Paulo Costa Lima / Ryoko Katena Veiga – Compositores da Bahia 8