Grimm Jim

Jim Grimm (b. Basel, December 7, 1928 – d. Basel, October 29, 2006). Swiss composer; studied clarinet in Neuchâtel and composition in Geneva from 1952 to 1956.
Jim Grimm worked for Radio Basel in 1958. The following year Grimm entered the 'Studio de Musique contemporaine' in Geneva, where he composed a quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, violin and cello.
1960 saw the premiere of his score 'Formules rythmique et sonores' (Rhythmic and Sonorous Formulas) for 12 instruments, conducted by Jacques Guyonnet. He attended the 'Ferienkurse für Neue Musik' in Darmstadt in the same year.
Several of his works were premiered between the year 1965 and 1967 including 'Analogien und Kontraste' (Similarities and Contrasts) for chamber orchestra, and 'Zeichen I' (Signs I) for 11 instruments, conducted by Guyonnet.
In 1969 he attended a course for conducting held by Pierre Boulez in Basel and published 'Der Mensch, der aus dem Kosmos kam' (The Man From the Cosmos), a science fiction novel for the Helmut Kossodo Editions.
He worked as a critic and music journalist, publishing one of the first analyses on the formal aspects of Boulez's Second Piano Sonata (1972).
Approaching the end of the 60s and with the completion of his cycle 'Zeichen I-II-III' (Signs I-II-III), Grimm's interest was no longer anchored exclusively to post-webernism: His calligraphic structures culminated in 'Nedea/tà', a large graphic score (3m x 70cm) that sheds light on the semiological interests of the composer.
He composed in increasing isolation in the years that followed: From 1979-83 he worked on the cycle 'Die Bewegungen der Zeit I-IV' (Movements of Time I-IV) for various instrumental ensembles or electronics. The six 'Kammerkonzerte' (Chamber Concerts) are to be considered as important distilled scores of his late phase, composed by Grimm between the year 1998 and 2006.
Although Grimm was a very isolated figure, a compact disc with works performed by the Ensemble Phoenix Basel under the baton of Jürg Henneberger was released in 2008; his Third Chamber Concert for 7 Instruments (2003) was included on this CD.
Jim Grimm has left behind a considerable corpus of compositions for various formations including for solo, ensemble and orchestra, as well as a number of works for electronics. Most of this work is now part of the Jim Grimm Collection at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel, which also includes an important musicological and critical contribution contained in his unpublished book, 'Texte, Artikel, Analysen und Diagramme' (Texts, Articles, Analysis and Diagrams) (1961-73).
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