UE Newsletter Winter 2009 English

31 Franz SchrekerDer Schmied von Gent – Magical opera in Chemnitz

09 Friedrich CerhaA tragi-comedy for orchestra

23 Ernst KrenekKrenek focus in Berlin

29 Franz Schmidt Harnoncourt opens Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln

37 Gustav MahlerMahler symphony reductions

newsletter01/10 • winter 2009/2010

Franz Schreker

“I am a sound artist, sound fantasist, sound magician, sound aesthete ... and a melodist of the purest lineage.”(Franz Schreker)

Newsletter12010englisch:UE_NL_1_2005_1.qxd 25.11.2009 10:26 Seite 1

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contents 01/2010

NEWSGustav Mahler:New Video-Interviews — 4New Study Scores — 5

COMPOSERSHaas — 7Pärt — 8Cerha — 9Staud — 9Halffter — 10Sotelo — 10Luke Bedford — 11Sawer — 11Borisova-Ollas — 12Kurtág — 12Schwartz — 12Rihm — 13Baltakas — 14Lentz — 14Birtwistle — 14Boulez — 15Kagel — 16Stockhausen — 16Berio — 17Ligeti — 18Feldman — 18Weill — 19Schnittke — 20Tansman — 20Martin — 21Mossolow — 21Krenek — 23Milhaud — 24Braunfels — 24Bartók — 25Kodály — 25Eisler — 26Grosz — 26

Contents

WP = World Premières


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Martinů— 26Schoeck — 27Marx — 27Schulhoff — 28Szymanowski — 28Schmidt — 29Foerster — 29Schreker — 31Gurlitt — 32Zemlinsky — 33d’Albert — 33Delius — 34Webern — 34Berg — 35Schönberg — 36Mahler — 37Janáček — 38

WORLD PREMIÈRES — 39

ANNIVERSARIES — 40 - 41

NEW RELEASES — 42 - 43

NEW ON CD & DVD — 44 - 45

WORKLISTManfred Gurlitt — 46

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — 48

Dear Readers,

“Life isn’t fair – nor is the history ofmusic.” With these words, Lucernedirector Dominique Menthaopened his speech of thanks afterthe enthusiastically applaudedpremière of Manfred Gurlitt’sWozzeck at his theatre.In 1926, a year after Alban Berg’sepoch-making opera, the “otherWozzeck” fell victim to the over-whelming competition. Now themusic world is discovering Gurlitt’saudacity of form for the first time –and it is closer to Büchner’s originalthan Berg’s (see page 31).However, the underlying problemremains. The opera repertoire islimited to some 50 works andrarely sees any major changes. Ittook decades for Leoš Janáček andFranz Schreker to gain their right-ful standing as musical dramatists.Perhaps now is the time for Man-fred Gurlitt and his “great drama ofsocial hardship”, as the work wasdescribed by the German newspa-per FAZ.

The Editorial Team


UNIVERSAL EDITION

Gustav Mahler:

New Video-Interviews

Five more conductors have spoken to us about their personal experienceswith the music of Gustav Mahler for our new blog.See the full videos at www.universaledition.com/mahler

Ingo Metzmacher“Mahler is the point of reference inmy musical life.”

Esa-Pekka Salonen“The older I get, the more I conductMahler; things are getting moresimple.”

Michael Gielen“Mahler’s essence is the conflict ofthe individual and of society in the20th century.”

David Zinman“Mahler wanted to describe all oflife, he wanted his music to be auniverse in itself.”

Zubin Mehta“Bruno Walter said to me: ‘don’t beshy, play Mahler in a vulgar way’.”

news

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5

news

UNIVERSAL EDITION

New Study Scores

As reported in earlier newsletters, our new study score series has beengrowing at an impressive rate. These new scores have all been carefullyrevised, newly scanned or newly engraved, with particular care taken toproduce the highest quality possible. Forewords and analytical texts havebeen added where applicable.

This autumn, a further 10 editions have been released. They are:

Bela Bartók The Miraculous Mandarin – UE 34110Bela Bartók String Quartet No. 3 – UE 34310Bela Bartók String Quartet No. 4 – UE 34311 Luciano Berio Eindrücke – UE 34124Alban Berg Chamber Concerto – UE 34116Leoš Janáček Glagolitic Mass – UE 34298Gustav Mahler Kindertotenlieder (Original) – UE 34113Gustav Mahler Rückertlieder – UE 34122Frank Martin Petite symphonie concertante – UE 34114Richard Strauss Horn Concerto – UE 34306

In spring 2010 we look forward to three new Mahler editions and twonew Janáček editions:

Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1, Symphony No. 3 and Symphony No. 4Leoš Janáček The Cunning Little Vixen and Zarlivost

For a full list of our new study scores, seewww.universaledition.com/studyscores



HAAS

Inspired by

Schubert

Ever since his orchestral work Torso, based on the

unfinished Piano Sonata D840 (1825), Georg Friedrich Haas’strong emotional connection toFranz Schubert has been revealed.He has now accepted a commis-sion for the orchestration of theSchubert octet. ATTHIS, for sopra-no and eight instruments, is basedon Haas’ free translations of frag-ments of Sappho. The Berlin Phil-harmonic’s Scharoun Ensemblewill première the work in Berlin on15 Jan with Annette Dasch as thesoloist. The piece can also be heardin Essen/D on 24 Jan.

The Norwegian première is sched-uled for 5 Dec in Bergen, whereHaas’ opera Melancholia recently

enjoyed considerable success. Bit20 ensemble will also performfuga for two violins.7 Klangräume, accompanying theunfinished fragments of Mozart’sRequiem, received its world pre-mière in Salzburg in 2005 and hassince been accepted as an alterna-tive to the Süßmayr version. Any-one who fails to be satisfied withSüßmayr’s “completion” may ap-preciate Haas’ delicate sounds,which develop the thoughts andfeelings of Mozart’s approach.Lothar Zagrosek is to conduct theMozarteum Orchester (Salzburg, 6 Dec).As part of the concert series “Por-trait Georg Friedrich Haas”, StudioErnest-Ansermet in Geneva will behosting a series of remarkableperformances with EnsembleContrechamps: “... aus freier Lust ...verbunden …”, tria ex uno, Sayaka(14 Feb); Quasi una Tânpûrâ, “...Schatten ... durch unausdenklicheWälder” and Monodie (16 Feb).www.bit.ly/haas3

WP

Annette Dasch

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haas


8

pärt

PÄRT

Festival in Rome -

Fall of the

Berlin Wall

The Arvo Pärt festival inRome opens on 22 Jan

with a concert aimed at an audi-ence that is not normally part ofthe musical community. Even thevenue is unique: the homelessshelter at Rome's Termini station.Arianna Savall will sing the 2Wiegenlieder in a new version forfour violas and four cellos and tellthe story of Abbé Agathon (sameinstrumentation), accompanied bythe Ensemble for New Music of theParco della Musica (PMCE). The concert is repeated on 23 Jan inthe auditorium of the Parco dellaMusica and on 29 Jan in Bologna. A featured concert by the orchestraand choir of the AccademiaNazionale di Santa Cecilia underTõnu Kaljuste follows on 27 Jan. Thefocal point of this concert will bethe Italian premiere of SymphonyNo. 4 ‘Los Angeles’. Also on the pro-gramme are Cantus in Memory ofBenjamin Britten, Passacaglia,Wallfahrtslied, Orient & Occidentand Da Pacem Domine.

Paul Hillier and his Theatre of Voicespremiere Missa Syllabica for vocalensemble and string quartet, along

with Stabat Mater, on 28 Jan inBologna and on 29 Jan in Rome. A choral concert by the Tallis Schol-ars concludes the festival in Romeon 2 Feb.www.bit.ly/paert1

To mark the 20th anniversary of thefall of the Berlin Wall, Part hasdedicated a new work to the city,and also to the twelve cellists ofthe Berliner Philharmonik: MissaBrevis for 12 cellos premieres on 17Feb in the Konzerthaus Berlin.www.bit.ly/paert2

Arvo Pärt

WP


CERHA

Eternal comedy

Friedrich Cerha has writ-ten a number of large

orchestral works in thelast few years. His newest work,Wie eine Tragikomödie, refers tothe fact that all our conflicts, seenfrom a greater distance, quickly be-come comic. “I was inspired towrite something allegorical”,writes Cerha, “by the titles of pic-tures by a friend, the painter MaxWeiler, whose titles mostly beginwith ‘Wie’ [‘as’].” It is an indicationthat what follows is symbolic, notliteral. In the piece, dramatic scenes

alternate with melancholic rever-ies. The end takes place in what, forus mere humans, appears to be theinfinite, past the possibility ofchange. Wie eine Tragikomödiepremières on 13 Feb in Manchesterwith the BBC Philharmonic Orches-tra under HK Gruber.www.bit.ly/cerha4

STAUD

Menacingly bizarre

In his first opera, Berenice, Johannes Maria

Staud explored the men-acingly bizarre, which he expressedwith rapidly changing moods. Theessence of his music can be heardin the two Berenice Suites (the firstwith tape), which JohannesKalitzke is now performing withEnsemble Modern (Frankfurt, 1 Dec).www.bit.ly/ensmod

Im Lichte – music for two pianosand orchestra – has already beenperformed several times since itsworld première in Salzburg in 2007,and now the piano duo Schumach-er and Grau are to take on the vir-tuoso score for the first time inBerlin on 24 Jan. Sydenham Musiccan be heard on 22 Feb at musicaviva in Munich/D. Staud has added six works to hisfour Klaviertrio miniatures FürBálint András Varga (London, Wig-more Hall, 12 Dec). These are set topremière in Boston/USA on 26 Feb.

WP

WP

Friedrich Cerha

cerha / staud

9


halffter / sotelo

10

HALFFTER

Echoes and

shadows

Cristóbal Halffter’s De ecos y som-bras addresses themes of tran-sience and decay, and premières on13 Nov as part of a Carta Blanca inMadrid. The composer conducts inMurcia (13/14 Jan) and Saragossa/E(16/17 Jan). The ten-minute Tientodel primer tono y batalla imperialfrom 1986 also gets an airing onthe same occasions. Both perform-ances are by the Joven OrquestaNacional de España. The Philharmonische Orch-ester der Hansestadt Lübeck playsthe same piece on 20/21 Dec.Lineas y puntos for 20 brass andelectronic instruments is performedin Madrid on 14 Dec. Nacho de Pazconducts the Orquesta de la Comu-nidad de Madrid.Halffter conducts the DresdnerPhilharmonie in Introducción y escena on 6 Feb in Dresden.

SOTELO

Close

collaboration

Mauricio Sotelo and theDiotima Quartet have shared many years of

fruitful collaboration, as theydemonstrate in a concert in Madridat the Auditorio Nacional. On 17Feb the Diotima Quartet gives aconcert entirely dedicated to Sote-lo, with the première of new workAlter Klang for flamenco guitar,cantor and string quartet. Thesoloists are Juan Manuel Cañizaresand Arcángel. Also on the pro-gramme are Degli Eroici Furori(2002), Audéeis (2004) and la gui-tare: la mémoire incendiée (2009).

WP

Mauricio Sotelo


11

luke bedford / sawer

BEDFORD

Wigmore Hall

inauguration

Luke Bedford’s first year at theWigmore Hall is drawing to a close– a residency which has alreadyseen him work with educationalensemble IGNITE and become di-rectly involved in the venue’s pro-gramming. On 24 Jan, the inaugu-ral concert to mark this three-yeartenure will be given by the BCMG,an event which director JohnGilhooly is looking forward to:“Luke is an important young voiceand distinctive musical force, andwe are very pleased to have him asWigmore Hall's first ever Compos-er in Residence.”Under Oliver Knussen, the playerswill perform alongside three solosingers in Bedford’s Good DreamShe Has – a piece based on anadapted text from Milton’s Para-dise Lost. A month prior to this, theSoundings series presents a con-

cert of chamber music featuringboth Luke Bedford and JohannesMaria Staud. The Fidelio Trio willperform Chiaroscuro and Für BálintAndrás Varga on 12 Dec.

SAWER

A song for Jane

In honour of British soprano Jane Manning’s

70th birthday, David Sawerhas written Caravan for a celebra-tory concert on 25 Feb in London’sPurcell Room. Scored for her voiceand an ensemble of bass clarinet,horn and cello (members of Jane’sMinstrels), the song is a setting ofthe nonsensical poem Karawaneby the German Dadaist writerHugo Ball (1886–1927). Written in1916, and first heard at the CabaretVoltaire where Ball recited it him-self, its new incarnation by Sawerprovides a fitting vehicle for Man-ning’s prodigious talent.www.bit.ly/janem

WP

Luke Bedford


borisova-ollas /kurtág / schwartz

12

BORISOVA-OLLAS

Imaginery opera

Victoria Borisova-Ollas’ Psalm 42,for soloists, choir and orchestra,was premiered this September inStuttgart and Berlin. The BerlinerMorgenpost wrote, “The 42nd

psalm is transformed into an imag-inary operatic scene. Complexrhythms, archaic power and mini-malistic threads of sound are inter-changed with a mixture of a kindof overfilled children’s room and anaggressive asceticism. The compos-er searches for paths to God in themusical ruins of our time – withfeverish intensity and thrilling piquancy.”

KURTÁG

Golden Lion in

Venice

The Venice Biennale awarded György Kurtág the Golden Lion inSeptember 2009 for his life's work,which contains, as the festival di-rector Luca Francesconi put it, “anexpressivity that is both dense andlight at the same time, that de-mands attention, silence, sensibili-ty: attributes which are extremelyrare in the present day.” UE com-poser Friedrich Cerha was the re-cipient of this great award in 2007.www.bit.ly/kurtag4

SCHWARTZ

Mermerising

moments

“Jay Schwartz’ Music for Voices andOrchestra … is a clearly conceivedand effectively composed workwith mesmerising moments espe-cially where the vocal elementsmerge seemingly unnoticed withthe instrumental activity.”(Stuttgarter Nachrichten) Music for Chamber Ensemble “con-vincingly combines several impor-tant trends of European musicfrom recent decades.” (Märt-MatisLill). Contact us for more informationand for scores and recordings of allSchwartz works.www.bit.ly/jayschwartz

György Kurtág andLuca Francesconi


13

rihm

RIHM

Critically-

acclaimed

virtuosity

In a case of striking unanimity, twoleading critics agreed that this wasa piece one immediately wanted tohear again. COLL’ARCO, WolfgangRihm’s fourth music for violin andorchestra, spans a broad musicalrange and is packed with “virtuositysupported by substance” (PeterHagmann). Carolin Widman, thesoloist in the work’s world pre-mière, is to perform the piece withtwo different conductors: JonathanNott in Zurich (Tonhalle-Orchester,4 Dec) and Eivind Gullberg Jensenin Baden-Baden (SWR-Orchester,28 Feb).The acclaimed production of Jag-den und Formen (2008 version),choreographed by Sasha Waltz, willbe played (and acted) by Ensemble

Modern in Hamburg on 13 Jan. Ernster Gesang, which premièred in1997 in Philadelphia/USA underWolfgang Sawallisch, now has itsfirst American conductor: Sir AndréPrevin is to conduct the LeipzigGewandhaus Orchester (3 and 4Dec in Leipzig).Tanja Tetzlaff will be the soloist inKonzert in einem Satz for cello andorchestra on 26 Jan at theStadttheater Gießen. Schatten-stück, a tone painting for orches-tra, will be conducted by AntonZapf on 5 Dec in Stuttgart (SWRRSO Stuttgart).Rihm’s chamber music is also set toreceive outings: the Doelen Quartetwill perform Grave (in memoriamThomas Kakuska) on 17 Jan in Rot-terdam. Paris will play host to theMorgenstern Trio, who are to per-form Fremde Szene III on 21 Jan.Quartettstudie and String QuartetNo. 12 can be heard in Amsterdam(Utrecht String Quartet, 10 Jan).Nicholas Hodges will play Klavier-stück No. 5 (Tombeau) and Zwie-sprache at the same venue on 18 Dec.

Wolfgang Rihm


14

baltakas / lentz / birtwistle

BALTAKAS

Vilnius in

Cologne

This November, Vykintas Baltakasled his own newly formed VilniusEnsemble Network (www.bit.ly/lith1) at a concert in Cologne. In-cluded in the programme were Bal-takas’ own compositions, Ri, for so-prano and electronics and Pasaka,for piano and electronics. Contact us for scores and record-ings of Baltakas’ works, includingPoussla for ensemble and orches-tra, and Ouroboros, (co)ro(na) andLift to Dubai for ensemble. A con-cert version of Cantio (for narrator,soloists, ensemble, electronics) is inpreparation. Contact us for details.

LENTZ

Subtle sound

world

Georges Lentz’s Monh, a concertofor viola and orchestra, has beennamed “Best Composition by anAustralian composer” in the Aus-tralian Classical Music Awards2009. It was described as “a workwith intricate orchestration incor-porating violas, electronics and anextreme divisi of the string section.

Monh conveys the subtlety ofLentz’s very personal sound world,creating a moving work.” Monhwas premièred in 2005 by TabeaZimmermann and the OrchestrePhilharmonique de Luxembourg,conducted by Steven Sloane.www.bit.ly/lentz2

BIRTWISTLE

Critical acclaim

abounds

As Andrew Clements (Guardian)put it, Harrison Birtwistle’s TheMask of Orpheus is a “masterpieceand the finest British opera of thelast half-century.” His “immenselythrilling” experience was shared byus at the Proms, and we would loveothers to have the same chance –perusal materials available on re-quest. Looking ahead, the Britten Sinfoniaare taking their Birtwistle pro-gramme on a five-date tour (13–18Dec, see www.bit.ly/Moreh) andthose attending the BirminghamContemporary Music Group inau-gural concert can also catch a per-formance of the early chamberwork (1961) The World is Discoverd.


15

boulez

BOULEZ

Sparkling

building blocks

“I was very spontaneous in thosedays,” commented Pierre Boulezrecently on the subject of his 12 No-tations, which he scribbled downquickly in 1945. These were his ownanswer to the twelve-tone tech-nique. It was only much later thatBoulez saw the potential of theNotations as a source of sparklingorchestral miniatures. DanielBarenboim, who commissionedthem and therefore played a majorrole in their creation, is to conductNotations I to IV and VII in a public

rehearsal in Vienna on 8 Jan, aswell as in New York on 17 Jan withthe Vienna Philharmonic. Huddersfield/GB will see a per-formance of Dérive 1 with NewMusic Ensemble on 10 Dec, whileLe Marteau sans maître is to be per-formed on 19 Feb in Düsseldorf(Eva Nievergelt, alto). Messagesquisse for solo cello and 6cellos can be enjoyed inTokyo/Japan on 4 Feb (soloist:Kaeko Mukoyama). Rituel in memo-riam Bruno Maderna is to be con-ducted by Pascal Rophé in Paris on23 Jan with the Paris ConservatoryOrchestra. As Simon Rattle oncesaid: “The essence of the sound ofIndonesia is deeply rooted in thismusic.” In sur Incises for 3 pianos, 3 harpsand 3 percussion, Boulez exploredhow a note can be coloured by thechord that follows: “It’s not just anote that’s perceived, but an ob-ject.” Beginning with the pianosolo Incises, Boulez developed a 40-minute, highly dense and virtuosicensemble piece, which was alsoplayed when he was awarded theKyoto Prize in November.

Pierre Boulez


kagel / stockhausen

16

KAGEL

Carnivalesque

solemnity

Two days of works by MauricioKagel and Karlheinz Stockhausenhave been programmed by TinoHaenen at the Musikgebouw aan’tIJ in Amsterdam. On 7 Feb, Ensem-ble Modern interprets Kagel’s Exot-ica, a piece of carnivalesque solem-nity, and Morceau de concours(1972) for one or two trumpeters.Kagel’s musical coloration dazzlesin this monologue of tones andnoise. The Nieuw Ensemble per-forms Kantrimiusik, pastorale forvoices and instruments (1972/1975),on 6 Feb. “It has a pseudo-folkloriccharacter … designed to reprocessfamiliar and apocryphal musicalcombinations. For an interpreta-tion of this work to be accurate, itmust be clearly audible to whatextent parody and caricature orself-defining seriousness are a partof this piece.” (Kagel)www.bit.ly/kagel1

STOCKHAUSEN

Spirit of a new era

When Karlheinz Stockhausen wasintroduced to the piano music ofthe “New York School” by John

Cage and David Tudor in 1954, hewas thrilled by the novelty of thesound and the variety of tech-niques used. This encounter in-spired Stockhausen and led to animmense enrichment of his gra-dated musical palette, and to anew era in his music. Two piecesfrom this period, Klavierstück VII(1954/1955) and IX (1954/1961), canbe heard on 30 Jan at the ThéâtreGaronne in Toulouse, along withTelemusik for electronic instru-ments (1966), and the Paris versionof Stimmung for six vocalists (1968)– performed by Theatre of Voicesunder Paul Hillier.www.theatregaronne.com

In Amsterdam, the ensemblemusikFabrik performs Stock-hausen’s Mikrophonie II (1965),Mixtur, in the condensed orches-tration of 1967, and Kreuzspiel(1951) under Emilio Pomàrico.

Karlheinz Stockhausen


17

berio

important than these elements ofthe plot, however, is the manner inwhich they are presented, whichalso draws on existing operaticmodels, including solo arias, duets,trios, chorales – archetypal operaticforms. Berio extends this musicalvocabulary with the two “canta-storie”, who describe and commenton the events of the opera in sixfolk-like ballads (unforgettableMilva as ballad singer). As with many of his other musictheatre works, in La vera storiaBerio also attempts “to enhanceour consciousness of the fact thatwe ourselves are the only ones whoare able to fit a story as it is toldinto our own experience of theworld.”

BERIO

La vera storia

Before his death, Luciano Berio laidthe foundations of an editing project which lay close to his heart– a reworking and entirely new pro-duction of his notes for his opera or“Azione musicale”, La vera storia.This ambitious project is now near-ing completion. As in many ofBerio’s musical dramas, there is noreal plot to La vera storia, but rathera series of events. WolfgangSchreiber said of the première atthe Milan Scala in 1982: “Berio’stheme is tension, and the violentconflict between individual andstate or society, of people andpower, of freedom and authority.”

In order to convey this, Berio andItalo Calvino created a storylinewhich draws elements of its plotfrom Verdi’s Il Trovatore. More

Luciano Berio


ligeti / feldman

18

LIGETI

Modern classic

When one considers the fact thatFranz Schubert’s Unfinished had towait 54 years for its world pre-mière, it is all the more amazingthat György Ligeti’s orchestralwork Atmosphères, which pre-mièred in 1961, has already becomea modern classic. This can be seenin the wealth of performancesscheduled for the next fewmonths: Simon Rattle, Berlin Phil-harmonic (Berlin, 3 and 4 Feb);Valery Gergiev, London SO (London,13 Feb); Fabrizi Ventura, Sin-fonieorchester Münster (Münster,6, 8 and 9 Dec); John Storgårds,Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra(Helsinki, 3 Dec).

FELDMAN

True to the

original

The richness and beauty of thesound world in Neither lies in thehighly original and carefully con-trolled orchestration, which isoften deliberately extreme: starkcontrasts between dynamics andregisters are resolved within thecontext of the music. After workingwith Morton Feldman’s challenging

score, conductor Emilio Pomàricowas moved to create a simpler andmore legible version of the work,which will facilitate future inter-pretations of the work while main-taining complete fidelity to theoriginal. Neither has been recognisedfor some years as one of the greatmasterpieces of the second half ofthe 20th century. From 19 Dec Neitherjoins the repertoire in Gelsenkirchen.A choreographed version of Neithercan be seen in Düsseldorf in April.www-bit.ly/feldman2

György Ligeti


19

weill

WEILL

Kurt Weill

ballet fresco

Kurt Weill left Nazi Germany in1933 and arrived in 1935 in the USA.There, he expanded his “European”musical range with musicals, filmscores and songs in an “American”style. He had in any case alwaysbeen influenced by popular genres,from jazz to cabaret, foxtrot, shim-my, waltz or tango. Polish choreographer KrzysztofPastor had an unusual idea in 2001:he created a multimedia show forthe Nationale Ballet in Amsterdamthat took the form of a collage of

dance images. Based on the musicof Kurt Weill, he created a pulsat-ing ballet fresco, with highly ex-pressive dance numbers and ahuge variety of musical forms andshowstoppers, aiming to highlightthe contemporary relevance of thesocial circumstances and experi-ences Weill describes. Choreographically, he describes theprecarious life of the artist, theconstant threat of social intoler-ance and the eternal search forlove. The music chosen for the bal-let represents a cross-section ofWeill’s oeuvre – the show includesextracts from more than 25 works,from The Threepenny Opera toStreet Scene. The choreographywon rave reviews in Amsterdam in2001 and received the prestigiousBenois de la Danse award. From 20Nov the ballet can be seen inPoland for the first time, at theTeatr Wielki in Warsaw.www.bit.ly/weill1

Kurt Weill


20

SCHNITTKE

False idyll

Alfred Schnittke’s orchestral work(K)ein Sommernachtstraum, whichpremièred in Salzburg in 1985,opens with soft sounds of Mozarton strings. The initial idyll ends inironic alienation that culminates ina fortissimo of broad twelve-tonechords before returning to themelodious sound of the beginning.The Bavarian Radio SO is to per-form the piece on 14 and 15 Jan atthe Philharmonie in Munich underMariss Jansons.www.bit.ly/schnittke

Budapest will play host to Schnittke’s Concerto for oboe, harpand string orchestra (1971). Whilethe harp is slightly subdued, theoboe has a technically extremelydifficult solo with trills, multiphonicsand leaps at breakneck speed (Budakofi Dohnányi Zenekar Or-chestra, c. Marco Zambelli, 31 Jan). www.bit.ly/schnittke1

TANSMAN

Macabre murder

Alexandre Tansman’s short operaLe Serment (1954) has been de-scribed as “atmospheric, mysteri-ous uneasiness”, “a Balzac episodefull of dark and eerie grandeur”,“both late romantic and avantgarde with a wealth of ingenioussound effects”. The highly dramatic 55-minutework is characterised by great pas-sion: the unfaithful wife’s oathfails to save her lover from beingmurdered in macabre fashion byher husband. Warsaw’s Teatr Wielkiwill present the opera again on 2 Dec.www.bit.ly/tansman

Alexandre Tansman

schnittke / tansman


2121

martin / mossolow

MARTIN

Confessing

Christian faith

Frank Martin’s music reflects hisprofound Christian faith, which heopenly acknowledged for the firsttime as an artist in the peace oratorio In terra pax (1944). He sawthis piece as his most personal, direct creation. Commissioned byRadio Geneva for Armistice Day ofWorld War II, the piece was broad-cast on 7 May 1945. It will be per-formed on 20–22 Dec by the Olden-burgisches Staatsorchester underThomas Bönisch.www.bit.ly/martin3The Concerto for 7 wind instru-ments, timpani, percussion andstring orchestra (1949) is to be per-formed by Seiji Ozawa with theBavarian Radio Symphony Orches-tra in Munich on 18 and 19 Feb.Martin gave the wind soloists insymphony orchestras the chanceto show their skill.

ALEXANDER W. MOSSOLOW

Too earthy and

materialistic

Alexander Wassiljewitsch Mossolow(1900–1973) was one of the mostgifted and original young com-posers of the 1920s. He spoke outfiercely against the late romantictradition, confronting it with objec-tivity. In 1927 the critic Anton Uglovpoured scorn on the Concerto forPiano and Orchestra, saying that“the music is too earthy and mate-rialistic, full of martial rhythms –Mossolow is a musical construc-tivist.” The Orchestra ICO Lecce interprets the Concerto on 27/28Nov in Lecce/I..

Frank Martin



23

krenek

KRENEK

Discovering

Krenek

Berlin’s Konzerthaus has realisedthat there is plenty of catching upto do when it comes to ErnstKrenek (1900–1991). It is thereforededicating a whole series of eventsto the composer, allowing peopleto discover Krenek’s life and workin more depth with a semi-stagedperformance of his opera Orpheusund Eurydike (Konzerthausorch-ester Berlin, c. Lothar Zagrosek, 5 and 6 Feb).Krenek represents the musical de-velopments of the 20th century inmany respects. He started out inthe late-romantic style of histeacher Franz Schreker, then com-posed expressionistic and neo-classical works before turning tothe Viennese School. After the war,he also wrote serial compositionsand became interested in electron-ic music. With well over 300 works,his highly extensive oeuvre spansan unusual variety of styles, evenby 20th century standards, such asthe three one-act works that pre-mièred in 1928: Der Diktator, Dasgeheime Königreich and Schwer-gewicht oder Die Ehre der Nation.These were virtually prototypes ofthe ‘Zeitoper’ (opera of the times),exemplarily translating the 1920s’need for contemporary material,

pace and unpretentious objectivityinto music, while vividly raising thequestion of power and violence.Fantasie, Symphonische Musik (10Feb), Leb’ wohl mein Schatz andConcertino (18 Feb) can also beheard in Berlin. A symposium onthe opera Orpheus rounds off themain programme of events.www.bit.ly/krenek2

Ernst Krenek


milhaud / braunfels

24

MILHAUD

Comic mythology

The Greek National Opera presentsa new staging of Darius Milhaud'sthree ‘opéras minutes’ of 1927 – Derbefreite Theseus, Die Entführungder Europa and Die verlassene Ari-adne – in Athens on 16/17 Jan.These operas, around 10 minuteseach, are sketches set in a world ofgods and heroes, full of sarcasmand apparent trivialities. “Mil-haud's bitonally-enhanced music iscatchy and even singable: tangorhythms and quotations fromfashionable dances help to ab-stract the mythological to thepoint of comedy.” (MannheimerMorgen) www.bit.ly/milhaud

Darius Milhaud spent 1917–1918 inBrazil at the invitation of PaulClaudels, then French ambassadorto Rio de Janeiro. Inspired by theBrazilian jungle, Claudels wroteL’homme et son désir, which Mil-haud turned into a ballet. The workcan be seen in a concert perform-ance in Amsterdam on 6 Feb. Rein-bert de Leeuw conducts theASKO/Schönberg Ensemble.

BRAUNFELS

Incredible

volume of sound

Walter Braunfels achieved his finalbreakthrough as a composer withhis four-part Te Deum, which wasinfluenced by his wartime experi-ences. The piece premièred inCologne in 1922, but has since beenunjustly forgotten. Braunfels’ in-credible volume of sound and emo-tion make for a convincing work.The Pittsburgh Symphony Orches-tra is to perform the third part ofthe work under Manfred Honeck inPittsburgh/USA on 4–6 Dec. www.bit.ly/braunfels

Walter Braunfels


25

batók / kodály

BARTÓK

30 rehearsals

Béla Bartók worked on his pan-tomime ballet The Wooden Princebetween 1914 and 1917, albeit withsome interruptions. The piece wasstaged during those troubledtimes, thanks to the perseveranceof Italian conductor Egisto Tango,on condition that 30 orchestral re-hearsals would be granted: “Thefact that he will only take the proj-ect on if he is able to prepare itdown to the very last detail is thebest thing one can hear from aconductor” (Bartók). Andrey Boreykois to perform the grand orchestralsuite arrangement of the piece inHamburg with the NDR SO (6 and12 Dec). www.bit.ly/bartok1The successful world première ofThe Wooden Prince awoke interestin the older one-act opera DukeBluebeard’s Castle, Bartók’s firstand only opera. It can now beheard in concert form in Chicago

with Pierre Boulez conducting (7–9 and 12 Jan).www.bit.ly/bartok2

KODÁLY

Story-telling

imagination

In his musical comedy Háry János(1926), Zoltán Kodály turned thegrotesque tales of the veteran hus-sar into a successful blend of real-ism and naivety, comedy andpathos. Kodály described Háry as“the personification of the Hun-garian story-telling imagination.”In the popular suite, which waswritten in 1927, Kodály’s pictorialsound language breathes life intoHáry’s fairytale-like daydreams.Christian Arming will be conduct-ing 3 performances with the Or-chestre Philharmonique de Liège(8–10 Jan). www.bit.ly/kodaly2

Zoltán Kodály von Imre Varga, Budapest


eisler / grosz / martinu

26

EISLER

Beauty as

a weapon

Hanns Eisler was possibly the firstGerman composer to explore thepractical and theoretical implica-tions of the role of music in society.Eisler demanded a revolutionarymusic for the working class – amusic which used its beauty as aweapon, as a means to an end,rather than being content merelyto please and entertain. Between1928 and 1930 he composed theBalladenbuch op. 18, extracts fromwhich will be performed in KingsPlace, London on 27 Jan by baritoneChristian Immler and HelmutDeutsch (piano).

WILHELM GROSZ (1894–1939)

High-class

cabaret

Wilhelm Grosz was one of thegreat musical renaissance men ofthe 1920s. Born in Austria to a well-to-do Jewish family, he was a suc-cessful composer, conductor, pianist,music theorist and record producer– but today, he is forgotten, farmore than contemporaries ofequivalent significance. In Bänkel

und Balladen, op. 31 (1931), fourgrotesque and parodic cabaretpieces based on texts by Sokol andRingelnatz, Grosz develops a styleof high-class cabaret, combiningcontemporary social satire with de-lightfully frivolous nonsense.Christian Immler (baritone) andHelmut Deutsch (piano) interpretthe piece on 27 Jan, also at KingsPlace, as above.

MARTINU

A symbol of

American history

Plymouth Rock is traditionally con-sidered the place where theMayflower Pilgrims under theircaptain William Bradford arrived inwhat would become the UnitedStates of America – an importantsymbol in American history. Brad-ford's writings on this historic mo-ment are the basis for BohuslavMartinů’s symphonic poem TheRock. George Szell conducted theCleveland Orchestra in the 1958premiere. This rarely heard workwas performed by the Prague StateOpera under Charles Olivieri-Munroe in October 2009.


27

schoeck / marx

OTHMAR SCHOECK (1886–1957)

Thoughts of death

Nachhall was Othmar Schoeck’s70th and last opus, and it repre-sents the artistic culmination ofthe rich musical lyricism of his life'swork. The work is based on texts byLenau, in which the composer findsa reflection of his melancholy viewof the world, but also a languageto express his fervent longing.Nachhall for medium voice and orchestra, 39', is performed on 20and 21 Dec by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Hansestadt Lübeck/Dunder Roman Brogli-Sacher. Thesoloist is Antonio Yang, baritone.www.bit.ly/schoeck

MARX

Majestically

powerful hymns

Joseph Marx composed the firstversion of his Neujahrshymnus forfour-part male voice choir andorgan in 1914. It was the crowningachievement of a highly fruitfulcreative period from 1910 to 1914 inwhich Marx devoted himself al-most exclusively to choral music.The piece became more famous in1950 when Marx authorised theuse of parts of the work as the titletheme for the film Cordula (withPaula Wessely and Attila Hörbiger),rearranged for choir and orchestra.However, this film score has sincebeen lost. Berkant Haydin and Stefan Esser aimed to recreate acomplete instrumentation ofMarx's original score, and thisthrilling, majestically powerfulhymn to life can be heard inWürzburg/D on 16/17 July,* per-formed by the Mainphilharmonieand the Monteverdi Choir ofWürzburg under Matthias Beckert.Marx's Herbstchor an Pan is also onthe programme.

* originally planned for FebruaryOthmar Schoeck


SCHULHOFF

Like a dream

Erwin Schulhoff wrote his firstpiece for classical string quartetwhile studying in Cologne. Some 10years later in 1924, he composedthe considerably more matureString Quartet No. 1. With the slowmovement at the end, it straysfrom the usual form. The quartetcomprises 3 dance movements anda melancholy notturno, whichmakes the previous parts seem likea dream. The piece is to be per-formed by the Henschel Quartettin Stockholm on 5 Dec.www.bit.ly/schulhoff

SZYMANOWSKI

The secret life

of the soul

Karol Szymanowski’s delight inshimmering colours, forms and un-usual structures continued in hisSymphony No. 3 Lied der Nacht(1914/1916). After the chaos of thefirst World War, the deep stylisticand conceptual change in his workis unmistakable. When he com-posed Stabat Mater for soprano,alto, baritone, mixed choir and orchestra in 1925/6 in Warsaw, hewas attempting “an internal

experiment ... an attempt to givemodern, structurally completeforms to the most real and intangi-ble things within the secret life ofthe soul”. Szymanowski combineselements of the hymns of the LatinStabat Mater with Polish fastingsongs to express deep emotion andsensitivity in this work. The TrinityCollege of Music SO & Chorus in-terpret the work on 4 Dec in London. www.bit.ly/szym2

Karol Szymanowski

28

schulhoff / szymanowski


schmidt / foerster

29

SCHMIDT

A cry of

fear and hope

After the downfall of the worldthere is the promise of a new heav-en and a new earth. Franz Schmidtgave this hopeful message in hisoratorio Das Buch mit siebenSiegeln, based on the Book of Reve-lations. This powerful piece, filledwith musical allusions and formi-dable images, was first performedin Vienna in 1938 – a cry of fear andhope, shortly before the outbreakof war. From today's perspectivethe timeless masterpiece also re-flects the variety of musical stylesof the first half of the 20th century.Nikolaus Harnoncourt has takenon this apocalyptic work and inter-prets it with the Vienna Philhar-monic and the Vienna Singvereinon 17, 19 and 20 Dec in Vienna(Musikverein) and on 21 Dec in Linz(Brucknerhaus).Schmidt's Zwischenspiel undKarnevalmusik aus der Oper “NotreDame” can also be heard in Linz on2 Dec (Linzer Konzertverein).

JOSEF B. FOERSTER (1859–1951)

Mahler’s

Czech friend

Josef Bohuslav Foerster wasfriends with Gustav Mahler duringhis time in Hamburg. It is thanks tohim that we know so much aboutthe writing of Mahler’s Resurrec-tion Symphony. Foerster himselfhas however been unjustly forgot-ten as a composer despite hisopera Eva being one of the mostoriginal works of its time. The Nürnberger Symphoniker is of-fering a chance to hear SymphonyNo. 4 on 29 Jan. It was written in Vienna in 1905 and influenced byBruckner and Mahler. Conductor:Leos Svarovský.The 150th anniversary of Foerster'sbirth falls on 30 Dec.www.bit.ly/foerster

Joseph Bohuslav Foerster Eva Wexford Opera 2004



31

schreker

SCHREKER

A magical opera

In his last opera, Der Schmied vonGent, Franz Schreker aimed to cre-ate a folk opera – not an easy task,given his chosen medium of highlydeveloped German post-impres-sionism. Schreker continued in thispiece along the path of simplifica-tion which he had started with theSingender Teufel.His last opera contains song anddance forms: there is a folksy feelto blacksmith songs, parodies andchildren's songs; pious songs oflegends mix with baroque splen-dour. The opera is based on a Flem-ish folk tale: the story of the cleverblacksmith who signs a pact withthe devil, but with the help of StJoseph escapes from hell and, fol-lowing various adventures, getsinto heaven in the end. A light-hearted fantasy, populated withthe dead and the living, the

burghers of Ghent, spectres fromhell and the heavenly hosts, whichshows the path from life on earthto the radiance of paradise. Theopera premièred in Berlin in 1932.

UE has substantially revised theperformance material of the operafor the forthcoming new stagingat the Chemnitz Theatre on 30 Jan,including new orchestral parts. Director: Ansgar Weigner; conduc-tor: Frank Beermann; costumes:Claudia Möbius. Further perform-ances in February, March, April andMay. The première will be broad-cast live on radio and released onCD by cpo.www.bit.ly/schreker3


minutes. In terms of form andstructure, Gurlitt’s work is clearlymore radical than Berg’s and truerto Büchner’s fragment.Unlike Berg with his glowing orchestral colours, Gurlitt restrictshimself throughout to the use oforchestral groups that vary fromscene to scene for emphasis andeffect – almost in a chamber musicstyle. This produces a gaunt, reduced sound which easily allowsthe voices to be heard.This sound cannot be attributed tothe Viennese School, the trendsaround Korngold or even Schreker.It is more reminiscent of Hin-demith or Weill. Gurlitt’s Wozzeckoffers a real alternative to Berg’s, asproven recently in Lucerne, and isalso a reasonable length at around80 minutes.Nana, another of Gurlitt’s operas,this time based on Émile Zola, isalso being rediscovered, with a pro-duction planned at the operahouse in Erfurt/D in 2010.

MANFRED GURLITT (1890–1972)

The other

Wozzeck

Several unfortunate circumstancescaused the opera Wozzeck by Man-fred Gurlitt to be forgotten. Theworld première in Bremen in 1926was preceded by the première ofAlban Berg’s identically-namedopera a year earlier. The world ofopera at the time simply had nomore room for another approachto the Wozzeck theme. The audacityof Gurlitt’s structure has remainedunrecognised until now.Berg and Gurlitt employed basicclassical forms for the individualscenes (18 in Gurlitt’s case and 15 inBerg’s). However, unlike Berg,Gurlitt dispensed with traditionalstructures, aiming to match Büchner’s text with his sequences,which often last just a few

Manfred Gurlitt Wozzeck Luzerner Theater 2009

32

gurlitt


33

zemlinsky /d’Albert

ZEMLINSKY

Forbidden mermaid

Alexander Zemlinsky’s Die See-jungfrau was performed for thefirst time on 25 Jan 1905, in thesame concert as the première ofArnold Schönberg’s symphonicpoem Pelleas und Melisande. It wasperhaps unwise to première twoworks of such similar scope andformat in the same concert. How-ever, it was not merely due to anover-reaction to the success of themore famous piece that Zemlinskynever allowed Die Seejungfrau tobe performed again. It was alsodue to the overly self-critical ap-proach of a man who never quite

achieved the place in musical his-tory which his great talent mighthave deserved. Today, Die See-jungfrau is his most important or-chestral work, and it can be heardin concert halls across the world: inDarmstadt on 10/11 Jan with theStaatsorchester Darmstadt/Dunder Nicholas Milton and on20–23 Feb in Rome with the Orchestra dell’AccademiaNazionale di Santa Cecilia underJames Conlon.

EUGEN D’ALBERT (1864–1932)

Worthwhile

excavation

The storyline of Eugen d’Albert’sopera Der Golem (1926) was takenfrom the famous ancient Jewishlegend of the Golem of Prague.After the great success of theworld première in 1926 (“with itsabsolute tonal character, the workranks alongside the operas ofSchreker”), no-one imagined thatthe piece would be forgotten after1945. In Bielefeld/D in 1997 it wasreferred to as “a worthwhile exca-vation.” It is to be hoped that AndreaSchwalbach’s new staging in Bonnwill meet with similar praise (pre-mière: 24 Jan). www.bit.ly/dalbert

Alexander Zemlinsky


FREDERICK DELIUS (1862–1934)

Song of a

Great City

Frederick Delius’ first great mas-terpieces, including Paris Nocturne,were written around the turn ofthe last century. The Song of aGreat City for orchestra (23’) pre-mièred in London in 1899 and gavehim the reputation of an “EnglishDebussy” for his almost Impres-sionist sensitivity with fine nu-ances of emotion. Mark Elder con-ducts the piece on 5 Feb inUtrecht/NL with the Radio Filhar-monisch Orkest.www.bit.ly/delius

WEBERN

A miracle

of precision

Anton Webern arranged FranzSchubert’s six Deutsche Tänze forpiano, D820, in 1931 for chamber or-chestra, woodwind and two horns.His alterations are limited to occa-sional separation of the parts,bringing out the solo lines. Webernaimed to allow the structure of thework to emerge more clearly, whileretaining a sound similar to Schu-bert’s. The result is a miracle of

precision, tonal differentiation andglowingly shaded colours. MichaelTilson Thomas interprets the Tänzewith the San Francisco SymphonyOrchestra from 9–12 Dec in SanFrancisco. Also on the programmeis Webern’s highly concentratedten-minute Symphony op. 21 forchamber ensemble, “a striking ex-ample of Webern’s art, in which hismusic manages to combine creativefantasy and strictly formulatedtechnique”.ww.bit.ly/webern

34

delius / webern

Michael Tilson Thomas


BERG

A Lulu year

2010 will be a real Lulu year. Thetwo-act version by Alban Berg canbe heard at the Salzburg Festival(Harnoncourt/Flimm), the WienerFestwochen will be presentingFriedrich Cerha’s three-act version(Gatti/Stein), while the world pre-mière of a new three-act version isscheduled for the autumn. Morenews coming soon.The Aalto Theatre in Essen/D isstarting the year with a premièreof Lulu on 23 Jan, conducted by Stefan Soltesz. Just a few dayslater, the same opera can be heardin Münster/D under Fabrizio Ven-tura (31 Jan). Marc Albrecht will also be launch-ing Lulu on 4 Feb in Geneva. HisLulu will be performed by PatriciaPetibon, who can prepare for herupcoming part as Lulu in Salzburg.On 31 Jan, Daniele Gatti plans topresent the Lulu Suite in Zurichwith the opera house orchestra.As of 29 Nov, the Altenburg-GeraTheatre will be producing thechamber version of Wozzeck,which was completed by EberhardKloke in 2004. This often-usedarrangement also enables smallerorchestras to perform Berg’s mas-terpiece.Alan Gilbert, the new music directorof the New York Philharmonic, is totour Germany with 3 Orchester-

stücke (Cologne, 28 Jan; Dortmund,30 Jan), while 4 Feb will see himperforming the work in London.The 3 Orchesterstücke can also beheard in Chicago, conducted byMichael Tilson Thomas on 11–13 Febwith the Chicago SO.The Violin Concert0 will be per-formed by Renaud Capuçon (Rot-terdam, 8 and 10 Jan), VeronikaEberle (Frankfurt, 11 Dec; Potsdam,12 Dec; Cologne, 1 Feb) and Isabellevan Keulen (Hamburg, 7 and 8 Feb),among others. On 8 and 9 Feb, Friedemann Layerwill conduct 7 frühe Lieder in Augs-burg/D.

Patr

icia

Pet

ibon

35

berg


schönberg

36

Berlin (24 and 25 Jan). The pro-gramme also includes VerklärteNacht for string orchestra and Vari-ationen op. 31. In the latter piece,Schönberg has a large orchestrause tone rows for the first time. It ishis only orchestral composition ofthis kind. www.bit.ly/schoenberg

Owing to its highly extravagant or-chestration, one of Schönberg’sworks is rarely performed – but itwill now be presented by the SWRSO Baden-Baden/Freiburg underMichael Gielen: based on texts byRainer Maria Rilke and Ernest Dow-son’s Seraphita (German transla-tion by Stefan George), the VierLieder is one of his last free-atonalworks (30 and 31 Jan, 2 Feb, YvonneNaef, MS). www.bit.ly/swrso

Daniel Barenboim

SCHÖNBERG

Extravagant

orchestration

In 1902, Arnold Schönberg com-posed a symphonic poem based onMaeterlinck’s drama Pelleas undMelisande, without realising thatClaude Debussy’s Pelléas etMélisande was to première at theOpéra-Comique in Paris at thesame time. Later he regretted notcarrying out his initial plan of com-posing an opera based on the orig-inal text. Schönberg found someconsolation, however: “The sym-phonic poem was a challenge forme, for it taught me how to ex-press moods and characters in pre-cisely formed, musical units – aprocess for which an opera maynot have been quite so useful.”Daniel Barenboim is to performthe work with the Staatskapelle in


37

mahler

MAHLER

Mahler symphony

reductions

Requiring fewer musi-cians than any of Gustav

Mahler’s other sym-phonies and with a chamber musicstructure, Symphony No. 4 worksparticularly well in a reduced ver-sion. In 2007, Klaus Simon created anarrangement that leaves Mahler’smusic untouched, thus reproducingthe character and sound colours ofthe symphony as faithfully as pos-sible, while following the concertcustoms of Arnold Schönberg’s Society for Private Musical Per-formances. In Simon’s reduced ver-sion, Symphony No. 4 can be per-formed by 14 musicians with a solosoprano: wind quintet, percussion(2), harmonium, piano and stringquintet.

The Italian première will be stagedin Florence (Orchestra dellaToscana, c. Isaac Karabtchevsky,25 and 27 Feb).

After his success with SymphonyNo. 4, Simon has now arrangedMahler’s Symphony No. 1 for cham-ber orchestra as well. “I tried toadopt as many of the originalsound colours as possible in myarrangement, as far as is possiblewith a smaller orchestra. As always,I tried to replace missing partswith harmonium and piano. Thetremendous finale of SymphonyNo. 1 needed a bigger sound. That’swhy I added a second bass clarinet,a second horn and a trumpet tothe whole arrangement,” saysSimon. The world première is setfor 25 Mar in Trento/I (c. Philipp vonSteinaecker).Visit www.universaledition/mahlerto find a list of other Mahler per-formances.

WP

Gustav Mahler


planned for 13, 16, 18 and 20 Dec.The work lasts only 60–70 minutesand is thus best performed as onehalf of a programme (in Venice itshares a programme with Cavalle-ria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni).www.bit.ly/janacek

JANÁČEK

Janáček’s naivety

To modern eyes, the story of the de-velopment of Šárka is almostgrotesque: in 1877 the 33-year-oldunknown composer Leoš Janáčekthrew himself enthusiastically intoa libretto printed in a newspaper,orchestrated it and was then dev-astated to discover that the authorof the libretto, the then celebratedwriter Julius Zeyer, refused to au-thorise Janáček’s orchestration onthe grounds that he had been sav-ing it for a more famous composerlike Dvořák or Smetana.Thirty years later, the by then high-ly successful Janáček returned tothe rejected score, and this time, ofcourse, had no problem gaining authorisation for his piece. He cor-rected, re-scored and extended thework as he thought necessary(with the assistance of his studentOsvald Chlubna), until the success-ful premiere of Šárka at the Brün-ner Nationaltheater in 1925. However, contractual hurdlesslowed the publication of thepiece, and thus it disappeared fromthe repertoire. The Italian premiere of Šárka onlynow takes place on 11 Dec in TeatroLa Fenice in Venice under the musi-cal direction of Bruno Bartoletti.Subsequent performances are

38

janáček


39

world premières

39

FRIEDRICH CERHA Wie eine Tragikomödiefor large orchestraBBC Philharmonic Orchestra, c. HK Gruber13 February 2010 ·Bridgewater Hall Manchester

GEORG FRIEDRICH HAAS fuga for 2 violinsBit 20 ensemble, 05 December 2009 · Bergen/N

ATTHIS for soprano and 8 instrumentsScharoun Ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic15 January 2010 · Philharmonie Berlin

GUSTAV MAHLER / KLAUS SIMONSymphony No. 1 for chamber orchestraMahler Chamber Orchestra, c. Philipp von Steinaecker25 March 2010 · Trento/I

ARVO PÄRTMissa brevis for twelve cellos12 cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic, 17 February 2010 · Berlin

JOHANNES MARIA STAUD Für Bálint András Varga 10 miniatures for piano trioWiener Klaviertrio, 26 February 2010 · Boston/USA

DAVID SAWER Caravan for soprano, bass clarinet, horn and celloJane Manning, s, Jane’s Minstrels, 25 Feb 2010 · Purcell Room London

MAURICIO SOTELOAlter Klang for flamenco guitar, cantaor and string quartetJuan Manuel Cañizares, guit, Ancángel, cantaor, Diotima Quartet17 February 2010 · Auditorio Nacional Madrid


2009150th Anniversary Josef Bohuslav Foerster * 30 Dec 185975th Anniversary Alfred Schnittke * 24 November 1934

90th Anniversary Roman Vlad * 29 December 1919

201050th Anniv. of Death Hugo Alfvén † 08 May 196075th Anniv. of Death Alban Berg † 24 December 193585th Anniversary Luciano Berio * 24 October 192585th Birthday Pierre Boulez * 26 March 192580th Birthday Paul-Heinz Dittrich * 04 December 193080th Birthday Cristóbal Halffter * 24 March 1930

100th Anniversary Rolf Liebermann * 14 September 1910150th Anniversary Gustav Mahler * 07 July 1860

75th Birthday Arvo Pärt * 11 September 1935100th Anniversary Mario Peragallo * 25 March 1910100th Anniversary Ennio Porrino * 20 January 1910150th Anniversary Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek * 04 May 1860200th Anniversary Robert Schumann * 08 June 1810

80th Anniversary Toru Takemitsu * 08 October 1930125th Anniv. of Death Egon Wellesz * 21 October 1885

201175th Birthday Gilbert Amy * 29 August 193675th Birthday Sir Richard Rodney Bennett * 29 March 1936

100th Anniversary Paul Burkhard * 21 December 191185th Birthday Francis Burt * 28 April 192675th Anniversary Cornelius Cardew * 07 May 193685th Birthday Friedrich Cerha * 17 February 192680th Anniversary Mauricio Kagel * 24 December 193175th Birthday Ladislav Kupkovic * 17 March 193685th Birthday György Kurtág * 19 February 1926

200th Anniversary Franz Liszt * 22 October 1811

40

anniversaries


100th Anniv. of Death Gustav Mahler † 18 May 191175th Birthday Steve Reich * 03 October 193675th Anniv. of Death Ottorino Respighi † 18 April 193650th Birthday David Sawer * 14 September 196150th Birthday Daniel Schnyder * 12 March 1961125th Anniversary Othmar Schoeck * 01 September 188650th Birthday Mauricio Sotelo * 02 October 196125th Anniv. of Death Alexandre Tansman † 15 November 198675th Birthday Hans Zender * 22 November 1936

2012

125th Anniversary Kurt Atterberg * 12 December 188775th Birthday David Bedford * 04 August 193750th Anniv. of Death Hanns Eisler † 06 September 196225th Anniv. of Death Morton Feldman † 03 September 198750th Birthday Silvia Fómina * 196275th Birthday Peter Kolman * 29 May 1937

80th Birthday Richard Meale * 24 August 193250th Anniv. of Death Caspar Neher † 30 June 196275th Birthday Gösta Neuwirth * 06 January 193775th Birthday Bo Nilsson * 01 May 1937

60th Birthday Wolfgang Rihm * 13 March 195280th Birthday Rodion K. Shchedrin * 16 December 1932

2013

60th Birthday Georg Friedrich Haas * 16 August 195375th Birthday Zygmunt Krauze * 19 September 193825th Anniversary Marcel Poot † 12 June 198880th Birthday Raymond Murray Schafer * 18 July 193375th Birthday Tona Scherchen * 12 March 1938

41

anniversaries


ALBAN BERGChamber Concerto for piano and violin with 13 wind instrumentsed. by Douglas Jarman Study score UE 34116

MIKE CORNICKClever Cat goes Solo for piano, with CDEasy solo piano pieces UE 21484

MIKE CORNICKLove Songs for Two for piano four hands, with CDFive beautiful arrangements UE 21485

JOSEPH HAYDNThe easiest Piano SonatasEd. by Christa Landon, revision by Ulrich Leisinger,fingerings by Oswald Jonas UT 50273

ARVO PÄRTScala cromatica trio piccolo for violin, cello and pianoUE 34842

FERESHTEH RAHBARI / MARIA AUGUSTIN Mini Magic Flute – Spielbuch for 2 and more flutes(partly with piano / rhythm accompaniment) UE 34383

NEW KARL SCHEIT EDITIONEd. by Olaf Van Gonnissen, Thomas Müller-Pering andJohannes MonnoMAURO GIULIANIVariations op. 105 for guitar UE 34483GASPAR SANZPreludio, Fuga, Jácaras, Pavanas, Canarios for guitar UE 34486

KURT WEILLSongs with CD from The Threepenny Opera, Happy End, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonnyfor alto or tenor saxophone and piano or CD

UE 34328

42

new releases


ROBERT SCHUMANN

First edition

AhnungAlbum piece for pianoed. by Michael Beiche fingerings by Jochen ReutterUT 50271

Re-discovered in the run-up to theSchumann year!

About three years ago, a previouslyunknown manuscript of an albumpiece for piano by Robert Schu-mann was found in the Leopold So-phien Library of Überlingen. The lit-tle piano piece, entitled Ahnung,had been given and dedicated byClara Schumann to a friend of hers,the lithographer and writer JuliusAllgeyer. In the Wiener Urtext Edi-tion series, this short work is pub-lished for the first time in the run-up to the Schumann year 2010. Aprint of the rediscovered Schu-mann autograph is included in theedition. The expressive, relativelyeasy-to-play piece adds to the Ro-mantic piano repertoire.

43

new releases


ALBAN BERG Three Orchestra Pieces, Altenberg Songs, Seven Early SongsChristiane Iven, s, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, c. Marc Albrecht · PentaTone Classics CD PTC 5186 363

ALBAN BERG Three Movements from the Lyric SuiteALEXANDER ZEMLINSKY Lyric Symphony

Houston Symphony Orchestra, c. Hans Graf, Twyla Robinson, s,Roman Trekel, bar · NAXOS Classics 8572048

LUCIANO BERIO / JOHANNES BRAHMS Opus 120 No. 1Reiner Wehle, clar, Philharmonisches Orchester der Hansestadt Lübeck, c. Roman Brogli-Sacher · Cantate SACD hybrid M 56912

ALFREDO CASELLA Sinfonia, ItaliaWDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, c. Alun Francis · cpo CD 7411161

MORTON FELDMAN Spring of ChosroesCarolin Widmann, vln, Simon Lepper, pno · ECM New Series CD 2113

MORTON FELDMAN Principal SoundBernhard Haas, organ · Edition Zeitklang CD EZ35033

LEOŠ JANÁČEK The Cunning Little VixenElena Tsallagova, Jukka Rasilainen, Michele Lagrange, Hannah EstherMinutillo, David Kuebler, L’Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Paris, c. Dennis Russell Davies · Medici Arts DVD 3537225

LEOŠ JANÁČEK From the House of the DeadVáclav Bednář, Beno Blachut, Ivo Žídek, Přemysl Kočí, Helena Tatter-muschová, Jaroslav Horáček, Orchestra and chorus of the NationalTheater in Prague, c. Bohumil GregorSupraphon SU CD 3953-2

LEOŠ JANÁČEK Lachische Tänze, Suite from the Opera The Cunning LittleVixen, Taras Bulba Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, c. Jakub HrůšaSupraphon SU CD 3923-2

ZOLTÁN KODÁLY Hungarian Folk MusicGábor Bretz, Szabolcs Brickner, Júlia Hajnóczy, Katalin Halmai, AnnaKorondi, Andrea Meláth, Judit Németh, Gyula Orendt; BernadettWiedemann, Tamás Vásáry, Emese Virág, pnoHungaroton Records HCD 32557-59

GUSTAV MAHLER Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Rückert-Lieder, Lieder eines fahrenden GesellenChristoph Prégardien, t, Michael Gees, pno Hänssler Classic CD 098.256.000

DARIUS MILHAUD Concerto for viola and orchestraSusanne van Els, vla, Schönberg Ensemble, c. Reinbert de Leeuw Etcetera CD 6570083

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WOLFGANG RIHM Quid est deus, Ungemaltes Bild, Frau/StimmeSWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, SO Baden-Baden und Freiburg, c. Sylvain Cambreling, Michael Gielen, Friedrich Goldmann Hänssler Classic CD 093.236.000

FRANZ SCHMIDT Symphony No. 2, Fuga SolemnisMalmö Symphony Orchestra, c. Vassily Sinaisky, Anders Johnsson, organNAXOS CD 8.570589

OTHMAR SCHOECK NotturnoChristian Gerhaher, bar, Rosamunde Quartett ECM New Series CD 2061

FRANZ SCHREKER Zwei Lieder, Fünf Gesänge, Zwei Lieder auf den Tod eines KindesHermine Haselböck, ms, Wolfgang Holzmair, bar, Russell Ryan, pnoBRIDGE CD 9259

KAROL SZYMANOWSKI Concerto No. 1 for violin and orchestraArabella Steinbacher, vln, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, c. Marek Janowski · PentaTone classics PTC 5186 353

PIERRE BOULEZÉclat, sur IncisesNieuw Ensemble,c. Ed Spanjaard;EIC, c. PierreBoulezJuxtapositionsDVD 9DS15

G. F. HAASWer, wenn ich ...,... und ..., “...ausfreier Lust ...”CollegiumNovum ZürichNEOS SACD10919 Available from20 Jan 2010

KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSENMixturSO des Bayeri-schen Rundfunks,c. Lucas VisNEOS SACD10926

M. SOTELODe oscura llamaEnsemble Resi-dencias, Arcán-gel, RobertoFabbriciani,Stefano Scoda-nibbioANEMOS CDC33002

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Manfred Gurlitt (1890–1972)

Worklist (UE)

Piano quintet C minor op. 7 31’UE 31505• scoreUE 31506• set of parts

Nana opera in 4 acts 1933source text: Nana by Émile Zola; Libretto: Max Brod 150’parts: Nana, soprano / Graf Muffat de Bensville, baritone / Lieutenant PhilippeHugon, tenor / Gustave, his brother, bass / Bordenave, theatre director, baritone /Zoe, waiting-maid, soubrette / some smaller parts choir: SATB3 2 3 3 - 5 6 4 0 - timp, perc(3), hp, mand, str, incidental musicWorld première: 16/04/1958 Dortmund/Dperformance score on hire

Soldaten tragic opera in 3 acts 1929/1930source text: Die Soldaten by Reinhold Lenz; Libretto: Manfred Gurlitt 120’parts: Wesener, baritone / Frau Wesener, mezzo soprano / Marie, soprano / Charlotte, soprano / Stolzius, baritone / his mother, mezzo soprano / Desportes, tenor / Haudy, baritone / Rammler, baritone / Mary, baritone / Gräfin de la Roche, alto / her son, tenor choir: SATB3 3 4 3 - 4 3 3 1 - timp, perc(2) - hrp, cel, pno - str World première: 09/11/1930, Düsseldorf/Dperformance score on hire

Wozzeck musical tragedy in 18 scenes and 1 epilogue 1923/1924source text: Woyzeck by Georg Büchner; Libretto: Manfred Gurlitt 90’parts: Wozzeck, bass baritone / Marie, soprano / Captain, bass baritone / Doctor, tenor / Andres, tenor / Drum major, high baritone / Margaret, mezzo soprano / old woman, alto / Jew, tenor / a girl, soprano /2 speaking partschoir: SATB3 3 3 3 - 4 3 3 1 - timp, perc - hrp, cel, pno - strWorld première: 22/04/1926, Bremen/Dperformance score on hire

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gurlitt worklist



UNIVERSAL EDITION

Austria: Boesendorferstr. 12, A-1010 Vienna, Austria (Musikverein)tel +43-1-337 23 - 0, fax +43-1-337 23 - 400UK: 48 Great Marlborough Street, London W1F 7BBtel +44-20-7292-9171, fax +44-20-7292-9173USA: European American Music Distributors LLC254 West 31st Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001-2813tel +1-212-461-6940, fax +1-212-810-4565www.universaledition.com, [email protected] Editors: Angelika Dworak and Eric Marinitsch Contributors: Eric Marinitsch, Wolfgang Schaufler, Jonathan Irons,Angelika Dworak, Daniela Burgstaller, Flora Death, Kieran Morris,Rebecca Dawson, Marion Dürr and Elisabeth BezdicekDesign: Egger & Lerch, Vienna/AustriaPhoto credits: UE Archive (13), www.mein.salzburg.com, EricMarinitsch (6), Wolfgang Schaufler (2) , Biennale di Venezia, Kathinka Pasveer, Wiener Konzerthaus, Courtesy of the Kurt WeillFoundation for Music New York, Eric Schaal, Charlotte Till-Bor-chardt, Susanne Bruse, Karol Szymanowski Museum, WexfordOpera / Derek Speirs, Luzerner Theater / Tanja Dorendorf, www.bso.org, Virgin Records, Teatro alla Scala, Bridgewater HallManchester, Amadeus Gurlitt;CDs: Juxtapositions, NEOS (2), ANEMOS.DVR: 0836702


Documents

UE Newsletter Winter 2009 English