Heiner Goebbels (1952) is a German composer and director. His work comprises musical theatre, performance, installations and concerts. He describes what he does as ‘working with composed language in between opera and drama.’ In 1976, he was one of the founders of the Sogenanntes Linksradikales Blasorchester. He made experimental music with the duo Goebbels/Harth (1975-1988) and the art rock trio Cassiber (1982-1992), as well as composing for film and theatre. Starting in the 1980s, he created several award-winning radio plays, most of which were based on texts by Heiner Müller. He also developed a genre known as ‘staged concert’.

Starting in the 1990s, this was followed by music for ensembles and orchestras as well as musical theatre pieces, which he composed and directed, and which were performed and praised throughout the world. He was honoured with the International Ibsen Award 2012. From 1999 until 2018, he taught as a professor at the Institute for Applied Theatre Studies at the Justus-Liebig-Universität in Gießen, where he also served as a director for some time. From 2006 until 2018, he was director of the Hessische Theaterakademie. From 2012 until 2014, he was artistic director at the Ruhrtriennale. His anthology Aesthetics der Abwesenheit (2012) was translated in English (2015) and many other languages.