Newsletter42009englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 27.08.2009 10:19 Seite 1 10 Friedrich Cerha Eruptive blocks of sound for percussion in Salzburg 11 Cristóbal Halffter Carta Blanca for the doyen of Spanish music in Madrid 14 Victoria Borisova-Ollas The deer cries in Stuttgart 16 David Sawer Rumpelstiltskin dances 17 Little Red Violin A fairy tale for family concerts Pierre Boulez “I could understand Wozzeck better when I knew Mahler.” Boulez opens our series of video interviews on Gustav Mahler (see p. 4 and 5) newsletter 04/09 • autumn 2009 Newsletter42009englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 27.08.2009 10:19 Seite 2 Contents NEWS Gustav Mahler: video interviews — 4 URL-shortener for links — 5 COMPOSERS Staud — 7 Rihm — 9 Cerha — 10 Halffter — 11 Haas — 13 Sotelo — 13 Borisova-Ollas — 14 Luke Bedford — 14 Pärt — 15 Baltakas — 15 Lentz — 16 Sawer — 16 Dudley / Isserlis — 17 Boulez — 19 Burt — 20 Gurlitt — 20 Birtwistle — 21 Kurtág — 21 Kagel — 22 Stockhausen — 22 Haubenstock-Ramati — 22 Festival d’Automne — 23 Feldman — 23 Berio — 24 Bartók — 25 Kodály — 25 Weill — 27 Martin — 28 Schnittke — 28 Szymanowski — 29 Satie — 29 Webern — 30 WP = World Première Martinů — 30 2 contents 04/2009 Newsletter42009englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 27.08.2009 10:19 Seite 3 Berg — 31 Zemlinsky — 32 Schreker — 32 Schönberg — 33 Mahler — 34 Haydn — 35 Dear Readers, Braunfels — 35 Janáček — 37 delivering a guest performance at the Vienna Konzerthaus on 10 Jun, the Bamberger Symphoniker held ANNIVERSARIES — 38 - 39 its audience captivated with the following programme: WORLD PREMIÈRE — 40 - 41 Arnold Schönberg’s Drei Klavier- stücke op. 11, performed by Pierre- NEW RELEASES — 42 - 43 Laurent Aimard and Alban Berg’s Drei Orchesterstücke op. 6. As a fi- NEW ON CD — 44 - 45 nale, they performed Béla Bartók’s Concerto for piano and orchestra WORKLIST No. 1. The concert was sold out and Luke Bedford — 46 highly acclaimed. So, is this really worth mentioning? ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — 48 It probably wouldn’t be under ‘nor- mal’ circumstances, but in times of tight budgets, retreating to the supposedly safe territory of classi- cal and romantic music may only bring deceptive success. Audiences are far more open-minded than is often assumed, provided modern classical works and new music are presented in a meaningful context and at a high level. To this end, such programmes are really no risk at all – rather, a strong investment in the future. The Editorial Team 3 Newsletter42009englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 27.08.2009 10:19 Seite 4 UNIVERSAL EDITION Gustav Mahler – video interviews To celebrate the two Mahler anniversaries (150th birthday in 2010; 100th anniversary of death in 2011) we have launched our new Mahler blog, where during the next two years we will be publishing interviews with conductors, orchestra managers and musicologists. www.universaledition.com/mahler Pierre Boulez “I could understand Wozzeck better when I knew Mahler.” Christoph Eschenbach “Mahler is certainly the greatest symphonist of all time.” Daniel Barenboim “I started to conduct Mahler out of spite.” Daniele Gatti “For conductors Mahler seems to be to be the most personal com- poser” Michael Tilson Thomas "I divide my life into before and after having heard Mahler for the first time." 4 news Newsletter42009englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 27.08.2009 10:19 Seite 5 Franz Welser-Möst “The specific sound of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra influenced him in a big way.” Jonathan Nott “You have to give your whole self when conducting Mahler.” Kent Nagano “Mahler expresses life's reality.” UNIVERSAL EDITION URL-shortener for links We’re now using www.bit.ly. You the original page, in this case asked for additional links in our www.universaledition.com/ tru- articles so we’re now using a URL- man/en_templates/en_composer. shortener, enabling us to include php3. Saves a bit of typing, too … even more of them. Wherever you (We can’t accept responsibility for see something like www.bit.ly/ third party links.) composers, just type it into your browser, and you’ll be redirected to 5 news Newsletter42009englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 27.08.2009 10:19 Seite 6 Newsletter42009englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 27.08.2009 10:19 Seite 7 STAUD Klangspuren focus Segue. Music for cello and Ensemble Modern perform with WP orchestra by Johannes Uwe Dierksen on trombone. Maria Staud was performed There is a further Staud première for the first time in its revised ver- this autumn: The revised version of sion in Berlin on 20 Feb under One Movement and Five Minia- Lothar Zagrosek. “Staud creates an tures for harpsicord, live electronics astonishing stylistic rupture, which and ensemble is premièred at the practically forces one to listen” musikprotokoll in Graz/A on 9 Oct wrote the Tagesspiegel on Segue. (Klangforum Wien under Sylvain The work can now be heard twice Cambreling). The same performance in Austria: the Klangspuren Schwaz can be heard again at Wien Modern perform the Austrian première as on 3 Nov. www.wienmodern.at the start of a feature on Staud (Tirol SO Innsbruck, Anssi Kart- tunen, vc, c. Johannes Kalitzke), and Wien Modern has programmed it on 13 Nov (RSO Wien, Jean-Guihen Queyras, vc, c. Bertrand de Billy). The Klangspuren Festival Schwaz also features Configurations/Reflet and A map is not the territory (12 Sep, International Ensemble Modern Academy, c. Franck Ollu). The Festival Musica in Strasbourg performs the French première of Im Lichte. Music for two pianos and orchestra (Philharmonisches Orch- ester Freiburg, c. Fabrice Bollon, Tamara Stefanovich, Florent Bof- fard, pno, 20 Sep). Lagrein can also be heard there on 30 Sep. Incipit receives its Dutch première Johannes Maria Staud on 20 Oct in Amsterdam, where 7 staud Newsletter42009englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 27.08.2009 10:19 Seite 8 Newsletter42009englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 27.08.2009 10:19 Seite 9 RIHM Delnon). The work is in three parts: Aria/Ariadne (2002), Das Gehege Three women (2006) and Penthesilea-Monolog (2005). Rihm has composed addi- tional bridge material, and the jux- When Wolfgang Rihm taposition of the three gives new WP was asked to write a kind perspectives and insights. of requiem, he decided on www.bit.ly/rihm3 a title – ET LUX – taken from the The French première of DEUS PAS- Latin requiem text. The composi- SUS occurs on 26 Sep at the Festival tion for string quartet and choir Musica in Strasburg (SWR RSO sees its première on 15 Nov at the Stuttgart under Jonathan Stock- Cologne Philharmonic, where the hammer). Myung-Whun Chung Arditti Quartet and the Hilliard En- conducts Das Lesen der Schrift on 18 semble perform. Sep in Paris (Orchestre Philhar- See www.bit.ly/rihm2 monique de Radio France). Male This work is a commission by Köln- über Male 2 gets its Dutch pre- Musik, Festival d’Automne in Paris mière on 22 Oct (Muziekgebouw and Carnegie Hall. It is performed aan 't IJ; Asko/Schönberg Ensem- in Paris on 17 Nov. The British pre- ble, conducted by Reinbert de mière is on the programme for the Leeuw, Jörg Widmann, clarinet). opening of this years’ Huddersfield Jagden und Formen can be heard in Festival on 20 Nov. Berlin on 20 Nov at the Haus der Rihm's most recent music-theatri- Festspiele in its critically acclaimed cal composition is Drei Frauen stage version by dance company (Three women), which premières Sasha Waltz & Guests with Ensem- on 25 Sep in Basel (director: Georges ble Modern under Franck Ollu. Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Video still © Yan Proefrock. Festival d'Automne Festival Proefrock. Yan still © Video 9 rihm Newsletter42009englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 27.08.2009 10:19 Seite 10 CERHA Impenetrable web Friedrich Cerha asserts Cerha wrote his Concerto for Per- WP himself with two world cussion and Orchestra in 2007/8 for premières this autumn the exceptional young percussion- Instants for grand orchestra “is a se- ist Martin Grubinger. The solo part quence of spontaneously created has a different instrumentation in small elements”, says the compos- each of the three movements, in er, “which constantly relates back which the percussionist changes to itself in variations, giving rise to position each time, before coming an impenetrable web of relation- back to the first position for the ships, in which – I hope – the ‘sweat last movement. “Contrary to the of the labourer’ cannot be heard”. usual approach, all the percussion The work is christened on 20 Nov instruments – even the tom-toms, by the Kölner Philharmonie (WDR temple blocks, woodblocks and Sinfonieorchester Köln, c. Peter cowbells – are precisely tuned”, Rundel). See www.bit.ly/cerha3 writes the composer, “the first and third sections of the first move- ment and the end of the piece are marked by eruptive blocks of sound, dominated by drums”. Ivor Boton directs the Mozarteum Or- chester Salzburg at the Salzburg première on 4 Oct. www.bit.ly/cerha2 There are three further opportuni- ties to hear works by Cerha in Aus- tria this autumn: Quellen for en- semble on 16 Sep at the Linzer Brucknerhaus, 5 Sätze für Klavier- trio on 23 Sep in Schwaz and Mon- umentum für Karl Prantl on 13 Nov in Vienna – RSO Wien, conducted by Bertrand de Billy. Friedrich Cerha 10 cerha Newsletter42009englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 27.08.2009 10:19 Seite 11 creativity of the doyen of Spanish music in a number of concerts. The high point of the festival will no doubt be the première of De ecos y sombras for orchestra (13, 14, 15 Nov). Concierto para violoncelo y orques- Cristóbal Halffter ta no. 2 and Preludio para Madrid ’92 can also be heard at the same concert, where the composer con- HALFFTER ducts. Concierto for piano and or- chestra and Tiento del primer tono Upstanding y batalla imperial can also be heard under Carlos Kalmar, with resistance soloist Nicolas Hodges (6–8 Nov).