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BIS

Broken Branches - Compositions By Stephen Hough

$21.99

Details

Composer
HOUGH, STEPHEN
Artist
Marion, Stephen, Reinhard, Michael, Hough, Hasel
Format
CD
Label
BIS
Released
Nov 01, 2011
Catalog #
BIS-CD-1952
UPC
7318590019528

About

As the internationally-renowned pianist Stephen Hough writes in his liner notes to this composer portrait, he began composing at the age of six, around the time he began to play the piano. Until the age of twenty he continued to write music, but then, ‘owing to a combination of diminishing time and fading compositional self-confidence’, stopped almost entirely. Hough describes the closing work on this disc, The Loneliest Wilderness from 2005, as his ‘first serious piece in two decades’, but this has been followed by a steady stream of works, including two Masses. The focus of the present programme, compiled to celebrate the composer's 50th birthday, is on chamber music – with Hough himself appearing in three of the works: the piano sonata broken branches, his settings of five autumnal poems by Rilke sung by the baritone Jacques Imbrailo, and the trio Was mit den Tränen geschieht. The latter work was composed for Michael Hasel and Marion Reinhard of the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, an ensemble with which Hough has collaborated on several occasions, and features the piccolo and the contrabassoon, a striking combination described by the composer as possessing ‘great poignancy: the alienation of two instruments unable to meet on the same pitch.’ The elegiac The Loneliest Wilderness is based on a previous song setting by Hough of a poem by Herbert Read, and again the work was written for a close collaborator of the composer, namely Steven Isserlis who performs it here together with the Tapiola Sinfonietta conducted by Gábor Takács-Nagy.

"There’s something awe-inspiring about the sheer multifariousness of Stephen Hough’s achievements." - The Daily Telegraph

Tracklist 14 tracks

  1. 1 I. Lento giusto 05:28
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Lento giusto
    Duration
    05:28
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Michael Hasel, Marion Reinhard, Stephen Hough
  2. 2 II. Allegro brilliante 03:52
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Allegro brilliante
    Duration
    03:52
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Michael Hasel, Marion Reinhard, Stephen Hough
  3. 3 III. Andante 04:28
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Andante
    Duration
    04:28
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Michael Hasel, Marion Reinhard, Stephen Hough
  4. 4 I. Allegretto 02:00
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. Allegretto
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Michael Hasel
  5. 5 II. Andante 02:52
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Andante
    Duration
    02:52
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Michael Hasel
  6. 6 III. Vivace molto ritmico 01:36
    Track
    6
    Title
    III. Vivace molto ritmico
    Duration
    01:36
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Michael Hasel
  7. 7 Bridgewater 06:22
    Track
    7
    Title
    Bridgewater
    Duration
    06:22
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Marion Reinhard, Stephen Hough
  8. 8 No. 1. Herbsttag 03:50
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 1. Herbsttag
    Duration
    03:50
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Jacques Imbrailo, Stephen Hough
  9. 9 No. 2. Klage 06:51
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 2. Klage
    Duration
    06:51
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Jacques Imbrailo, Stephen Hough
  10. 10 No. 3. Tranenkruglein 01:40
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 3. Tranenkruglein
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Jacques Imbrailo, Stephen Hough
  11. 11 No. 4. Besturz mich, Musik 02:53
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 4. Besturz mich, Musik
    Duration
    02:53
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Jacques Imbrailo, Stephen Hough
  12. 12 No. 5. Herbst 03:17
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 5. Herbst
    Duration
    03:17
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Jacques Imbrailo, Stephen Hough
  13. 13 Piano Sonata, "Broken Branches" 17:19
    Track
    13
    Title
    Piano Sonata, "Broken Branches"
    Duration
    17:19
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Stephen Hough
  14. 14 The Loneliest Wilderness 16:09
    Track
    14
    Title
    The Loneliest Wilderness
    Duration
    16:09
    Composer
    Stephen Hough
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis
    Ensemble
    Tapiola Sinfonietta
    Conductor
    Gábor Takács-Nagy