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Hommage à Paul Klee
With his Pedagogical Sketchbook often regarded as a virtual manual in composition, Paul Klee has exerted a far-reaching influence on modern music. Few composers were so profoundly affected as Sándor Veress, whose encounter with Klee's work after fleeing Hungary in 1949 gave rise to seven fantasies that range from the Bachian gravity of 'Old Sound' and the intensely elegiac 'Green in Green' to the rhythmic playfulness of 'Stone Collection'. Grau and Schumacher give a committed performance, differ…
DW 17: Doubles / Schatten II
The unfolding of the differences is succeeded by ever new ramifications, versions, series. DW 17 Doubles/Schatten II as a new phase in the DW-Kosmos.
American Piano Concertos
The great creator of musical novelties hardly ever departed from the melodic harmonious basis, though: his major achievements included not least the development of new techniques for piano playing, which he also integrated in his book New Musical Resources. His Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1928) appears to put the spotlight on the technical and musical-historical findings, whereas in pieces such as Irish Jig and Four Irish Tales he openly and merrily inquires into his Irish background, with…
Cathédrale
Concert music for solo harp: The harp, whose ancestor belongs to the most ancient musical instruments, is usually associated with impressionistic sound. But Roman Haubenstock-Ramati - the most visionary inventor of sounds among contemporary composers, according to Wilhelm Sinkovicz – has never been satisfied with the status quo. So, while teaching composition and investigating new forms of musical notation, he succeeded in his endeavor to explore new possibilities of musical expression again and…
Musica Viva 11
Today, the piano concertos by Béla Bartók are regarded as works of classic modernism and are considered suitable even for conservative audiences. Musica Viva, the concert series for contemporary music in Munich, included the piano concertos in their program back in 1957, a time when it was by no means a matter of course to hear this music in established concert halls. The man at the piano was one of the greatest of his trade: Géza Anda, a fervent and uncompromising advocate of Bartók's oeuvre, w…
Calling Out Of Context
Now I know what it's like to assume you know what Arthur Russell sounds like. Back in the day, those comfortable with his modern classical accomplishments were baffled by his acetates of loopy leftfield disco. Likewise, lovers of these dance tracks were confounded by their beatless, beatific recasting on World of Echo. And then there were listeners astounded by the intimacy of his voice and cello work, stymied by both the pop songs and the classical works, all spinnin…
Konzert für Violine und Orchester / Fasce
Rhapsodic, lyrical, virtuoso, and, in the end, even amusing: all these attributes come to mind as Cerha's violin concerto is finished off with a charming punch line.
String Quartets Vol. 2 (Nos. 5 & 6)
That the two single-movement string quartets No. 5 (“Ohne Titel”) and No. 6 (“Blaubuch”), composed in 1981/83 and 1984, belong to the most passionate of Rihm’s quartets is due to their restless vigor. This impulsive approach is of course always present in his music. But even the tempo indications “fast, restless” and “fast und free” suggest a certain stringency - which is fully realized in the pieces. A sense of inner disquiet pulls the listener like a maelstrom into a sea of commotion, of stru…
Musica Viva 03
Musica Viva 03: Pleading for divine forgiveness, exploring the bounds of possibility of clarinets, and tricks of light.
Dawn
It was recorded at the legendary Total Music Meeting of Free Music Production in November 2000. Dawn is a composition played off the cuff of nearly 42 minutes. All the highs and lows of a longer composition are on this recording: searching and finding, restrained groping and violent erupting.... The decisive factor, however, is that this music is played by people who have nothing or very little to do with this attitude, by Gert-Jan Prins (see his solo record Prins Live, GROB210), by the saxophon…
Spare Ass Annie And Other Tales
A collaboration between Burroughs, producer Hal Willner, and politico-rappers Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. It features Burroughs reading excerpts from seven of his books set to music by the Heroes, mostly a slow, lazy funk that sounds like it was lifted from a '70s blaxploitation soundtrack. Highlights include the 16-minute, decidedly Burroughsian holiday treat "A Junky's Christmas" and "Words of Advice for Young People," which first appeared on the Smack My Crack collection, minus the music…
Gran Torso / Salut für Caudwell
In 1988 the first issue of these recordings of Gran Torso and Salut für Caudwell was awarded the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics' Award); and neither compositions nor recordings have lost any of their value up to today. In Gran Torso, Lachenmann tried to explore the “mechanic and energetic conditions of sound production”. This resulted in singular, unusual sounds which simultaneously exploded the barriers of audibility, playing technique and sound as such. The guit…
Violin and Orchestra / Coptic Light
Morton Feldman dedicated a whole series of compositions to the relationship between solo instruments and the orchestra: after Cello and Orchestra (1972), Piano and Orchestra (1975), Oboe and Orchestra (1976) and Flute and Orchestra (1977/78) his Violin and Orchestra (1979) marks the conclusion of these "relationship works." The variety of sound accumulated around the violin, or through the violin, in less than an hour's time ranges from delicate whispers to cantilenas in rich tones and sharp rep…
(Old school) Karlheinz Stockhausen
This is the fourth release in the series [old school]. The first three CDs, dedicated to the music of John Cage [zkr0009], James Tenney [zkr0010] and Alvin Lucier [zkr0011] have been highly acclaimed. London's Wire Magazine wrote: 'The rigour and discipline they collectively bring to this compositions make both discs utterly enthralling, from start to finish.' The new release is dedicated to the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen.' 'I do not want a spiritualistic session. I want music.' Karlheinz St…
Phoenix
Superb introduction to a largely unknown avant-garde composer/instrument builder; one of the most important ReR releases in a while. The music of little known East European composer Ernö Kiraly has finally been preserved -- a collection of original works that will impress and amaze all students of contemporary classical/electroacoustic composition, along with those who have only recently discovered the sound worlds of Pierre Henry and Harry Partch. Kiraly's experimental music stems from two sour…
Action Music
Giacinto Scelsi’s relationship with the piano is interesting and contradictory. For no other instrument has the Italian composer and poet composed so many pieces; to no other instrument does he seem so closely attached, both personally and biographically; and no other instrument disappeared so abruptly and finally from his scores as the piano, the European showcase instrument. With the piano, we can follow the break lines and develop-ments in the musical thinking and works of Giacinto Scelsi, wh…
s/t
Dessus la mer composed 1995-1997. Equus - Carnet d'esquisses composed 1993, derived from a 4-seconds recording of the steps of a horse. Scènes des voyages d'Ulysse composed 1981, created as incidental music for a production of The Odyssey.
Action Mécanique
“Michel Doneda soprano and soprano saxophones. Jonas Kocher accordion, objects. Recorded live on 27th november 2009 at Red House, Sofia, Bulgaria. Mastering by Christian Weber. Design: Fabienne Bartel. Limited edition of 160 numeroted copies. Screenprint on sandpaper. The duo explores and questions the sound, listening and space with sound actions simple, minimal and acoustic. Entirely improvised, the duo's approach is in place and time of the concert, thus inviting a real experience of listenin…
Ins Offene... / sphere
Enclosing the listener in sonic space: This is what Beat Furrer carried to extremes in his FAMA (col legno 20612), about 15 years after Rihm, by actually placing his audience in a “building of sound”. For Wolfgang Rihm, a sonic space was something less concrete and more indirect: “Organically sprawling strings of sound should be woven around the listener, circling her from different directions. In this way, the listener is not left to her own devices while opening up to it; the piece itself come…
There are no crows flying around the hancock building
In August 2003, Lampo invited Swedish artist CM von Hausswolff to do a project specific to Chicago. Intrepid traveler that he is, Hausswolff ascended to the top of the 100-story John Hancock Building and collected sounds from the open-air observation deck. While taking in the sights, he recorded building vibrations, passing breezes and overheard speech from tourists. Later, in his Stockholm studio, he added a series of feedback rotations to suggest crows (guardians or enemies?) encircling the co…