“Memory is something sacred”, wrote Thomas Daniel Schlee in a work commentary. “In order to keep it alive, humanity has invented ritual, has invented repetition imbued with deep meaning, for in memory, knowledge transcends the confines of time.” He was a composer whose multifaceted body of work was characterised not only by masterly musical development and a sensuousness of sound, but was also always contained within an intellectual framework which stretched far beyond purely technical-musical thinking. “Thomas Daniel Schlee is an open spirit and a cultured man. He loves music passionately”, is how his teacher Olivier Messiaen summed him up: “He is an outstanding organist and an extremely gifted composer. His works reflect a high intellectual striving and a true originality with regard to their ‘écriture’ and sound colours.”

This recollection of Thomas Daniel Schlee, who died completely unexpectedly  in Vienna on 10 November 2025, is of an inspiring artist whose work as a composer, organist, musicologist and music manager made him one of the most multifaceted personalities in the world of music. And it applies to a wide-ranging output of work which always had the musician in mind and looked beyond itself. “What fascinates me is the magic moment when the transition from the mere exercise of composing to the highest form of art takes place”, he wrote of his 2nd Symphony. Its approach is aimed at achieving a rich, unbroken orchestral sound. “Art must have the opportunity of putting forward clear theses. It is not about fragmenting melodic lines or immediately dispersing the colour again, but arriving at a beautiful sound within a development.” Looking forward to his milestone birthday in 2027, work on his 3rd Symphony was already well advanced, which was to be followed by further symphonies.

Thomas Daniel Schlee was born in Vienna in 1957. He studied organ, composition and musicology in Vienna and Paris with Michael Radulescu, Jean Langlais, Olivier Messiaen and Francis Burt. As an organist he performed throughout Europe, played in radio broadcasts and on CDs, served as a jury member in international competitions and worked as an editor. From 1990 to 1998 he was Music Director of the Brucknerhaus Linz and Artistic Director of the International Bruckner Festival, from 1999 to 2003 he was Deputy Director of the International Beethoven Festival Bonn, and from 2004 to 2015 was Artistic Director of the Carinthian Summer Festival.

Schlee published many works for orchestra, vocal and chamber music forces, as well as works for and with organ. In 2005 he was appointed Officier des Arts et Lettres, in 2010 he was awarded the Austrian Art Prize for Music, and in 2012 the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art. Schlee was awarded the Church Music Prize of the City of Saarlouis in 2023 for his composition “Bild und Gleichnis – Sechs Betrachtungen der Heilsgeschichte” for organ op. 92. Many important works, such as the church opera “Ich, Hiob”, his major orchestral works, the symphonies, the organ concerto Rufe zu mir explore sacred themes, which work subliminally as a compositional web of relationships. In his Organ Concerto, for example, a “sacred” sound emerges which relates to Messiaen: “This simple presence has a wonderful parallel in the Gothic cathedrals, in which even the invisible components of the building are artistically formed.”

Bärenreiter-Verlag is deeply saddened by the death of Thomas Daniel Schlee. He was an endearing friend of our publishing family. We extend our deepest sympathies to his friends and family.    

Marie Luise Maintz
(from [t]akte 1/2026)
(translation. Elizabeth Robinson)