Manfred Stahnke (born 30 October 1951) is a German composer and musicologist from Hamburg. He writes chamber music, orchestral music and stage music. His music makes extensive use of microtonality. He plays piano and viola. Life Manfred Stahnke was born 1951 in Kiel. At the age of 15 he started to study violin, piano, composition in Lübeck. Stahnke studied composition with Wolfgang Fortner (1970–1973), with Klaus Huber and Brian Ferneyhough (1973–1974), and with György Ligeti (1974–1979). In addition, he studied piano; his primary piano teacher was Edith Picht-Axenfeld. He also holds a doctoral degree in musicology, with a thesis on the subject of Pierre Boulez's Third Piano Sonata (1979, under Constantin Floros in Hamburg). In 1979–80 he went to the United States to study with the microtonalist Ben Johnston in Urbana, Illinois, and with the computer music researcher and composer John Chowning at Stanford University, California. Since 1989 he is professor of composition and music theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. He is an emeritus since April 2019. Since 1999 he is a member of the Freie Akademie der Künste Hamburg, where he is the director of the Section of Music. He also was a member of the board of trustees of the Goethe Institute Munich for many years. He plays the viola in the TonArt Ensemble. Works 1979 RITUS, Fl Vc Pno, premiered by Wolpe-Trio, Essen, CD 1999 1979-81 DER UNTERGANG DES HAUSES USHER (E.A.Poe), Microtonal Chamber Opera, Kiel 81 1981 ZWEITES STREICHQUARTETT, arr. as 1985 KLARINETTENQUINTETT, prem. Kiel 1982 WAHNSINN, DAS IST DIE SEELE DER HANDLUNG (poems of E.A.Poe), Music Theater: Female Voice & String Quartet, Braunschweig & Gelsenkirchen 1983, new version Berlin Staatsoper 2012 1983 „PENTHESILEA“, DRITTES STREICHQUARTETT, Artus-Quartett, Bonn 1983-86 HEINRICH IV (Pirandello), Opera, Kiel 87 1986 TWO SCALES, 2 Bassoons, American Festival of Microtonal Music Ensemble, New York 1982-86 PARTOTA, Piano solo, in Vallotti tuning, Hubertus Dreyer, Hamburg 86 1987 EN CET HYBRIDE TAMPS, Chamber ensemble 4 Clarinets, 2 Violins, 2 Violas, Hrp, Yamaha DX7- II Synth, 2 Percussionists, ensemble modern, Saarbrücken 88, prem. new version Szombathely 90 1987 PARTCH HARP (partly from EN CET HYBRIDE TAMPS), Harp in scordatura 1987 CAPRA, Violin solo in scordatura, Michael Kollars, Hamburg 92, CD 2006 Barbara Lüneburg 1987-88 DER MANDELBROTBAUM, Orch, SWR-Sinfonieorchester, Baden-Baden 92 1989 MALAITA, Midi Guitar and Computer, premiere Seth Josel and Manfred Stahnke, Hamburg 90, CD 2018 Flavio Virzi 1990 KREISLIEDER, Chamber