The composer

 

R oger Moreno-Rathgeb , born in 1956, grew up in Zurich as the son of a Swiss and a Sintiza and now lives in Vaals, the Netherlands, in the border triangle on the border with Germany and Belgium. He began his professional career as a composer and musician at the age of 15 with his first paid appearances as a guitarist and drummer together with a school friend. In 1974 he won a songwriter competition in Zurich with his song “War on War” and began a tour with his own solo program a year later.

 

He becomes a member of various musical formations and has led the "Gypsi Swing Quintet" since 1987. With him he produced the first LP in 1988 and a CD in 1993 and appeared before the Dutch royal family in 1992 and 2001. In 1995 he created his first classical composition, a symphonic poem entitled "The Gypsy Carawan". His first symphony ("The Polish") and the "Rhapsody Espagnole No. 1" follow.

 

He started composing the “Requiem for Auschwitz” in 1998, which he completed in 2009. Its world premiere will take place with the Roma and Sinti Philharmonic in 2012 in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. By 2020 it has been performed 16 times, including at the Alte Oper Frankfurt am Main, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Frauenkirche in Dresden and the Berlin Cathedral.

 

In 2007 he became artistic director and arranger of the Gypsy ensemble "Tabor", with whom he is still on the road today - mostly himself heard as an accordionist. Roger Moreno-Rathgeb is involved in several TV productions. The 54-minute “arte” production “The Conductor and His Dream - The Roma and Sinti Philharmonic Orchestra” offers a deep insight into his artistic work. To date, he has composed around 160 songs in various styles and 16 classical works.