Paul Leonard Schäffer

Paul Leonard Schäffer (born 16 March 1987) is a German composer, conductor and pianist.

Life Born in Hannover, Schäffer received his first piano lessons at the age of five and a short time later became a member of the Knabenchor Hannover. At the age of 16, he received his first organ lessons from Torsten Meyer. He studied music composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main with Gerhard Müller-Hornbach, church music with Martin Lücker (organ) as well as conducting with Wojciech Rajski at the same university. Further studies with Beat Furrer, Mark Andre, as well as song accompaniment and accompaniment lessons with Eugen Wangler and Helmut Deutsch complemented his musical education. Performances took place at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden, the Alte Oper Frankfurt and in the context of the Rheingau Musik Festival, of the , der Kasseler Musiktage und der Handel-Festspiele Karlsruhe statt. 2011/2012: Scholarship of the Aribert-Reimann-Stiftung. "Five Landscapes" based on poems by Georg Heym (2013), for bass and piano; premiere: 1 December 2014, Deutsche Oper Berlin, commissioned by the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang Berlin.

Chamber music Die Mahnworte des Ipuwer after an ancient Egyptian poem (2009), for two sopranos and percussion; premiere: 31 October 2009, alte Brüderkirche Kassel, commissioned by the Kasseler Musiktage 2009. Drei Intermezzi for ensemble on historical instruments (2013); 17 August 2013, Kloster Eberbach in the context of the Rheingau Musik Festival 2013.

Musical theatre Büchners Frauen, music theatre based on texts by Georg Büchner (2011–2013); UA: 24 May 2013, Staatstheater Wiesbaden. Eine Kapitulation, a comedy in antique style based on a libretto by Richard Wagner (2010); UA: 24 August 2010, Das Zentrum Bayreuth, commissioned work of the .

Orchestral works et par la porte ouverte la perspective du hasard for orchestra (2013); UA: 27 April 2013, E-Werk Weimar.