Ulrich Schultheiss

composer | komponist

​"What a cool piece! It gripp​ed me as soon as I heard it"

​Gerard McChrystal, saxophonist (UK)

Ulrich Schultheiss is a highly demanded composer and arranger with a musical language that is infused with elements of other genres, cultures or art forms. His music is performed in Europe, in states of the former Soviet Union, in North, Central and South America, in the Middle and Far East. In addition, he has made radio recordings, CD and video productions in Germany and abroad. His catalogue of works includes around 150 compositions for various instrumentations as well as works and arrangements for film, cabaret, theatre and performance. In addition to his artistic activities, he has worked and researched as a professor of music theory and in the field of digital media.

studio news audio player Publisher | Verlagsinfo

​​​Faust-Paraphrasen

Nov ​25, 2025 | BR2Radio (D)
Bavarian Radio broadcasts a production of Faust-Paraphrases for two pianos performed by Thomas Hitzlberger and Georg Schütz (piano).

​Emphasen on Tour

Oct ​2025 | Lisnoa (P)
The concert recording of Emphasen, performed by the Trio ARO from Lisbon, consisting of Diogo Cocharra (clarinet), Adriana Gonçalves (cello) and Miguel Perdigão (piano), has been released on YouTube. The concert took place as part of the “Semana da Composição ESML 2025” at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa (Portugal).

BIRDSONG & DROPS IN THE WIND​

​Oct 21, 2025 | Den Haag (NL)
The musical theatre piece SCHOKGOLF by Annechien Koerselman, with music by Ulrich Schultheiss and others, is on the programme at "Theater aan het Spui" in Den Haag (NL). It will be performed by Ensemble Black Pencil and Marieke Giebels. (Photo: Claudia Hansen) Info​

verweht​ (blown in the wind)

Oct 17, 2025 | Duisburg (D)​
​As part of the ‘Marktmusik’ series, flutist Pia Marei Hauser will perform Ulrich's  solo piece verweht (blown in the wind) at St. Ludger's Church in Duisburg on 17 October 2025.

BIRDSONG & DROPS IN THE WIND

Oct 16, 2025 | Oldeberkoop (NL)
Ensemble Black Pencil and Marieke Giebels present Annechien Koerselman's musical theatre piece SCHOKGOLF, with music by Ulrich Schultheiss and others, as part of ‘Muziek op stapel’ in Oldeberkoop (NL). (Photo: Claudia Hansen) Info​

​BIRDSONG & DROPS IN THE WIND

​Oct 13, 2025 | Almere (NL)
The musical theatre piece SCHOKGOLF by Annechien Koerselman, with music by Ulrich Schultheiss and others, is on the programme at the COLLAGE Centre for Cultural Education in Almere. It will be performed by Ensemble Black Pencil and Marieke Giebels. (Photo: Claudia Hansen) Info

​verstrichen ein Hauch

Oct 10, 2025 | Duisburg (D)
​Organist Dominik Susteck recently performed Verstrichen ein Hauch as part of the three-part “Klangwerkstatt” series at the Karmelkirche in Duisburg. The theme of the course was “Exploring your own sound – perceiving the space of the church”.

​BIRDSONG & DROPS IN THE WIND

Sep 28, 2025 | Amersfoort (NL)
As part of the ‘September Me’ festival at the Veerensmederij Theatre in Amersfoort, Ensemble Black Pencil and Marieke Giebels will present the musical theatre piece SCHOKGOLF by Annechien Koerselman, with music by Ulrich Schultheiss and others. (Photo: Claudia Hansen) Info

​blue lines Premiere

Sep 4, 2025 | Hamburg (D) 
​As part of the Hamburg Organ Summer, Christian Segmehl (soprano saxophone) and Christian Weiherer (organ) will perform the premiere of Blue Lines at Hamburg Cathedral. Alongside works by Gabriel Fauré and Astor Piazzolla, they will also perform a piece by Bertold Hummel, whose masterclass Ulrich Schultheiss attended.

​NUANCES I-III @BR2Radio

Sep 2, 2025 | BR2Radio​ (D)
Bayerischer Rundfunk broadcasts a production of nuances I-III for alto flute and guitar played by Elisabeth Riesbeck and Erich Schneider.

​​​BIRDSONG & DROPS IN THE WIND

Aug ​24, 2025 | Schokland (NL)
The music theatre piece “SCHOKGOLF” by Annechien Koerselman with music by Ulrich Schultheiss, among others, is on the programme of Ensemble Black Pencil. Info (Photo: Claudia Hansen)

​no rest in Portugal

Jul 8, 2025 | Palmela (P)
Hélio Ramalho (saxophone) and João Henriques (guitar) will play No Rest at the Festival Internacional de Saxofones FISP in Palmela, Portugal. ‘No Rest’ was written for Gerard McChrystal (sax) and Craig Ogden (guit) and premiered at the British Saxophone Congress in Birmingham in 2005. A recording of the piece was released on CD.

movimenti 1...4 @BR2RADIO

Jul 8, 2025 | BR2Radio (D)
​Bayerischer Rundfunk is broadcasting a production of Movimenti 1...4 for piano quartet played by the Henschel Quartet from Munich. The composition was written for the Henschel Quartet and premiered in Stuttgart in 1991.

​TANGOMINUTEN

Jul 2, 2025 | Hirschhorn (D)
​ Jul 5, 2025 | Werther (D)
Katharina Koenig (accordion) and Gerrit Ahlers (guitar) will perform tangominutes as part of the 'AusKlang' concert series in the Hirschhorn monastery church and in a concert entitled ‘Arroder Zaubersprüche’ at the Museum  Böckstiegel in Werther (Westphalia). 

​verweht (blown in the wind)

Jul 4, 2025 | Duisburg (D)
As part of the 'Marktmusik' series, flautist Pia Marei Hauser will perform verweht at St. Ludger's Church in Duisburg.

​more

2000 - 2025 
25 years of 'witch hunt in concert'

[informations, music and videos
visit extra WebSite

Anniversary video with more than 40 international saxophonists!

new recordings
BIRDSONG @ Pantopia Music
BIRDSONG @ Pantopia Music

Pantopia Music has released the album "The Zodiac Happening" with Susanne Fröhlich (recorders), Marc Sinan (guitar) and Meinrad Kneer (double bass). "The Zodiac Happening" is a musical mosaic about the relationship between man and nature, based on pieces in song format by Debussy, Radiohead, Stockhausen, Takemitsu and Schultheiss, among others. Link to the audio player

WANTED
WANTED

Patricia Marchiș, winner of the 'International Jazz in the Park Competition 2023' in Cluj-Napoca (Romania), has released her debut album 'METAMORPHOSIS' with an arrangement of Ulrichs' song WANTED for saxophone and jazz combo. The album of MARQUIS NOIR is available on the well-known streaming portals.

CD TWO PIANOS

Jay Jung-Hoon Wang and Rainer Klaas perform FAUST-PARAPHRASES from 1987 on the CD "RAPHAEL, SCHULTHEISS, ZABEL - ZWEI KLAVIERE". Other titles on the CD are the 'Toccata' op. 45 by Günter Raphael and 'Frozen Dances' by Frank Zabel.

CD BLACK PENCIL: SCHOKLAND
CD BLACK PENCIL: SCHOKLAND

On this CD, members of the ENSEMBLE BLACK PENCIL perform works for solo instruments inspired by the World Heritage Site of Schokland in the Netherlands: WINDSPEL for viola (Esra Pehlivanli), BIRDSONG for recorder (Jorge Isaac) and DROPS IN THE WIND for accordion (Marko Kassl).

CD SOUVENIRS D'ENFANCE
CD SOUVENIRS D'ENFANCE

On her solo album "SOUVENIRS D'ENFANCE", the Swiss pianist Fabienne Mittaz performs works by Domenico Scarlatti, Robert and Clara Schumann, Claude Debussy, Arvo Pärt and Jean-Jacques Werner, and also includes NACHKLANG to Robert Schumann's "Des Abends" by Ulrich Schultheiss.

CD NATURE
CD NATURE

On the CD "NATURE" of Patricia Pagny's piano class at the Hochschule der Künste in Bern, Paola Lepori plays RITORNA LA NEBBIA and Fabienne Mittaz NACHKLANG to Robert Schumann's "Des Abends".

​​press & hold image to get more information or click to enlarge.
Link to all recordings

​Videos

+++ the latest premieres

blue lines - premiered by ​Christian Segmehl (soprano saxophone) & Christian Weiherer (organ) (09/2025)
trrrio - premiered by Margarita Cherenkova (sax), Berfin Karagüzel (vc) & Olzhan Kostubayev (pf) (05/2025)
​witch hunt a 3 – premiered by Arto Panula (tp), Detlev Stürzenberger (sax) and Mari Taivalmaa (pf)  in Seinäjoki (SF) (02/2025)
chinwag - premiered by Susanne Fröhlich (rec) and Meinrad Kneer (upright bass) in Fergitz (D) (08/2024)
about infinity - premiered by Paula Richter (bn) and Christian Richter (org) in Lüneburg (D)  (07/2024)
DayDream - premiered by Yuri Jang (vl.) and Tobias Hagedorn (org) in Frankfurt/M. (D) (06/2024)
verweht* - premiered by Nicola Mogavero (soprano saxophone*) in Lamia (GR) (05/2023)
pas de deux - premiered by Matias de Oliveira Pinto (vc) & Fábio Presgrave (vc) in Natal (Brazil) (04/2023)

... new scores

ARE Verlag in Cologne has recently published:

Farewell Concert Online

The video of Ulrich Schultheiss' farewell concert at the University of Music Muenster including souvenir, blue-S, zick zack, Song from Paris and double trouble is available on YouTube in its entirety as well as in separate contributions featuring:
Fatjona Maliqi, piano
Minji Han, piano
Rebekka Wilhelm, soprano saxophone
Franziska Ecker, accordion
Prof. Matias de Oliveira Pinto, violoncello
Risa Adachi, piano
Prof. Stephan Froleyks, moderation

Trailer: 'Climbing Utopia'

lyrics by René Daumal
music by Nils Imhorst, Serban Nichifor, Jacob TV, Ulrich Schultheiss ("Karussell" from 02:49)

project manager: Robert Beck
direction, action: Frederik Göke
clarinet: Robert Beck
bass: Nils Imhorst
accordion: Marko Kassl

www.firasso.de
www.frederikgoeke.com
www.robertbeck.eu
www.nilsimhorst.de