Tagged with 'Salzburg'

His symphonic series is expanding: Turkish composer Fazıl Say has written his Symphony No. 6. The large-scale orchestral work is subtitled 100 Yaşında Bir Çocuk ("A 100-Year-Old Child") and will be premiered on October 12 in the Great Hall of the Zorlu PSM Cultural Center in Istanbul. The Borusan Istanbul Filarmoni Orkestrası will be conducted by Can Okan. 

A full year after the originally scheduled date, Salzburg Festival is presenting a new production of Intolleranza by Luigi Nono on 15 August. Directed by Jan Lauwers,  Sean Panikkar and Sarah Maria Sun will take the leading roles as 'the emigrante' and his fellow. In the pit, Vienna Philharmonic will be conducted by Ingo Metzmacher.

Intolleranza, composed in 1960/1961 is Luigi Nono’s first work for the stage. Its Italian description as Azione scenica underlines its renunciation of a narrative form of music theatre – the libretto has no coherent plot. Nono instead employs poems and documentary texts such as political interrogations and news headlines which are interwoven into the action as periodical highlights. Influences from Brechtian theatre are clearly recognisable, for example the audience becomes actively involved in what is happening on stage and is confronted by a question: under what conditions and against what political opposition is it possible to be consciously humane?

In eleven scenes, Nono describes the journey of the protagonist ‘emigrante’ on the way to his new homeland, making reference to contemporary and past historical events. The emigrante experiences a demonstration for peace, political interrogation and torture. Intolleranza is a politicalethical plea against violence, intolerance, discrimination and racism and has lost none of its relevance 50 years after its composition.

‘You, who shall resurface following the flood / in which we have perished, / remember / also the dark time / that you have escaped.’ (from the libretto)

After the opera was called Intolleranza 1960 at its world premiere, it has become common to add the current year to the work title. Wuppertal Opera is currently presenting a series of streamings, entitled Intolleranza 2021. The upcoming season will also see a number of stage performences with audience at Wuppertal.

• Luigi Nono: Composer Profile


• Intolleranza: Werkdetails, Termine und Online-Partitur 


• Salzburg Festival


• Oper Wuppertal

 

 

On 6 July, Jörg Widmann’s Messe for orchestra will be performed by the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich with whom Widmann has held the title of ‘Creative Chair’ for the 2015/16 season.



First awarded in the 2014/15 season, the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich’s ‘Creative Chair’ creates a position for eminent composers, conductors and soloists to work with the orchestra, as well as to share their knowledge through workshops, lectures and discussion sessions. On 6 July, Widmann will also perform as the soloist in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major.

Messe is one of a trilogy of orchestral works by Widmann, alongside Lied (2003) and Chor (2004), exploring the idea of vocal music for orchestral forces where the orchestra is used both as the soloist and choir. Messe also touches on the composer's academic interest in spiritual music. This work marked a turning point in Widmann's compositional style along with his fifth string quartet with soprano Versuch über die Fuge, which challenged him to use strict musical forms. Techniques that he had previously avoided set the tone for each movement in Messe.

The instrumental singing is the topic of my earlier orchestral works 'Lied' and 'Chor'. There is no singer or choir performing; the orchestra is singing, reciting and declaiming. That’s how it is with Messe: The musicians are the protagonists: Solos, choir and orchestra rolled into one. For example, there is an antiphony between choir and organ in the ‘Monodia’ of the ‘Kyrie’, but no choir or organ is really involved. In central liturgical passages, for example at the beginning of the ‘Kyrie’ or the ‘Gloria’, the notes appear like a gigantic choral score. Every musician ‘sings’ the particular mass text on his instrument. – Jörg Widmann

In performances between 6-8 July, Widmann will conduct Messe at the Tonhalle Zürich. Other upcoming performances of Widmann’s works include Versuch über die Fuge for soprano, oboe and chamber orchestra performed by the Saarländisches Staatsorchester on 10 July and in August the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim will perform Con brio in their 2016 summer tour, including concerts at the Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival and BBC Proms.

• Jörg Widmann - profile


• Messe - workdetails