Aribert Reimann (born 4 March 1936 in Berlin) is a German composer, pianist and accompanist, known especially for his literary operas. His version of King Lear was written at the suggestion of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau who sang the title role.After studying composition, counterpoint and piano (under, among others, Boris Blacher) at the Berlin University of the Arts, Reimann took a job as a repetiteur at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. His first appearances as a pianist and accompanist were towards the end of the 1960s. In the early 1970s, he became a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, and held a professorship in contemporary song at Berlin's Hochschule der Künste from 1983 to 1998. Reimann's reputation as a composer has increased greatly with several great literary operas, including Lear and Das Schloss (The Castle). Besides these, he has written chamber music, orchestral works and songs. He has been honoured repeatedly, including the Großen Verdienstkreuz mit Stern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Great German Cross of Merit, with Star) and the Verdienstorden des Landes Berlin (Berlin Order of Merit).