Born 1930 in Vienna, Rühm studied piano and composition, completing first compositions in 1949. As early as the 50s, a large musical work lay ahead (piano and chamber music, songs, chansons). Co-founder of the Wiener Gruppe (Achleitner, Artmann, Bayer, Ruhm, Wiener), Rühm first became known through experimental poetry books which were published in the 60s and 70s. From the 50s onwards, he concentrated on extensive musical work, then proceeded to cross the borders between poetry, music, visual, radio and scenic art. He created some momentum as a theorist and editor (including the major anthology of the works of the Wiener Gruppe and the work of Konrad Bayer). From 1972 to 1995 he taught at the College of Fine Arts in Hamburg. Rühm lives with the musicologist Monika Lichtenfeld in Cologne and Vienna. Numerous books and publications include schwellenchronik der jahrtausendwende (2001), MASOCH. eine rituelle rezitation (2003) as well as the pencil music CDs (2002) and konrad bayer. gerhard rühm. Gemeinschaftsarbeiten 1957-1962 (2002). A complete series in ten volumes is currently being published by Matthes & Seitz Berlin, the fifth volume was completed in 2010. Rühm received numerous awards, including the Grand Austrian State Prize for Literature (1991).
