It crunches, rustles, whispers, rattles, bubbles - extended playing techniques, preparations, and various everyday materials produce a seemingly endless variety of sounds in Eloain Lovis Hübner's compositions. Hübner does not understand sound as fixed material, but rather as a state or "as a living relationship between bodies - instrumental, vocal or electronic," as booklet author Sophie Emilie Beha describes it. "The music is constantly in motion, attracting, repelling, tilting, shimmering, breaking apart, and reassembling itself. It creates spaces in which listening itself becomes a physical experience: focused, fragile, and yet full of energy." Two series of works are at the heart of the album. "crunch modes 1.0" (Schallfeld Ensemble) and "crunch modes 3.0" (Spóldzielnia Muzyczna Contemporary Ensemble) initially reveal what is typical of Hübner's composing - they zoom between micro- and macrocosm and move between structure and loss of control, accumulation and decay, and radicalism and delicacy. "Trauma und Zwischenraum" [Trauma and Interstice] was composed under the influence of the coronavirus pandemic and features three very different instrumentations: in the first part of the work, the ensemble airborne extended plays the recorder, flute, prepared harp, and harpsichord. In the second part, the musicians of the Arditti Quartet swap their bows for whisks, corks, or toothbrushes, creating acoustic metaphors. In the third part, interpreted by the Lange//Berweck//Lorenz Trio, hybrid sound bodies such as accordion plus effects unit or Korg MS 20 Mini with electric guitar are used. In "[untitled]," the only vocal work on the album, AuditivVokal Dresden deals with nonsense speech, noise imitation, and film language, referring to the legendary airport scene from the film "Casablanca".
Some composers identify early on with a particular genre. A quick glance at a list of works by the Dane Hans Abrahamsen seems to indicate a very different attitude. The profusion of titles suggests a mind that picks up a form, engages with it for the duration of the work itself, and then moves on to something fresh. There has been one significant exception however- the string quartet. Abrahamsen's four quartets span almost the whole of his composing career: Quartet No. 1 was composed in 1973, when Abrahamsen was in his early twenties; Quartet No. 4 appeared in 2012, as he entered his sixties. Not only so, but the quartets also draw a vital thread across the chasm at the heart of his life's work. This new release presents the aforementioned works as well as the two quartets that appeared between them, brilliantly performed by the Arditti String Quartet.
The music of the American composer David Felder (*1953) is often related to esoteric, mystical, spiritual or philosophical themes. These are particularly evident in his more recent works. The Arditti Quartet enjoys a world-wide reputation for their spirited and technically refined interpretations of contemporary and earlier 20th century music. Many hundreds of string quartets and other chamber works have been written for the ensemble since it's foundation by first violinist Irvine Arditti in 1974. Many of these works have left a permanent mark on 20th century repertoire and have given the Arditti Quartet a firm place in music history. World premieres of quartets by composers such as Abrahamsen, Ades, Andriessen, Aperghis, Birtwistle, Britten, Cage, Stockhausen, Xenakis and hundreds more show the wide range of music in the Arditti Quartet's repertoire.
Brice Pauset: Der Geograph; Les Voix Humaines; Concerto I; Dornroschen
Aeon
CD
$29.99Oct 28, 2016
Marked by the experiments of Luigi Nono or Helmut Lachenmann, and by his practice of seventeenth and eighteenth century music, French composer Brice Pauset is pursuing an original path, marked by his rhetorical questioning of earlier forms of music. This is music in tune with our own culture and, at times, would transmit its evidences. The vocal issue remains central, even in Brice Pauset’s catalogue: “The voice as an instrument,” he writes, “the voice as identity (and it then literally becomes human), and finally, the voice as an instrument of identity. It is only at this moment that the musical and political can carry on a dialogue, and that music can attempt to express its time.” Performed by the WDR Sinfonieorchester & Chor Koln, Ensemble Recherche, and Arditti Quartet, this is an album of great intensity served by first-rate performers!
Dusapin: String Quartets Nos. 6 & 7 / Rophe, Arditti Quartet, French Radio Philharmonic
Aeon
CD
$20.99May 26, 2017
2018 Gramophone Magazine Contemporary Album of the Year
With this album coupling his Sixth and Seventh string quartets, the æon label completes its recording of all the quartets of Pascal Dusapin with the Arditti Quartet. This second release follows the earlier recording of his first five works in the genre, released in 2009. Complicity, transmission, comprehension: Pascal Dusapin’s output has been so familiar to and closely associated with these musicians since the 1980s (six of the works were composed for them) that it has become inseparable from them. The present edition reveals a trajectory that has lasted more than thirty years now and has established a coherent corpus over time. It helps the listener to grasp some of the composer’s deep-seated aspirations and the evolution of his style. The Arditti Quartet enjoys a worldwide reputation for their spirited and technically refined interpretations of contemporary and earlier 20th century music. Many hundreds of string quartets and other chamber works have been written for the ensemble since its foundation by first violinist Irvine Arditti in 1974. Many of these works have left a permanent mark on twentieth century repertoire and have given the Arditti Quartet a firm place in music history. Over the past thirty years, the ensemble has received many prizes for its work. They have won the Deutsche Schallplatten Preis several times and the Gramophone Award for the best recording of contemporary music in 1999 and 2002. In 2004 they were awarded the ‘Coup de Coeur’ prize by the Academie Charles Cros in France for their exceptional contribution to the dissemination of contemporary music.
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REVIEWS:
The remarkable Quatuor VII, Open Time, a huge set of 21 variations, lasting nearly 40 minutes receives here a magisterial performance.
– Guardian (UK)
Both works reaffirm the composer’s quartet cycle as among the most significant now emerging.
Andre: Musica Viva, Vol. 37 / Heuberger, Arditti Quartet, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
BR Klassik
CD
$19.99Jun 18, 2021
The German-French composer Mark Andre (*1964) is one of the most important representatives of New Music. His twelve "Miniatures" for string quartet were composed in 2014/17 as a commission from the Arditti Quartet, Bavarian Radio's "musica viva", the Festival d'Automne à Paris and the ProQuartet-CEMC, funded by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. Andre created his organ work "Himmelfahrt" (Ascension), funded by the Siemens Music Foundation, in 2018 on behalf of the Evangelical Church in Germany. The orchestral work "woher... wohin" was written between 2015 and 2017 as a composition commission by BR's "musica viva" in conjunction with the Happy New Ears prize for composition from the Hans and Gertrud Zender Foundation. The live recordings of all three works are now being released in the album edition of Bavarian Radio's "musica viva" concert series on BR-KLASSIK. The album edition of the Bavarian Radio concert series "musica viva", which began in 2000, has been continued since autumn 2020 together with BR-KLASSIK. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of "musica viva" (the concert series was founded by Karl Amadeus Hartmann in 1945), recordings with works by the contemporary composer Rebecca Saunders (*1967) and the composer Enno Poppe (*1969) appeared as first releases in October 2020. The edition is now being continued with works by Mark Andre (*1964). All the recordings feature live recordings made at "musica viva" concerts with the Bavarian Radio Chorus, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and renowned soloists.
Meditative sound magic from New York City: Together with colleagues and friends such as John Cage, Christian Wolff and Earle Brown, Morton Feldman formed a circle of pre-eminent individualists within the American avant-garde movement of the 20th century, which, commencing in New York, founded a current of international significance. Crucial for his artistic development was undoubtedly his meeting with John Cage (1912–92), with whom he was in close contact after 1950. They mutually inspired each other to create music away from the compositional techniques conventional up to then, which particularly applied to the definition of specific notes, pitches and note durations or regular rhythm. It was also a commission from the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and its Principal Conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas that led to the composition of String Quartet and Orchestra in 1973. Feldman’s final completed work Coptic Light, written in 1986, displays an even more gigantic orchestra than that in String Quartet and Orchestra. In his sensitive works we always gain the impression that they are cautious attempts to achieve coherent musical results, without running against the character of the instruments.
Milica Djordjevic’s compositions are musical explorations, meticulous observations and dissections. Seven such investigations of sound are presented by the Serbian composer on her portrait album in the series EDITION ZEITGENÖSSISCHE MUSIK. Primarily, Djordjevic focuses on an extreme and exhaustive exploration of the musical material. In the booklet Barbara Eckle points out Djordjevic’s specific approach: "She develops a material component further and further in an increasingly large, loud and dense wave, distorting it, perverting it, multiplying it, squeezing out of it everything it has to give – until it implodes. The rupture is sudden and abrupt, as if the plug of an electronic appliance were ripped from a wall socket." Also essential for Djordjevic’s work is an interdisciplinary perspective, which is based on a diversified aesthetic socialisation, influencing her music in different ways. Each compositional process finally creates musical figures, which, at the same time, affect psyche and ratio. All pieces have been especially recorded at Deutschlandfunk in Cologne by internationally well-known interpreters such as Arditti Quartet, Ensemble Musikfabrik and Teodoro Anzellotti.
American composer Joshua Fineberg has long been a leading light in the younger generation of composers of spectral music, following the Messiaen-Murail school; more recently he has turned to a different aspect of composition which he terms Sonic Fiction – a complex concept but which stresses the abstract music as creating its own ‘fiction’ story and world –perhaps the antithesis of impressionism and program music. On this new album, recorded in France, Germany and the USA, four major works are presented by exceptional performers all very highly regarded on the international stage – from virtuoso accordionist Pascal Contet to the renowned Arditti Quartet. The album is supported by (among others) the Ditson Fund, Columbia University.
Duos and quartets by Wojciech Chalupka-winner of the Tadeusz Baird Competition, composer and saxophonist, and member of the acclaimed Nemesis Quartet-go far beyond personal reflections on philosophical questions. These works represent chamber music at it's highest level, brought to life in outstanding performances, including a live recording by the legendary Arditti Quartet. Striking, unconventional instrumental pairings, boundless imagination, and an effortless command of diverse musical styles define Chalupka's distinctive and compelling compositional voice.
The versatility of the composer Georg Katzer documented this CD. The "Open Landscape with obbligato tone e", a one-movement orchestral piece leads, consistently before tensions; she does not cease to always create new sources of conflict. The play "come and go" is the result of productive interaction between the wind association Berlin (wind quintet and piano) and composer. Katzer spent here it's specially developed "modes technique" which allows sounds that is beyond the scope closely layered chords and allows a wealth of nuances. "Imaginary dialogue 4 'breathing' 'is an interplay between the breathing players, his tone (bass clarinet) and what returns from the speaker and strikes back at the starting point of the noise and tone. The "String Quartet no. 3" in 1988 premiered by the Arditti String Quartet is full of diversity and the fissures of the quartet sound, as we know it since Anton Webern's Op. 5. The piece bears - so Katzer - traces the ups and downs of subjective moods. And finally "De Musica" can be interpreted as a biting musical treatise that will teach to adopt a critical attitude in sovereign affairs of the music.
