25 Rolf Liebermann
L'École des Femmes – New production at the Opéra National de Bordeaux
33 Alexander Zemlinsky
Der Zwerg conducted by Kent Nagano at the Munich State Opera
35 Alban Berg / E. Kloke
Successful world première of the new 3-act Lulu at Copenhagen Opera
38 Leo� Janá�ek
Glagolitic Mass – New editions of both versions now available
Friedrich Cerha 85th Birthday (17 Feb 2011) 1
newsletter thema 01/11 • winter 2010/2011
Contents
= World Première
news Gustav Mahler-Blog: new Interviews — 4 Charles Mackerras — 5 composers Cerha — 7 Haas — 9 Pärt — 11 Rihm — 12 Sotelo — 13 Staud — 13 Schwartz — 14 Baltakas — 14 Lentz — 14 Halffter — 15 Furrer — 15 Luke Bedford — 16 Borisova-Ollas — 16 Sawer — 17 Birtwistle — 17 Boulez — 19 Kurtág — 20 Reich — 20 Gielen — 20 Berio — 21 Feldman — 23 Stockhausen — 23 Liebermann — 25 Nick — 25 Marx — 26 Martin — 26 Milhaud — 27 Mosolov — 27 Weill — 29 Braunfels — 29 Bartók — 30 Kodály — 30 Martin� — 31 Szymanowski — 31
2
content 01/2011
Schreker — 32 Schmidt — 32 Zemlinsky — 33 Schönberg — 34 Berg — 35 Satie — 36 Alma Mahler/C. Gottwald — 36 Mahler — 37 Janá�ek — 38 - 39 Puccini — 40 anniversaries — 41 - 42 world premières — 43 New releases — 44 - 45 New on CD — 46 - 47 Impressum — 48
Dear Readers, In summer 2010, three voices caused a buzz in a certain musical city – even without bel canto. The singers and the composer were the talk of the town. The achievements of the three protagonists in Wolfgang Rihm’s opera Dionysos, which was performed at the Salzburg Festival, astounded the audience and the press alike: Johannes Martin Kränzle, Mojca Erdmann and Matthias Klink showed just how passionate and lyrical contemporary music can – or indeed must – sound. They learned their extremely challenging parts with breathtaking speed, fully aware that they might not meet with a positive response despite their enormous efforts. But the risk paid off. They brought an important work of art to life and were recognised and admired as its architects. They are representative of the many young performers of new music who prefer to dedicate their talents to the present rather than the past. To them we offer our wholehearted respect. The Editorial Team
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universal edition
New interviews on our UE Mahler Blog There are two new video interviews on our Gustav Mahler-Blog: with Riccardo Chailly and Gustavo Dudamel. All conducters interviews are available on www.universaledition.com/mahler Gustavo Dudamel: “John Barbirolli once said: “If you don’t exaggerate when you are young, what can you do when you are old?” Of course as a young conductor I cannot feel like a 60 year old conductor. But in Mahler’s music everything is there and everything is perfect. You have pianissimo in one line and the same line fortissimo in another place. This is very clearly written. You don’t have to exaggerate it. It is perfect.” Riccardo Chailly
Gustavo Dudamel
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news
Riccardo Chailly: “Mahler was more than aware that he left behind him masterpieces, not just very good music. Music that wasn’t being composed at that time by any other colleague. Mahler created a universe of a new language. I think this is what he wanted and achieved. Being so young when he died, the biggest question is what the world of music has lost, because Mahler still had a lot to say.”
Charles Mackerras (1925–2010)
Valuable work Sir Charles Mackerras died on 14 July 2010. His decades of experience as a conductor and researcher made him the world’s number one authority on Leo� Janá�ek. Mackerras’ work is invaluable when Charles Mackerras it comes to performing Janá�ek’s works. We at UE are proud to be able to offer the fruits of his extensive and pioneering labours in our catalogue: Arrangements of works by Leo�š Janá�ek: From the House of the Dead 1927–1928 opera in 3 acts (4 scenes) practical critical edition by Charles Mackerras and John Tyrrell (1990). Glagolitic Mass 1927 (missa solemnis) for soli, mixed choir, organ and orchestra (original version), edited by Paul Wingfield (2010), consulting/cooperation by Charles Mackerras. Jen�fa 1894–1903/1908 opera in 3 acts from the life of Moravian peasants (Brno version), edited by Charles Mackerras and John Tyrrell (1993). Katja Kabanowa 1921 opera in 3 acts edited by Charles Mackerras and Karl Heinz Füssl (1971–1992). The Makropulos Case 1925 opera in 3 acts version by Charles Mackerras; a critical new edition by Vanda Prochaska is in preparation, based on the Mackerras version and with additional performance suggestions by Charles Mackerras. �árka 1887–1888 opera in 3 acts edited by Ji�í Zahrádka and Charles Mackerras (2000). The Cunning Little Vixen 1924 opera in 3 acts revised new edition by Ji�í Zahrádka (2008), with performance suggestions by Charles Mackerras. Suite from the opera „The Cunning Little Vixen“ for orchestra arranged by Charles Mackerras (2006), based on the new musicological edition of the opera The Cunning Little Vixen by Ji�í Zahrádka.
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charles mackerras
3. – 27. März 2011 Zoom Gielen Cerha Schnebel Kessler
Licht spiel
musik
Focus Streich quartett
Szenen wechsel
www.salzburgbiennale.at
cerha
Music prize for his 85th birthday Friedrich Cerha, who will turn 85 on 17 Feb 2011, “may rightly be described as Austria’s most important contemporary composer” – according to an announcement for the Biennale festival in Salzburg, which will be featuring works by Cerha. Writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, Julia Spinola adds: “In an unspectacular yet radical style, he epitomises a multi-
Friedrich Cerha
perspectivity which is exemplary in modern art. When it comes to compositional techniques, his work offers a blend of post-war avant-garde techniques and older methods and material, which he handles in a completely new manner. Cerha has never been concerned with only eclectic variety or aesthetic concessions – instead, he has always aimed to square the circle, one of the basic issues of new music: to use the full potential of the articulation afforded by complex music compositions to address listeners directly.” This coming spring will see him being awarded the 2011 Salzburg Music Prize – an International Composition Prize Awarded by Land Salzburg. This recognition has come late in the day, as the composer himself stated when the decision was announced. The programme for the prize-winner’s concert includes Bruchstück, geträumt and Jahrlang ins Ungewisse hinab. Johannes Kalitzke will conduct Austria’s two top ensembles for new music: Klangforum Wien and the oesterreichisches ensemble für neue musik (12–13 Mar). www.bit.ly/musikpreis Klangforum Wien is also set to perform Eine Art Chansons and 8 Sätze nach Hölderlin-Fragmenten in Vienna on 5 and 10 Jan. 7
cerha
MOZART WOCHE 2011 21. – 30. JÄNNER
So, 23.1.2011, 15.00 Stiftung Mozarteum, Großer Saal Hagen Quartett, Jörg Widmann Klarinette Georg Friedrich Haas 6. Streichquartett UA. Auftragswerk der Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg, KölnMusik und Wigmore Hall London sowie Werke von Heinz Holliger und Mozart
Mozartwoche
Dirigenten Giovanni Antonini, Ivor Bolton, Dennis Russell Davies, Gottfried von der Goltz, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Heinz Holliger, René Jacobs, Louis Langrée, Marc Minkowski, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jonathan Nott, András Schiff, Jörg Widmann Orchester Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Camerata Salzburg, Cappella Andrea Barca, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Concentus Musicus Wien, Freiburger Barockorchester, Les Musiciens du Louvre·Grenoble, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Sinfonieorchester der Univ. Mozarteum, Wiener Philharmoniker Sänger Kurt Azesberger, Thomas Bauer, Daniel Behle, Florian Boesch, Markus Brutscher, Joachim Buhrmann, Annette Dasch, Marcos Fink, Anna Grevelius, Sunhae Im, Philippe Jaroussky, Inga Kalna, Mika Kares, Julia Kleiter, Christina Landshamer, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Elisabeth von Magnus, Hanno Müller-Brachmann, Jeremy Ovenden, Anna Prohaska, Thomas Quasthoff, Christine Schäfer, Daniel Schmutzhard, Toby Spence, Lydia Teuscher, Burcu Uyar, Rolando Villazón, Kai Wessel Solisten Piotr Anderszewski, Teodoro Anzellotti, Florian Birsak, Helmut Deutsch, David Greilsammer, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Heinz Holliger, Gidon Kremer, Robert Levin, Alexander Lonquich, Johannes Nied, Jerca Novak, Maurizio Pollini, Fazil Say, András Schiff, Elmar Schmid, Eric Schneider, Christian Tetzlaff, Hanna Weinmeister, Antje Weithaas, Jörg Widmann, Tabea Zimmermann Ensembles & Chöre Hagen Quartett, oesterreichisches ensemble für neue musik, Arnold Schoenberg Chor, RIAS Kammerchor, Salzburger Bachchor, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, St. Florianer Sängerknaben
Konzerte Wissenschaft Museen
Tickets: Tel. 43 662 873154 tickets@mozarteum.at www.mozarteum.at
14.00 Uhr Künstlergespräch Georg Friedrich Haas
haas
Close ties At least since the 1998 world première of String Quartet No. 2, close ties have existed between Georg Friedrich Haas and the Hagen Quartet. The quartet themselves talk of their experiences with intonation, which are helpful when performing the classical and romantic repertoire as well. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, the Hagen Quartet will also be performing the world première of String Quartet No. 6 in Salzburg on 23 Jan – a piece commissioned by Salzburg’s Mozarteum Foundation, KölnMusik and the Wigmore Hall.
with the detailed composition of the scales of harmonics and the resulting oscillating effects, the mixtures in the second piece, which reveal the influence of Oliver Messiaen’s music, and the complex layers of chords, which repeatedly return to the ‘Vyshnegradsky chord’ and its variants. The work is set to receive its world première in the version for soprano and piano (27 Nov, Luxembourg), again with Sarah Wegener as the soloist. www.bit.ly/wiestilleE
The US première of in vain on 6 Feb 2009 brought Haas enormous public success, as well as great reviews from the New York Times, among others. The critics expressed surprise that such exciting and evocative sounds could be produced by conventional instruments without electronic manipulation. Argento Chamber Ensemble will perform in vain again in New York (12 Nov and 18 Feb). www.bit.ly/invain … wie stille brannte das Licht for soprano and chamber orchestra, which premièred in Cologne in May 2009, impressed the audience
Georg Friedrich Haas
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haas
ARVO PÄRT im Gespräch
Restagno | Brauneiss | Kareda | Pärt
ARVO PÄRT im Gespräch
UE 26 300
Restagno | Brauneiss | Kareda | Pärt
UE 26 300
Universal Edition
Arvo Pärt Im Gespräch The collected articles of this book introduce the reader to Arvo Pärt: a composer who in the last few decades has become an eminent and unique personality in the music world. The main highlight of the book is an extensive conversion between Enzo Restagno and Arvo Pärt, in which Pärt talks in his very personal way about his works, his life in Soviet Estonia, his emigration, his artistic odyssey and vision of the world. The book is available in Germany only. UE 26300 Euro 19,90
ISMN 979-0-008-08301-3 UPC 8-03452-06674-3 ISBN 978-3-7024-6961-0
pärt
Read and rediscover Milestone birthdays are a time to take stock and reflect on one’s oeuvre and its reception. The album Tabula Rasa was released by ECM in 1984, bringing Arvo Pärt’s work to a wider international audience beyond the new music scene. 26 years on, the album has now been released as a special edition (ECM/UE), offering facsimiles of the scores of the key works Tabula Rasa and Cantus and study scores of the four works on the album. In his introductory note for the special edition, Paul Griffiths offers a fitting summary: “… modernism is not denied but understood … This is not a totally amnesiac simplicity but one that has been struggled for, one that implies an immense
process of discovery, one that has come through to some other side yet not lost sight of the stretch that has been travelled.” (UE 35222, English/German) www.bit.ly/tabula-rasa-ue Another publication on the ‘Pärt phenomenon’ has recently been issued by UE: Arvo Pärt – Im Gespräch. The book offers two important theoretical contributions on Pärt. Its main feature is a written account of an extensive interview between Pärt and Enzo Restagno in 2003. In this highly personal interview, Pärt recalls numerous periods of his life and the creation of many of his works (UE 26 300, German only). Both items are available from UE.
Arvo Pärt 11
pärt
Wolfgang Rihm rihm
More sound When Wolfgang Rihm was asked to write a new piece for Ensemble Alarm Will Sound, he created Will Sound, which received its world première in New York in 2006. He is now composing a sequel. Will Sound More is set to première in Frankfurt on 15 Jan with Ensemble Modern. www.bit.ly/willsoundmore One of the ‘wild’ works written by a young Rihm, Fantasia for string orchestra and piano, will receive its world première on 15 Dec with the Bottroper Kammerorchester under Kai Röhrig. Jagden und Formen is becoming one of the most frequently performed of Rihm’s works. Stefan Asbury, a renowned Rihm specialist, will conduct the piece in Tapiola/FIN on 3 Feb with the Tapiola Sinfonietta. Peter Rundel will also be presenting Jagden und Formen with Remix-Ensemble in Porto/P 12
rihm
on 18 Jan. Rihm is set to take up the post of composer-in-residence at the Casa da Música. A wealth of other concerts are also scheduled. The monodrama Das Gehege appears to be finding its way into the repertoire and will feature in the events calendar of the Hamburg Opera again on 12, 13 and 15 Feb (director: Matthew Jocelyn). Simone Young will conduct; the soloist is Kristine Jepson. www. bit.ly/dasgehege The Music-Hall-Suite will see 2 performances by the Ives Ensemble (8 Dec in Amsterdam, 13 Dec in Wageningen/NL). Viola Concerto No. 2 can also be heard in Amsterdam (6 Jan) with Aléjo Perez conducting the Radio Kamer Filharmonie and Geneviève Strosser as the soloist. The same concert will also feature 3 Walzer. Paraphrase for cello, percussion and piano will be performed by Ensemble Recherche on 22 Jan in Freiburg/D. Fremde Szene III can be heard twice: on 23 Jan at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and on 3 Feb at the Lincoln Center in New York.
sotelo
New opera The great esteem in which Mauricio Sotelo is held in Spain (and beyond) has now resulted in an opera being commissioned by Madrid’s Teatro Real. The artistic director Gerard Mortier has announced that Sotelo is to write an opera on a subject by Federico García Lorca. The details will follow shortly. Sotelo cannot complain about a lack of commissioned works or interest in other respects either: Muerte sin fin was commissioned by the Dutch Flamenco Biennale 2011, Nieuw-Ensemble and Spain’s Ministry of Culture. The world première will be held in Amsterdam on 30 Jan. The approx 30-minute piece was composed for flamenco singer, orchestra and electronics. Arcana ... I for bass saxophone and electronics will receive its world première in Mallorca in Dec 2010, while Alfa Centauri for ensemble and electronics can be heard for the first time in Valencia on 11 Dec, performed by Ensemble Espai Sonor.
tival brochure, Staud spoke of his working methods and self-image, as well as of new projects: “If you think I was lucky to be able to turn my wonderful hobby into a career, I have to say: it’s not a hobby – it’s too tough, too demanding for that.” Anyone who takes a look at his meticulous pencil-written scores can see that he is serious. 2011 will see Staud taking up the post of Capell-Compositeur (composerin-residence) at the Staatskapelle Dresden, which has commissioned Tondo for orchestra (world première 1 May 2011). He is also working on 2 other pieces for Dresden (solo piece for bassoon; narrator with ensemble), as well as one for Paris (IRCAM) and one for Klangspuren Schwaz (for 4 bassoons and electronics). www.bit.ly/tondo-dresden
staud
Behind the scenes The Wien Modern festival in autumn turned the spotlight on Johannes Maria Staud. In the fes-
Johannes Maria Staud 13
sotelo / staud
schwartz
Ungraceful landing On Jay Schwartz’ Music for Orchestra III: “The work began more as a feeling than as a sound or a sight, as if it were made up less of specific notes as from the results of their interaction, the overtone song of their combination. You didn’t ‘hear’ it so much with your ears as with the area between the solar plexus, stomach and heart muscle, first as an unendingly slow descent, and then as a polyphonic rising and falling, and at the end an ungraceful but not catastrophic landing.” (Elisabeth Risch, FAZ) Listen to an audio excerpt at www. universaledition.com/schwartz baltakas
New work for ensemble Vykintas Baltakas’ autumn started with the world première of his new work for orchestra in three groups – Scoria – which was performed at the Musica Viva festival in Munich by the RSO Munich conducted by Lucas Vis. In October, Redditio for ensemble was given its first per-
formance at the Transit Festival in Leuven/B. The composer himself conducted Champs d’Action in Leuven. Further performances of Baltakas’ string quartet – b(ell tree) – also took place, with the Chordos Quartet performing in Kaliningrad (RUS), Kaunas and Vilnius (LIT). Contact us for scores and recordings of all works. Lentz
New CD of orchestral works The inimitable music of Georges Lentz will be presented in a comprehensive new recording by Timpani Records this winter. The Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg has made studio recordings of three of Lentz’ major works for orchestra: Mohn (for viola and orchestra), Guyuhmgan and Ngangkar. Emilio Pomàrico conducted the session with Tabea Zimmermann as the soloist in Monh. The release date is Spring 2011. Read more at www.bit.ly/lentz-cd
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schwartz / baltakas / lentz
furrer
Adventures Cristóbal Halffter halffter
Set of three After hosting the German première of Cristóbal Halffter’s opera Don Quijote (2006) and presenting the world première of his second, commissioned opera Lázaro (2008), the Kiel Opera has now commissioned the composer and a librettist to write Halffter’s third opera for 2012–2013. Kiel will host the world première. Wolfgang Haendeler is writing the libretto based on material chosen by Halffter himself: Chess Story by Stefan Zweig. The world première is planned for 2012–2013. The opera tells of a prisoner fighting against monotonous materialism and the tyranny of dictatorship – which gives him something in common with Halffter and the eponymous heroes of his other operas Don Quijote and Lazarus.
in sound As part of their Adventures in Sound series, the London Sinfonietta is presenting a concert dedicated to the music of Beat Furrer. Included in the programme is his nuun, for two pianos and orchestra, from 1996. Bernhard Günther, writing for the world première at the Salzburg Festival, mentions that “the central principle is transformation, specifically on the rhythmic, harmonic and tonal planes, as a continuous process from the beginning to the end. nuun is an almost unparalleled example of Furrer’s breadth of expression.” www.bit.ly/nuunlondon
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halffter / furrer
Luke Bedford
borisova-ollas
The first opera
Concerto for
Luke Bedford is writing an opera. The première of Seven Angels is on 17 June 2011, and is a cooperation between the Opera Group and the BCMG. Seven angels have fallen through space and time for so long, they have forgotten why. Coming to rest on a desert landscape, they imagine the creation of a legendary garden that once flourished there and its destruction through greed and neglect. Inspired by Paradise Lost, Seven Angels interprets the themes of John Milton’s masterpiece for a modern audience facing up to the urgent challenges of a changing climate and ever-depleting resources. Seven Angels is for 7 singers and 12 instruments. Nicholas Collon conducts a production directed by John Fulljames. See www.bit.ly/7angels1 and www.bit.ly/7angels2
two pianos Victoria Borisova-Ollas’ new work for two pianos and orchestra – Wunderbare Leiden – was given its world première by the Düsseldorf Symphoniker conducted by Andrey Borekyo this October. The two pianists – who could possibly be embodying Robert and Clara Schumann themselves – battle away at the pianos in front of a deep orchestral background full of nuances and various quotes from the music of both the Schumanns. The work is one of the most adventurous yet from the composer. Score and recording are available on request. Borisova-Ollas is currently working on an opera based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Luke Bedford 16
bedford / borisova-ollas
sawer
On CD Though the most substantial work in this collection is the ‘symphonic’ suite that the composer extracted from his opera, From Morning to Midnight, ... the other pieces, all from the late 1990s, show the unfailing originality and distinctiveness of everything David Sawer composes. The chamber orchestral Tiroirs is a sequence of razor-sharp images, each perfectly scored and imagined, and shuffled with a conjuror's virtuosity; The Memory of Water, for string orchestra and a pair of solo violins whose spatial relationship steadily shifts through the course of the piece, is a compelling musical flux that Sawer likens to a flowing river from which ideas emerge only to be submerged again. Listen to excerpts and order online at the NMC website www.bit.ly/nmcsawer birtwistle
New study score
Harrison Birtwistle right now, but I never quite catch them. Actually, I hope I don’t. Sometimes it has to do with all sorts of aleatoric things and sometimes with highly formalised things, because I am really interested in writing a sort of formal music.” (Harrison Birtwistle) Harrison Birtwistle’s Silbury Air, for chamber ensemble (1977, revised 2003) is now available in the new study score series. In 1977, the Guardian wrote “The result is dramatic and immediately exciting, … showing the firmest possible architectural sense, with each section relating naturally and satisfyingly to the rest.” Ensemble Recherche performs Pulse Sampler in the snow at Hotel Kristiana in the Voralberg mountains of Austria (13 Jan 2011).
“I have always felt that I have had music in my head that already exists, and I just have to find a way of getting it onto paper. There is a sort of stream of things going round in my head, probably even 17
sawer / birtwistle
“People see me as a theoretician, but my music is also seductive, even spiritual.” -Pierre Boulez
2010-2011 SEASON:
COMPOSER PORTRAITS
Oct 21 Matthias Pintscher
Miller Theatre’s signature series shines the spotlight on
Nov 19 Fred Lerdahl
a single contemporary composer in every concert. Get
Dec 6 Pierre Boulez
to know the most important musical voices of our time,
Feb 3 Julia Wolfe
from established masters to emerging artists, and
Mar 4 Mario Davidovsky
discover why New York magazine calls us “one of the best
Apr 15 Chaya Czernowin
destinations anywhere for contemporary music.”
May 5 Joan Tower Miller Theatre at Columbia University Broadway at 116th Street, New York, NY 212.854.7799 www.millertheatre.com
Pierre Boulez boulez
Ingenious derivatives Pierre Boulez’ Dérive means ‘a byproduct’ – of Répons (1981). As a work evolves, many elements, which could be developed further, are omitted or left over as part of the preliminary process. Dérive 1 for 6 instruments originated from the compositions Répons (1981) and Messagesquisse (1976– 1977). The starting point for the derivative is also a series “based around the name of Sacher”: the notes Eb, A, C, B, E (Es, A, C, H, E in German notation) are supplemented by a French Re (D). This series is transposed and used to form 6 chords. Dérive 2, dedicated to Elliott Carter on his 80th birthday, was the result of “research into periodicity”. “When I reflected on some of
Ligeti’s compositions,” wrote Boulez, “I felt the desire to dedicate myself to some almost theoretical research into periodicity in order to systematically examine its overlays, its shifts and its exchange.” Daniel Barenboim, who performed Dérive 2 at this year’s musikfest berlin, regards it as one of Pierre Boulez’s masterpieces. Both works are now to receive their US premières. Dérive 1 and Dérive 2 (the revised version) will be performed by the Talea Ensemble at the Miller Theater in New York on 6 Dec. A second performance of Dérive 1 can be heard at Zankel Hall (also in NY) with ensemble eighth blackbird on 31 Jan. www.bit.ly/boulez-miller
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boulez
KURTÁG
85th birthday “One has to put one’s life into the music – it must have blood in it!”, György Kurtág explained in an interview with Susanne Kübler (2010). To Kurtág, music means far more than art; each individual note is of vital importance. The composer, who was born in Lugoj (now Romania) in 1926, will celebrate his 85th birthday on 19 Feb. All of us here at UE offer him our best wishes and are proud to have a number of his exemplary works in our catalogue, such as 4 Capriccios for soprano and chamber orchestra op. 9 (1970/71/97). www.universaledition.com/kurtag Reich
No instruments needed Steve Reich composed Clapping Music in 1972, aiming to create a piece of music that would need no instruments beyond the human body. One performer repeatedly claps the same basic rhythm while the second performer’s rhythm shifts abruptly forwards, and then, after clapping in unison for several beats, gradually moves further and
further away until he is in unison with the first performer again. The piece can be heard in Hanover on 23 Jan and in Stockholm on 26 Jan. www.bit.ly/stevereich gielen
The Star of the Covenant The great conductor Michael Gielen has been awarded this year’s Ernst von Siemens Music Prize and is now appearing more and more as a composer in his own right. In 4 Gedichte (1955–1958) for mixed choir and 19 instruments, he set poems by Stefan George (The Star of the Covenant) to music. The unusual instrumentation is striking: 6 clarinets, 4 trombones, 4 cellos, piano, tubular bells, timpani and 2 glockenspiels. The work lasts around 18 minutes and will be performed by the composer himself with the RSO Stuttgart on 4 Dec in Freiburg.
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kurtág / reich / gielen
berio
Berio-Saal for the Vienna Konzerthaus Luciano Berio’s last visit to Vienna was in Nov 2000 when he attended the Austrian première of Epiphanies (RSO Vienna, conductor Dennis Russell Davies) at the Wien Modern festival (listen to an extract from an interview with Berio and Davies at www.bit.ly/epiphaniesE). When the Vienna Konzerthaus was refurbished, it was equipped with the latest technology and a fourth concert hall (sponsored by Kapsch) which has now been named the Berio-Saal. The Konzerthaus will officially commemorate the composer, whose music has always played a key role there, in concert on 16 Dec with an ‘Hommage à
Luciano Berio’. The portrait concert will feature the soloists Alda Caiello, mezzo-soprano, Mario Caroli, fl, Garth Knox, vla, Krassimir Sterev, acc, Lukas Schiske, perc, Marino Formenti, pno and Studio Tempo Reale from Florence. The programme includes Quattro canzoni popolari, Sequenza I for flute, Momenti, Naturale su melodie siciliane, Sequenza XIII for accordion, Altra voce for alto flute, mezzo-soprano and live electronics, and Sonata.
Berio-Saal at Vienna Konzerthaus
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berio
© Barbara Monk-Feldman
Concert in The Netherlands
MORTON FELDMAN’S ROTHKO CHAPEL Brice Pauset
Kinderszenen mit Robert Schumann (Dutch première)
Hanna Kulenty
Decimo forte (world première)
Asko | Schönberg Nederlands Kamerkoor (NKK) conductor Emilio Pomarico
12 January 2011, Rotterdam, Laurenskerk Reservations: www.dedoelen.nl
13 January 2011, Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ Donderdagavondserie-PROMS Reservations: www.muziekgebouw.nl
www.askoschoenberg.nl NIEUWE MUZIEK
Feldman
Rothko Chapel Morton Feldman wrote Rothko Chapel for soprano, alto, mixed choir and instruments for the meditation room of the Menil Foundation in Houston/Texas in 1971. The room contains 14 large paintings by the American artist Mark Rothko in red, black and purple tones, which vary according to the light and create an atmosphere of contemplation and tranquillity. “To a large degree, my choice of instruments (in terms of forces used, balance and timbre) was affected by the space of the chapel as well as the paintings. I wanted the music … to permeate the whole octagonalshaped room and not be heard from a certain distance” (Feldman). Rothko Chapel can be heard in San Francisco on 23–26 Feb (San Francisco SO under Michael Tilson Thomas), Asko|Schönberg Ensemble will perform the piece under
Emilio Pomàrico in Rotterdam (12 Jan) and Amsterdam (13 Jan), while Da Camera of Houston is to present it at the Rothko Chapel itself on 26 Feb. www.bit.ly/rothkochapel stockhausen
Punctualism In the early 1950s, Karlheinz Stockhausen developed punctualism – a style of composition “whose structures are predominantly effected from tone to tone, without superordinate formal conceptions coming to bear”. In Kontra-Punkte for 10 instruments, which was written in 1952–1953, the punctualism is overlaid by a process of development, which steadily resolves the extreme contrasts of the individual points in terms of their timbre, dynamics and length, right through to the end. The Nieuwe Ensemble Amsterdam will perform the piece in the Netherlands on 19–21 Jan.
Michael Tilson Thomas 23
feldman / stockhausen
Rolf Liebermann
L’école des
femmes Direction musicale, Jurjen Hempel Mise en scène, Eric Génovèse sociétaire de la Comédie française NouvELLE productioN Dans le cadre de la célébration du centenaire de la naissance de Rolf Liebermann
Photographie : Gaëlle Hamalian-Testud © - Opéra National de Bordeaux - Nos de licences : 331559-T1, 331560-T2, 331561-T3 - Novembre 2010
Grand-Théâtre 26 Nov. 20h00 - 28 Nov. 15h00 30 Nov. 20h00 - 01 déc. 20h00
05 56 00 85 95 www.opera-bordeaux.com Directeur Général Thierry Fouquet
liebermann
School for Wives To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rolf Liebermann’s birth, a new production of the 3-act opera buffa Die Schule der Frauen (1954–55), based on a libretto by Heinrich Strobel, is to open at the Opéra National de Bordeaux on 26 Nov. The storyline was inspired by the French theatrical comedy L’école des femmes by Molière. Molière himself (alias Poquelin) directs the action in this comedy, commenting on the modern staging of his creation, intervening where necessary and even slipping into the role of a minor character. Liebermann’s music has an astonishing vitality and fusion of baroque motor rhythms and counterpoint, of expansive late-romantic melodiousness and harmony interwoven with dodecaphony. Eric Génovèse, a member of the Comédie Française and Molière enthusiast, will be staging the piece in Bordeaux. The conductor will be Jurjen Hempel.
Nick
Economic crisis as a radio play On 27 Feb, the Kurt Weill Festival in Dessau will be presenting Edmund Nick’s Leben in dieser Zeit, Lyrische Suite in 3 Sätzen (1929) in the successful 2008 production by Staatsoperette Dresden (musical director: Ernst Theis). The work was based on a radio play about the economic crisis of the time. Erich Kästner, who was a friend of Nick, interwove poems and dialogue in verse, while Nick supplied a fitting colourful composition with quotations from classical and folk music literature. Interspersed with montages of sound and music, this exciting record of its time has been transformed into a stage version. A CD of Leben in dieser Zeit has recently been released by cpo (see page 47). www.bit.ly/edmundnickE
Rolf Liebermann Die Schule der Frauen Opéra National de Bordeaux 2010 25
liebermann / nick
Martin
Adaptable melody
Blue Mosque Istanbul marx
A declaration of love As already announced, Joseph Marx’s declaration of love to Castelli Romani, a picturesque area near Rome, will be performed in Istanbul and Graz: Castelli Romani (1929–1930), concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2, length: 32 min; Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra under Sascha Goetzel (23– 24 Feb) and Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester under John Axelrod (28 Feb, 1 Mar). Markus Schirmer will be the solo pianist in both Istanbul and Graz. The German première of Marx’s Neujahrshymnus and Herbstchor an Pan will be held on 12–13 Feb with the Monteverdichor and Mainphilharmonie Würzburg under Matthias Beckert. www.bit.ly/josephmarx
Frank Martin wrote Passacaille for organ in 1944, later producing versions for string orchestra (1952) and large orchestra (1962). In this work, Martin’s interest lies in creating endless new harmonic interpretations and varying textures around the theme. The version for string orchestra can be heard on 18–19 Dec, performed by Ensemble Symphonique de Neuchâtel. www.bit.ly/ensemblesymphonique In 1951, Martin completed the Violin Concerto which he had mentioned in 1948: “There is a problem I would like to resolve: the Violin Concerto. I wish to achieve a contrast between different colours, rather than just between the solo part and the other string parts.” The concerto will be performed by the Orchestre de Dijon-Bourgogne on 22 Jan. www.bit.ly/martin-dijon
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marx / martin
milhaud
Machines agricoles in the Platteland region The Dutch Platteland region, its farmers and their relationship with city life are the focus of the musical theatre production Platteland als Podium, which will be presented by the Veenfabriek drama group from 18 Nov to 18 Dec in Warmond/NL. Various texts and interviews with local farmers will be accompanied by Darius Milhaud’s Machines agricoles, performed by ASKO|Schönberg. The production will have a culinary finale with a dinner for the guests prepared by a chef who will present produce and recipes from the Platteland region. The production is scheduled to move to the Paradiso cultural centre in Amsterdam in March.
Iron Foundry from the ballet Steel brought him fame. In the piece, Mosolov transforms the sounds of an iron foundry into music as realistically as possible. This extremely dissonant, penetratingly rhythmic machine music is typical of Mosolov’s enthusiasm for experimentation with which he also influenced other young composers of the day. After coming into conflict with the State, he was arrested on suspicion of being a counterrevolutionary and sentenced to 8 years’ hard labour. After his imprisonment, he renounced all modernistic tendencies. Iron Foundry will be performed by the Noord Nederlands Orkest under Stefan Asbury in the Netherlands on 27, 28 and 30 Jan.
Alexander W. Mosolov
Rhythmic machine music In the 1920s, Alexander W. Mosolov developed a new style, which was anti-romantic, anti-emotional, radical and provocative. Inspired by Arthur Honegger’s Pacific 231, 27
milhaud / mosolov
25.2.-13.3.2011
Berlin im
Licht
Highlights> Kurt Weill: „Der Protagonist“ „One Touch of Venus“ „Zaubernacht“ Erich Kästner/ Edmund Nick: „Leben in dieser Zeit“ Georg Kreisler: „Heute Abend: Lola Blau“ Lotte Reiniger/ Renaud Garcia-Fons: „Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed“ Ensemble Modern Salome Kammer HK Gruber Nils Landgren
Klingende Stadtportraits von Berlin, Paris und New York präsentieren die Lebens-Arbeits-Stationen Kurt Weills und geben den Takt der kommenden Kurt Weill Feste vor. Berlin, Hotspot der 20er und 30er Jahre, steht zuerst Pate für ein hochkarätiges Programm. Aber schon damals spielte die „Musik“ nicht nur in der Hauptstadt: Hugo Junkers, die Meister des Bauhaus und einige ebenso visionär wie aufrecht gesinnte Politiker sorgen für bedeutende Impulse – auch heute noch erlebbar in der Musik Kurt Weills. Seien Sie neugierig – machen Sie Ihre Klangreise in die Stadt der Klassischen Moderne!
PhiLlip Boa Staatsoperette Dresden MDR Sinfonieorchester Anhaltische Philharmonie
Informationen & Kartenservice
0341 - 14 990 900 www.kurt-weill-fest.de
weill
Kurt Weill Fest The 19th Kurt Weill Festival is to be held in Dessau from 25 Feb to 13 March 2011 and will focus on the first of three periods of Kurt Weill’s life and work: based on the theme of ‘Berlin im Licht’ (Berlin in the light), the festival will showcase Berlin’s fascinating musical and cultural variety at the time of the Weimar Republic. The Anhaltisches Theater Dessau is to open the festival with Weill’s first opera Der Protagonist. Thanks to his one-act opera, which premièred in Dresden in 1925, Weill achieved a breakthrough as an operatic composer and became a celebrated beacon of hope for the revival of the opera genre. Other highlights include a staged performance of Zaubernacht and the return of Edmund Nick’s Leben in dieser Zeit by Staatsoperette Dresden (see page 25). www.bit.ly/weill-festival Braunfels
Schlingensief's last opera Walter Braunfels’ opera Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna, Dichtung nach den Prozessakten von 1431, which was written in 1938–1942, will return to the
Walter Braunfels Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna Deutsche Oper Berlin 2008 Deutsche Oper Berlin on 30 Oct. The world première of the staged opera was produced in 2008 by the dramatist Christoph Schlingensief, who died recently. The orchestra and choir of the Deutsche Oper Berlin will be conducted by Ulf Schirmer and the eponymous part sung by Mary Mills. A selection of press reviews: “Walter Braunfels tells the tale of a miracle against all the odds, the empowerment of the weak, the manipulation of the masses, the hope of and doubt in divine salvation – all in his expressive, lateromantic sound language, with echoes of musical neoclassicism, as well as chromatic harmonies which teeter on the edge of tonality without ever crossing the line.” (Berliner Morgenpost) According to Ulf Schirmer, “Braunfels’ music only exudes a great sense of peace on the outside – on the inside it is full of strong, condensed emotions.” (Tagesspiegel) www.bit.ly/braunfelsE
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weill / braunfels
bartók
Pictures of the soul
Béla Bartók Duke Bluebeard’s Castle Israeli Opera 2010
Piano Concerto No. 2 was written in 1930–1931, four years after the challengingly radical and aggressive Piano Concerto No. 1. In 1939, Béla Bartók explained: “My second piano concerto was composed to complement the first – with fewer difficulties for the orchestra and more pleasant themes. This intention of mine explains the folk-like, lighter character of most of the themes.” Daniel Barenboim will
present the work with Staatskapelle Berlin in Berlin (24–25 Jan), in Vienna (1 Feb) and Paris (6 Feb). Soloist: Yefim Bronfman. From 15 Dec, the Israeli Opera will play host to a new production (Dale Chihuly) of Bartók’s one-act opera Duke Bluebeard’s Castle alongside Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder (in concert). Bartók composed his opera as a symphony in seven pictures of the soul, framed by a ballad-like prologue. www.bit.ly/blaubart kodály
Hungarian folk music on stage Zoltán Kodály’s musical comedy Die kaiserlichen Abenteuer des Háry János received its world première in Budapest in 1926. This piece was Kodály’s first attempt at integrating Hungarian folk music into a work for stage, thus bringing it to a wider audience. Written one year later, the Háry János-Suite consists of 6 movements with characteristic sections of the musical comedy and quickly became one of Kodály’s most popular orchestral works. The Suite can be heard in Bremerhaven/D on 10–12 Jan.
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bartók / kodály
Karol Szymanowski Hagith Opera Wroclaw 2006 martin�
szymanowski
Perfecting a
Expressive music
new style Bohuslav Martin� composed his Concerto grosso for chamber orchestra and two pianos in Paris in 1937. By immersing himself in old music, he developed his own unmistakable language and broke away from the technical aspects of composition, structuring and developing his music in a free style – in his own words, his desired “perfection of a new style”. Owing to wartime disruptions, Concerto grosso did not receive its world première until 1941 with the Boston SO under Sergei A. Koussevitzky in the USA. The piece can now be heard in Reno/USA on 22–23 Jan, performed by the Reno Chamber Orchestra under Theodore Kuchar. www.bit.ly/martinu-reno
Karol Szymanowski’s one-act opera Hagith (1911–1913) can be heard again at Poland’s Wroclaw Opera on 15 Feb. The opera tells of the beautiful Hagith, who is supposed to bring the aged king power and the vitality of youth but is, of course, doomed to failure. The character sketches of the main parts are razor-sharp and the action is driven forwards with breathtaking suspense, supported by the dynamics of the expressive music. The Wroclaw Opera will also be presenting another performance of Szymanowski’s opera King Roger on 29 Dec, which has been shown in an extremely successful staging by Mariusz Trelinski since 2007. The opera offers a blend of Arab culture, Christianity and Ancient Greece in music and images, making for a captivating whole. From 15 Jan, audiences can also see the opera at the Staatstheater Mainz/D in a production by Joan Anton Rechi. www.bit.ly/hagith www.bit.ly/kingroger
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martinů / szymanowski
heard at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt on 10 Feb with the Munich Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann. www.bit.ly/nachtstueck schmidt
Good and evil Christian Thielemann schreker
Fevered thoughts in music Nachtstück, a symphonic interlude from Act 3 of the opera Der ferne Klang, premièred in 1909, three years before the opera itself, and gave rise to Franz Schreker’s first major scandal. It is little wonder that Schreker’s score encountered so much resistance among Vienna’s critics and audiences, for it was indeed a work of nearly unprecedented complexity. Schreker became one of Vienna’s ‘difficult’ composers overnight. This sudden popularity paved the way for the opera which would make him famous. Nachtstück describes a dreamscape, and its motivic, harmonic and rhythmic layerings, its brilliant and often luxuriant orchestration, mirror the protagonist’s fevered thoughts. It can be
Franz Schmidt’s musical creativity peaked in his last completed work – the oratorio Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln (1935–1937). In setting the Revelation of St. John to music, the composer’s most important method was a “fundamental antithesis” of good and evil based on varying ranges of tone, as he wrote in his preface. The piece can be heard at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt on 30–31 Jan with the Figuralchor Frankfurt and Frankfurter Museumsorchester. www.bit.ly/schmidt-E
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schreker / schmidt
zemlinsky
The tragedy of the ugly man On 3 May 1921, Alexander Zemlinsky received the following telegram: “have read your opera the dwarf with great enjoyment cologne is prepared to accept sole rights for world premiere would you be prepared to entrust your work to us Klemperer.” Der Zwerg received its world première one year later, on 28 May 1922 in Cologne under Otto Klemperer. During this era of change, audiences displayed a growing enthusiasm for ‘Zeitoper’ (opera of the times), neoclassicism and New Objectivity. Apparently exaggerated, late-romantic music like Der Zwerg began to lose popularity. Following a series of performances, the work vanished from the stage for half a cen-
tury and only made a triumphant return to concert programmes in 1981, along with A Florentine Tragedy. Friends and acquaintances did not necessarily share Zemlinsky’s enthusiasm for this “drama of the ugly man”, primarily because Georg C. Klaren, the librettist, had depicted the title role – if perhaps inadvertently – as the composer’s Doppelgänger. By identifying himself with a figure so closely modelled on his own physical traits, it was feared that Zemlinsky would expose himself to public ridicule. The Munich State Opera will be presenting a new staging of the one-act opera from 27 Feb under the musical direction of Kent Nagano. The première will be broadcast live on BR-Klassik with John Daszak in the grand role of the dwarf. www.bit.ly/zemlinskyE
Alexander Zemlinsky Der Zwerg La Monnaie Brüssel 2003 33
zemlinsky
schönberg
Inspiration and ecstasy “The work is a true turning point in my life in this respect – even more so because it was my first attempt at creating a chamber orchestra,” wrote Arnold Schönberg, describing his Chamber Symphony No. 1 op. 9 for 15 solo instruments, which he completed in Rottach-Egern on Lake Tegernsee in 1906. Only half the length of the early chamber music works (and consisting of
Arnold Schönberg
34
schönberg
just one movement), it has a lively, bright and energetic character. Members of the Berlin Philharmonic will be performing the piece in Berlin on 13 Feb and in London on 20 Feb (conductor: Simon Rattle). www.bit.ly/schoenberg-op9 Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht op. 4 is probably the composer’s bestknown and most popular work. Inspired by his acquaintance with his wife-to-be, Mathilde, the sister of his friend and teacher Alexander Zemlinsky, he composed the string sextet Verklärte Nacht in 1899, based on a poem by Richard Dehmel. He later arranged it for string orchestra in 1917 and 1943. The conductor and violinist Christoph Poppen said about the orchestral version: “What fascinates me about this orchestration is that he succeeded in using the orchestration to substantially enhance the sounds of ecstasy, those huge dimensions, without losing the fragility in certain places.” Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be bringing the piece to Symphony Hall Chicago/ USA (2–4 Dec).
Alban Berg berg
Lulu with a contemporary approach Alban Berg left his opera Lulu unfinished. His untimely death in 1935 prevented him from completing the orchestration for Act 3, which he left as a short score. The first two acts received their posthumous world première in 1937 in Zurich. The first performance of the whole opera took place in Paris in 1979. This version, which was completed by Friedrich Cerha, offers performers the choice of two or three acts.
freely, with the aim of streamlining the act. The world première of this new version was a success, both for Eberhard Kloke and for the conductor Michael Boder and the team led by director Stefan Herheim, which included Alexander Meier-Dörzenbach (assistant director), Heike Scheele (choreography) and Gesine Völlm (costumes). Sine Bundgaard was a convincing Lulu. A review by Deutschlandradio reads: “Berg can be heard as a contemporary of Kurt Weill (Mahagonny) and Ernst Krenek (Jonny spielt auf). This in itself is exciting, but Kloke’s version offers even more: the drafts and scenes do not result in or force a linear sequence of events. Individual production teams can and must choose their own sequence of music and scenes – a ‘free form’ which gives each production of Berg-Kloke’s Lulu its own sound … ultimately what the ‘interactive films’ of the future will offer with their free choice of scenes … In short, it is an old-style opera with a contemporary dramatic approach!” www.bit.ly/berg-lulu
Another version joined the repertoire in Copenhagen on 15 Oct 2010. Eberhard Kloke has developed a type of ‘modular system’ for Act 3, allowing performers to structure the scenes and dramatic flow more 35
berg
satie / Milhaud
Circus music Jack in the Box (1899) for piano is a rather unusual piece in Eric Satie’s oeuvre. Consisting of three movements, it is reminiscent of stylised circus music. The sometimes hectic gaiety in the rhythms and the often garish tones with a dissonant and sometimes bi-tonal colouring create a picture of sudden flashes of blinding light in a grey sky. Darius Milhaud arranged the work for orchestra in 1928. Michal Nesterowicz will be presenting this version in Barcelona (25–27 Feb).
Clytus Gottwald has now transcribed Alma Mahler’s 3 frühe Lieder for a cappella choir. The world première will be given on 26 Feb at Gaisburg protestant church in Stuttgart at a special concert by the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart under Marcus Creed. The programme also features Gottwald’s transcriptions of works by Gustav Mahler, including Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (I have become lost to the world) www.bit.ly/alma-mahler
Alma Mahler / c. gottwald
World première of the choir version Perhaps the first major crisis Gustav Mahler had with his wife Alma occurred when he wrote her a letter asking her to give up her composing. Some biographers believe that Alma never really forgave him. This theory is supported by the fact that Gustav Mahler encouraged her to be creative again once she had begun an affair with Walter Gropius. Although this made Alma very happy, it was too late.
Alma Mahler
36
satie / milhaud a. mahler / gottwald
mahler
World première revisited The UE database contains over 200 concerts featuring works by Gustav Mahler just between this December and February – and the list is by no means exhaustive. As Mahler once said: “My time will come ...” Highlights include performances of Symphony No. 3 (5 Feb) and Symphony No. 4 (17 Feb, soloist: Christine Schäfer) with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic in Berlin. Mariss Jansons will conduct Symphony No. 3 (soloist: Nathalie Stutzman) in Munich on 9 Dec. Christoph Eschenbach will conduct Symphony No. 9, Mahler’s last completed work, with two orchestras: the Munich Philharmonic (12–16 Jan) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (25 Feb). Symphony No. 9 will also be conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on the European tour of the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra – presumably from memory again, as in Gothenburg last spring – in Cologne (26 Jan), in Paris (31 Jan) and at the Vienna Musikverein (4 Feb), where it received its world première (on 26 June 1912). Dudamel has waited a long time to conduct this symphony, but now feels ready for the challenge, as he said in a video in-
Gustav Mahler terview for our Mahler blog, which is now online: www.universaledition.com/mahler Andris Nelsons will also be conducting Symphony No. 9, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Birmingham (2–3 Feb).
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mahler
Leo�š Janá�ek janá�ek
Glagolitic Mass 1926 was a particularly successful and productive year for Leo�š Janá�ek, who composed the opera The Makropulos Case, as well as Sinfonietta and the Glagolitic Mass, among other works. Janá�ek wrote his Glagolitic Mass in just two and a half months, and it became one of the most important mass compositions. Distancing himself from all of the welltrodden paths of the traditional 38
janáček
genre, Janá�ek created a piece of sacred music that is so unique, it begs the question of whether it can be categorised as such at all. It can best be compared to Zoltán Kodály’s powerful Psalmus hungaricus. Instead of using Latin, Janá�ek based his piece on a ninth century text written in Glagolitic (Cyrillic) script – Old Church Slavonic. When committing his work to paper, Janá�ek said: “I want to show people how to talk to our dear Lord.” And he did so with a self-assurance that is a far cry from Catholic humility and contrition. His aim was to write a “joyful mass” because all of the masses composed thus far were so sad. The composer was apparently forced to make major revisions during rehearsals for the mass’s première (5 Dec 1927) owing to a lack of instrumental resources and the limited rehearsal time available, and some additional questionable changes seem to have been made prior to the second performance in Prague (8 Apr 1928). Some of these revisions actually constitute cuts of music that ranks amongst the most arresting that Janá�ek ever wrote. To make matters worse, the composer died before the full score could be published. As a result, the
edition of the work published after his death promulgated a score that is far less exciting and ambitious than the one Janá�ek originally composed. After years of consulting various sources, the musicologist Paul Wingfield succeeded in reconstructing the original version. Sir Charles Mackerras then added valuable performance suggestions, after which this hitherto unknown version was presented to the public. The original final version was then subsequently revised, taking musicological and practical performance aspects into account. Brand new performance material is now available for both versions. Directors can choose their preferred version, each of which has its own merits. The Glagolitic Mass has also been published as part of the new UE study score series (UE34298); an informative preface sets out the differences and similarities between the two versions, which can both be found in the study score. www.bit.ly/janacekE
39
janáček
puccini
Between opera and operetta While visiting Vienna for the première of his opera La fanciulla del West, Giacomo Puccini received a highly tempting offer of the princely sum of 300,000 crowns to write an operetta. After initially rejecting the request, he was persuaded, but called the project a “lyrical comedy”: “in other words, an opera in the style of Rosenkavalier, only more entertaining and more organic”. From the librettos suggested in Vienna, he chose Die Schwalbe (The Swallow) by Alfred Maria Willner. In September 1914, Puccini began setting the text to music, ultimately opting for an Italian version. March 1917 saw the world première of La Rondine at the Opéra de Monte Carlo – the last world première that
Puccini was to attend. Puccini was highly satisfied with his work. He saw his three-act “lyrical comedy” as a “response to the terrible contemporary music, to the World War music” and as his way of mediating between the worlds of opera and operetta. It is a melodious tale of the romantic mistress Magda, who finds the love of her life only to lose him again. La Rondine is performed in four versions, which mainly differ with respect to the positioning of the Parigi … aria and the third act, which has a more dramatic finale in Lorenzo Ferrero’s reconstructed version. The performance materials for all versions are available from Universal Edition and Sonzogno in Milan.
Giacomo Puccini La Rondine Oper Leipzig 2009 40
puccini
2010 75th Anniv. of Death 80th Birthday
Alban Berg † 24 December 1935 Paul-Heinz Dittrich * 04 December 1930
2011 75th Birthday 75th Birthday 100th Anniversary 85th Birthday 75th Anniversary 85th Birthday 80th Anniversary 125th Anniversary 75th Birthday 85th Birthday 200th Anniversary 100th Anniv. of Death 75th Birthday 75th Anniv. of Death 50th Birthday 50th Birthday 125th Anniversary 50th Birthday 25th Anniv. of Death 75th Birthday
Gilbert Amy * 29 August 1936 Sir Richard Rodney Bennett * 29 March 1936 Paul Burkhard * 21 December 1911 Francis Burt * 28 April 1926 Cornelius Cardew * 07 May 1936 Friedrich Cerha * 17 February 1926 Mauricio Kagel * 24 December 1931 Heinrich Kaminski * 04 July 1886 Ladislav Kupkovic * 17 March 1936 György Kurtág * 19 February 1926 Franz Liszt * 22 October 1811 Gustav Mahler † 18 May 1911 Steve Reich * 03 October 1936 Ottorino Respighi † 18 April 1936 David Sawer * 14 September 1961 Daniel Schnyder * 12 March 1961 Othmar Schoeck * 01 September 1886 Mauricio Sotelo * 02 October 1961 Alexandre Tansman † 15 November 1986 Hans Zender * 22 November 1936
2012 125th Anniversary 75th Birthday 50th Anniv. of Death 25th Anniv. of Death 50th Birthday 75th Birthday
Kurt Atterberg * 12 December 1887 David Bedford * 04 August 1937 Hanns Eisler † 06 September 1962 Morton Feldman † 03 September 1987 Silvia Fómina * 1962 Peter Kolman * 29 May 1937 41
anniversaries
80th Anniversary 50th Anniv. of Death 75th Birthday 75th Birthday 60th Birthday 80th Birthday 70th Anniv. of Death
Richard Meale * 24 August 1932 Caspar Neher † 30 June 1962 Gösta Neuwirth * 06 January 1937 Bo Nilsson * 01 May 1937 Wolfgang Rihm * 13 March 1952 Rodion K. Schtschedrin * 16 December 1932 Alexander Zemlinsky † 15 March 1942
2013 60th Birthday 75th Birthday 25th Anniv. of Death 80th Birthday 75th Birthday
Georg Friedrich Haas * 16 August 1953 Zygmunt Krauze * 19 September 1938 Marcel Poot † 12 June 1988 Raymond Murray Schafer * 18 July 1933 Tona Scherchen * 12 March 1938
2014 60th Anniv. of Death 80th Birthday 75th Anniv. of Death 60th Anniv. of Death 80th Anniv. of Death 60th Birthday 90th Anniversary 75th Anniv. of Death 90th Birthday 70th Anniv. of Death 50th Anniv. of Death 50th Anniv. of Death 90th Anniversary 60th Anniv. of Death 75th Anniv. of Death 80th Anniversary 80th Anniv. of Death 70th Anniv. of Death 70th Birthday 50th Birthday
Franco Alfano † 27 Oktober 1954 Harrison Birtwistle * 15 July 1934 Julius Bittner † 09 January 1939 Walter Braunfels † 19 March 1954 Frederick Delius † 10 June 1934 Beat Furrer * 06 December 1954 Karl Heinz Füssl * 21 March 1924 Wilhelm Grosz † 10 December 1939 Milko Kelemen * 30 March 1924 Hans Krása † 17 October 1944 Alma Maria Mahler † 11 December 1964 Joseph Marx † 03 September 1964 Francis Miroglio * 12 December 1924 Karol Rathaus † 21 November 1954 Franz Schmidt † 11 February 1939 Alfred Schnittke * 24 November 1934 Franz Schreker † 21 March 1934 Ethel Smyth † 09 May 1944 Mathias Spahlinger * 14 October 1944 Ian Wilson * 26 December 1964
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anniversaries
Mauricio Sotelo Muerte sin fin ‚bocetos escénicos’ para bailaora, cantaor, grupo instrumental y electrónica Fuensanta “La Moneta” (Tanz), Arcángel (Cantaor), Nieuw Ensemble, cond. Ed Spanjaard 30 January 2011 · Muziekgebouw Amsterdam/NL
GeoRg friedrich haas String Quartet No. 6 Hagen Quartett 23 January 2011 · Mozartwoche, Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg/A Alma Mahler / CLytus gottwald 3 frühe Lieder for 6 – 10-part choir SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart 26 February 2011 · Gaisburger Kirche Stuttgart/D Wolfgang Rihm Fantasia for string orchestra and piano Bottroper Kammerorchester, cond. Kai Röhrig 15 December 2010 · Bottrop/D Wolfgang Rihm Will Sound More for ensemble Ensemble Modern 15 January 2011 · Alte Oper Frankfurt/D Mauricio Sotelo Arcana ... I for bass-saxophone and electronics Andrés Gomis, sax, Mauricio Sotelo, electronics 04 December 2010 · Conservatorio Superior de Música, Mallorca/E Alfa Centauri for ensemble and electronics Ensemble Espai Sonor, cond. Voro García 11 December 2010 · Valencia/E
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world premières
Frédéric Chopin Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante (Urtext) editor: Christian Ubber UT 50266 Helmut hödl (editor) Klezmer Clarinet Duets for 2 clarinets UE 34531 Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 8 for 8 soloists (2 S, 2 A, T, Bar, B), boys choir ad lib., choirs SSAATTBB and large orchestra Study score UE 34318 Symphony No. 9 for orchestra Study score UE 34319 Adagio from Symphony No. 10 for orchestra Study score UE 34320 Das Lied von der Erde for tenor and alto (or baritone) voices and orchestra Study score UE 34800 Clay McMillan / Jason Freeman / Juan de Dios Magdaleno K 2010 for piano UE 34990 New Karl scheit Guitar Edition santiago de murcia Villanos – Fandango – Gallardas – Cumbees – Marizapálos – La Jotta for guitar, editors: Van Gonnissen, Müller-Pering, Monno UE 34488 maurice ravel Gaspard de la nuit for piano (Urtext) UT 50261 arvo pärt Im Gespräch – interview and analysis of the music of Arvo Pärt (book) UE 26300 ISMN 979-0-008-08301-3 UPC 8-03452-06674-3 ISBN 978-3-7024-6961-0 Euro 19.90 (only available in German)
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new releases
Nicolai Podgornov
Nicolai Podgornov's Graded Pieces Volume 3 – Advanced for piano UE 34553 This collection of pieces for grades 7–8 is the last in the highly-praised, three-volume series from Nicolai Podgornov. Across the three volumes, there are now pieces to inspire and stimulate piano students from the earliest to advanced grades. Within each volume the pieces are presented in order, the technical level gradually increasing throughout. Reviewing Vol 2 Faye Caley wrote: “A delightful array of short pieces in varying styles – a sort of 21st century take on Burgmuller's Op 100 studies. Musically appealing, every piece oozes quality and substance despite being aimed at the less experienced player. I enjoyed playing every piece and cannot wait to introduce them to my pupils.” (Music Teacher, March 2010)
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new releases
Eugen d’Albert Der Golem Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Chor Theater Bonn, cond. Stefan Blunier, Mark Morouse, bar, Alfred Reiter, bass, Tansel Akzeybek, t, Ingeborg Greiner, s · Larmore, MS · MDG 2 SACD 93716376 Hans Erich Apostel Requiem, Variationen über ein Thema von Joseph Haydn, Kammersymphonie ORF Chor, RSO Wien, cond. Milan Horvat, Wiener Symphoniker, cond. Wolfgang Sawallisch, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, cond. Peter Keuschnig · ORF CD 3109 Béla Bartók The Miraculous Mandarin Boston SO, cond. Seiji Ozawa, Tanglewood Festival Chorus Newton Classics CD 8802029 Béla Bartók Concertos No. 1 and No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra BBC Philharmonic, cond. Gianandrea Noseda, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, pno Chandos CD CHAN 10610 Pierre Boulez Messagesquisse Ensemble Modern, Eva Böcker, vlc · Ensemble Modern Medien SACD003 alfred casella Scarlattiana Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, cond. Francesco La Vecchia, Sun Hee You, pno · Naxos CD 8572416 Michael Finnissy Piano Concerto No. 3 Ixion Ensemble, cond. M. Finnissy, James Clapperton, pno · NEOS CD 11060 Beat Furrer Studie 2 - a un moment de terre perdue Klangforum Wien, cond. Beat Furrer · NEOS CD 11060 Georg Friedrich Haas ein Saitenspiel Martin Mallaun, zith · Extraplatte CD EXSP0322 georges Lentz Monh, Guyuhmgan, Ngangkar Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, cond. Emilio Pomàrico, Tabea Zimmermann, vla · Timpani Records CD 1C1184 (Spring 2011) Rolf Liebermann La Forêt Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, cond. Jeffrey Tate, Regine Raviner, ms, Michal Shamir, s · Musiques Suisses 2CD MGB 6266 Arvo Pärt Stabat Mater, Cantique des degrés RSO Berlin, RIAS Kammerchor, cond. Kristjan Järvi · Sony CD 88697723342 Arvo Pärt Passacaglia Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra, Gidon Kremer, vln Nonesuch Records CD 287228-2 wolfgang Rihm Verwandlung 2, 3 and 4 RSO Stuttgart, cond. Christian Arming, Matthias Pintscher Haenssler Classics CD 093263000 Franz Schmidt Symphony No. 4, Variationen über ein Husarenlied Malmö Symphony Orchestra, cond. Vassily Sinaisky Naxos CD 8572118 46
new on cd
Walter Braunfels Szenen aus dem Leben der heiligen Johanna M. Honeck, J. Banse, Swedish RSO, G. Missenhardt, E. Ericson Kammerchor, Decca CD 0028947639787
c. Halffter Tres piezas para cuarteto, String Quartet No. 2, Espacio de silencio Leipziger Streichquartett MDG CD 30716712
edmund nick Leben in dieser Zeit Chor u. Orchester der Staatsoperette Dresden, cond. Ernst Theis Marcus Günzel, Christian Grygas, Elke Kottmair cpo CD 761203754120
w. rihm String Quartet No. 1 2, Fetzen, Interscriptum Arditti String Quartet, Teodoro Anzellotti, Nicolas Hodges Winter & Winter / WDR mediagroup CD 9101782
Arnold schönberg Pelleas und Melisande Duisburger Philharmoniker, cond. Jonathan Darlington Acousence ACO CD 21209 Arnold schönberg Pierrot Lunaire Holst-Sinfonietta, cond. Klaus Simon, Clementine Jesdinsky, s Spektral CD SRL408021 karlheinz stockhausen Kreuzspiel Alfred Schweinfurter, ob, Wolfgang Marx, bass clar, David Tudor, pno, Christoph Caskel, Heinz Haedler, Manfred Wehner, perc, cond. Karlheinz Stockhausen · NEOS CD 11060 Karol Szymanowski Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra, Symphony No. 3 Wiener Philharmoniker, cond. Pierre Boulez, Wiener Singverein, Christian Tetzlaff, vln, Steve Davislim, t · DGG CD 00028947787716GH2 Egon Wellesz Persisches Ballet, Suite für Violin and Chamber Orchestra Ensemble Kontrapunkte, cond. Peter Keuschnig, Josef Hell, vln cpo/ORF CD 777 575-2 Ian wilson Man-o'-War, An Angel Serves a Small Breakfast, Licht/ung RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, cond. Gerhard Markson, David Porcelijn, Rebecca Hirsch, vln · RTE Lyric FM CD126 47
new on cd
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CDs: Decca, MDG, cpo, Winter&Winter / WDR mediagroup. DVR: 0836702