Three masterpieces of "absolute music" that tell no "programme" and yet appear highly exciting and emotional: in them pain, conflict, grief as well as the longing for reconciliation are expressed. Each work represents a cosmos of its own, particularly evident in the case of Friedrich Cerha, who spreads out a soundscape on over 300 percussion instruments. The energetic young exceptional virtuoso Vivi Vassileva [...]
"You can hardly play the violin more expressively, more uncompromisingly than Gringolts," writes Harald Eggebrecht in the Süddeutsche Zeitung about this exceptional musician. At the age of 16, Ilya Gringolts already won the renowned Paganini Competition. Since then [...]
The MDR Symphony Orchestra has a new principal conductor: American Dennis Russell Davies, who enjoys an excellent reputation as a Haydn and Bruckner conductor. In addition, as an advocate of contemporary music, he has worked with major composers such as John Cage, Philip Glass and Hans Werner Henze. Modernism is also a focus at his Leipzig venue. Ergo, the joint [...]
"The Gaechinger Cantorey is ... an experience. In the Great Hall there was a special highlight" wrote Marcus Stäbler in the Hamburger Abendblatt about the Elbphilharmonie debut a year ago: "The performers work magic, [...].
Although Henri Dutilleux was a contemporary and colleague of the avant-garde composer Pierre Boulez, he always found the latter's musical language too dogmatic. Instead, Dutilleux loved the musical "fragrance" and richness of sound that connected him with his great compatriot Debussy. With his Second Symphony, Dutilleux wrote a work in 1959 that is a distant link to the music of the 18th century. [...]
