Born in 1935 in Stuttgart, he studied piano with Jürgen Uhde and composition and theory with Johann Nepomuk David at the city's Musikhochschule (1955-58). From 1958 to 1960 he studied composition with Luigi Nono in Venice. He made his compositional debut in 1962 at the Venice Biennale and the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt. In 1965 he worked at the electronic music studio of the University of Ghent. A year later he began an extensive teaching career which comprised of permanent and free-lance positions at numerous music schools and universities in Germany and other countries. He taught at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart (1966-70), the Teachers Training College in Ludwigsburg (1970-76), the University of Basle (1972-73) and the Hannover Musikhochschule (1976-81). Since 1978 he has been an instructor at Darmstadt and since 1981 a Professor of Composition at the Stuttgart Musikhochschule. He also lectured at the Cursos Latinoamericanos de Música Contemporânea in Brazil and the Dominican Republic (1972 and 1982), in Toronto (1982), Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile and Tokyo (1984), Villafranca in Spain (1986), Middelburg in Holland (1987), Blonay in Switzerland (1988), Oslo and Paris (1989), St. Petersburg (1992), Akiyoshidai in Japan and Villa Musica in Mainz (1993), Vienna (1994), Chicago and Urbana (1997), and Viitasaari in Finland (1998).
Lachenmann's honours include the Bach Prize of Hamburg (1972) and the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung's Prize (1997). He is also a member of arts academies in Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Mannheim, and Munich, as well as of the Academy of Arts and Literature in Belgium.
Lachenmann's discography includes several dozen cds and a series of analogue recordings. Some of his pieces (e. g. Pression) have been issued in several editions.

Selected works (since 1980): Ein Kinderspiel for piano (1980), Harmonica for tuba and large orchestra (1981-83), Mouvement (-vor der Erstarrung) for three ad hoc players and small orchestra (1982-84), Ausklang for piano and large orchestra (1984-85), Dritte Stimme zu J. S. Bachs zweistimmiger Invention in D minor bwv 775 for three ad hoc players (1985), Staub for large orchestra (1985-87), Toccatina for violin (1986), Tableau for large orchestra (1988), Guero for piano, new version (1988), String Quartet No. 2: Reigen seliger Geister (1989), '...zwei Gefühle...', Musik mit Leonardo for two loudspeakers and small orchestra (1992), Air for percussion and large orchestra, new version (1994), The Little Match Girl, stage music, libretto after Hans Christian Andersen, Leonardo da Vinci and Gudrun Ensslin (1990-96), Nun for male choir, flute, trombone and large orchestra (1998-99), Serynade for piano (1998-00).

Toccatina, etude for solo violin, was commissioned by Igor Ozim and first performed in Stuttgart in May 1988 by Joachim Schall.
The characteristic musical language of the piece originates in the kind of violin toucher applied here. The strings are touched with the frog. Consequently, this part of the bow stops being a mere intermediary, but in contact with strings it directly produces sound.
The peculiar resonance of these 'noises' attracts the listeners' attention and allows them immediately to grasp the melodic contour. The melody is made up of subtle sounds and interrupted by plucked notes. Having reached its maximum pitch, the melody descends and takes on the character of a waltz. The barely audible waltz melody is symmetrical in relation to the original one, a symmetry which is emphasised by the resonance of the open string.
This initial gesture endows the entire composition with its special character on an improvisation on different manners of sound production on the violin. The screw on the bow becomes a plectrum for plucking strings. This role is later taken over by the stick, and finally sounds are produced using the hair only. In these ways, various noises are generated on the strings, bridge, tuning pegs and the scroll. Regular quaver movement heightens the impression of exploring a wholly different universe of sound. Duration: 5'.
François Bohy