musica viva - Matthias Hermann - Vivier, Lachenmann, Saunders - 5. Abo
Experience a rituistic journey into one's past with Claude Vivier's Et je reverrai cette ville étrange, composed for trumpet, three strings, piano, celesta, and percussion in 1982. Vivier described this work as a return to a specific place in his life, drawing melodies from his past. The material for this largely monodic piece originates from his earlier 1976 work Learning for four violins and percussion.
Following that, Helmut Lachenmann's Klangschatten - mein Saitenspiel for 48 strings and three pianos explores the 'back side' of sound, encompassing a spectrum from silent or muted tones to varied noises and clear pitches. Lachenmann articulated this piece as an offer of expressive intensity that reflects the bourgeois desire for beauty, seeking to fulfill and transcend it.
At the heart of Rebecca Saunders' To An Utterance, composed for piano and orchestra in 2020, lies a 'musical protagonist on the brink of non-existence', caught amidst shadowy figures and suspended in air. The breathtaking glissandi in this piece tear open the sonic space, only to collapse back in on themselves. Saunders stated her interest in pushing the sonic possibilities of instruments to their outer limits.