“For me, it is vital to move and inspire individuals through music, listen to them and reflect on their problems.”

The composer and viola player Volker David Kirchner who was born in Mainz devoted himself to this artistic statement throughout his life.

Thirteen music dramatic works form the core of his comprehensive compositional output, including “Gilgamesch” which was premiered within the framework of the EXPO Hannover in 2000, but he has also composed two symphonies and a wealth of other compositions for orchestra, string orchestra and solo concertos. Kirchner’s catalogue of works additionally displays an opulent collection of vocal compositions, among them larger-scale pieces such as the “Missa Moguntina” composed for the city of Mainz.
Kirchner was however especially devoted to chamber music, enriching the repertoire with numerous works in a variety of formations, chiefly in classical genres including string quartets, piano trios and solo instruments with piano accompaniment.

Kirchner died in Wiesbaden on 4 February at the age of 77 following a brief serious illness.

Published by WERGO:
Bildnisse I / Der blaue Harlekin / Trio / Nachtstück (WER 61032)
Missa Moguntina (WER 62622)
Sinfonie „Totentanz“ / Requiem „Messa di Pace“ (WER 62062)

On 12 February, Pascal Rophé will direct the Orchestre National de Radio France and soloist Alban Gerhardt in the world premiere of Julian Anderson’s Litanies for cello and orchestra as part of the annual Festival Présences.

Litanies is the result of a joint commission between Radio France, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Det Norske Kammerorkester, The Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. It is Anderson’s third solo concerto, following In Lieblicher Bläue for violin and orchestra and The Imaginary Museum for piano and orchestra.

Like the previous two concertos, in Litanies Anderson presents a reimagining the concerto’s archetypal musical form. While Litanies may not on the outset sound like a traditional concerto, below the surface the work confronts the three-movement form directly, dividing the work into three defined sections. At the heart of which is a chorale in memory of Anderson’s friend, the composer and conductor Oliver Knussen, who died in July 2018.
Julian Anderson – Litanies: “style incantatoire”

The slow central movement became a sustained threnody for him, and to some extent the incantatory character of the music became more pronounced - hence the title. Litanies is my contribution to the so-called ‘style incantatoire’ – Julian Anderson

Further performances of Litanies this season will be given by Alban Gerhardt with Hong Kong Sinfonietta (21 March), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (2 April), and Det Norske Kammerorkester (12 May). Later this year, on 13 June, the BBC Singers will give the world premiere of SING, an early choral work by Anderson at Aldeburgh Festival.

• Julian Anderson – Profil


• Litanies – Work Details


• Orchestre National de Radio France

“For me, it is vital to move and inspire individuals through music, listen to them and reflect on their problems.”

The composer and viola player Volker David Kirchner who was born in Mainz devoted himself to this artistic statement throughout his life.

Thirteen music dramatic works form the core of his comprehensive compositional output, including Gilgamesch which was premiered within the framework of the EXPO Hannover in 2000, but he has also composed two symphonies and a wealth of other compositions for orchestra, string orchestra and solo concertos. Kirchner’s catalogue of works additionally displays an opulent collection of vocal compositions, among them larger-scale pieces such as the Missa Moguntina (1993) composed for the city of Mainz.

Kirchner was however especially devoted to chamber music, enriching the repertoire with numerous works in a variety of formations, chiefly in classical genres including string quartets, piano trios and solo instruments with piano accompaniment.

Kirchner died in Wiesbaden on 4 February at the age of 77 following a brief serious illness. Schott Music is grateful for very many years of friendly cooperation.

• Volker David Kirchner - Composer Profile


• Download Press Photo

On 3 February, the world premiere staging of Gerald Barry’s opera Alice’s Adventures Under Ground opens on the main stage of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden conducted by Thomas Adès and directed by Antony McDonald. Composed between 2013-15 on a joint commission from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Barbican Centre in London, and Britten Sinfonia.

Barry’s sixth opera to date, Alice’s Adventures Under Ground followed on the immense success of The Importance of Being Earnest, which since its premiere in 2011 has been performed all over the world and has been heralded as a masterpiece of modern opera. Alice is based on both of Lewis Carroll’s famous books, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass in a libretto created by the composer. Like its predecessor Earnest, Barry strips the stories to their bones, cramming them into 55 minutes of bold music and surreal, laugh-out-loud comedy.

Gerald Barry – Alice’s Adventures Under Ground: a surreal and funny story

The book is very dramatic, and is an ideal vehicle for divas, male or female. It’s tremendous material for showing off – it takes these unbelievable things for granted, viewing them as normal. – Gerald Barry

Alice will be performed twice a day by a double cast on 4, 6, 8, and 9 February. The co-production with Netherlands Opera and Irish National Opera will be seen in Amsterdam and Ireland in future seasons. Also this spring, on 4 March at St Giles’ Cripplegate, the BBC Singers will present a portrait concert of Barry’s choral works and his new Cello Concerto will receive its world premiere by Tatjana Vassiljeva and RTÉ Concert Orchestra at Music for Galway’s Cellissimo Festival on 29 April.

• Gerald Barry – Profil


• Alice’s Adventures Under Ground – Work details


• Royal Opera House

The German composer Georg Katzer was born on 10 January 1935 in Habelschwerdt, Silesia, and studied with Rudolf Wagner-Regeny and Rutz Zechlin in East Berlin as well as at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague with Karel Janáček and at the Academy of the Arts of the former German Democratic Republic as a postgraduate student of Hanns Eisler. In 1978 Katzer was elected to membership in the Academy of the Arts in East Berlin, whose artistic director he remained until 2005.

On January 10th Katzer would have turned 85.

Released by WERGO:
Offene Landschaft mit obligatem Ton e / kommen und gehen / Dialog imaginär 4 / Streichquartett Nr. 3 / De musica (WER 62742)
Les paysages fleurissants (WER 73382)
Death Not Be Proud (WER 20642)

Enno Poppe is one of today's most sought-after composers in the world. His very clear personal style is characterized by virtuoso, delicate sound developments, glissandoing sounds. He knows how to revive especially outdated elements, such as synthesizer sounds on his latest CD release 'Rundfunk', in an entirely fresh and novel way. Until 2022, WERGO will release a whole CD series of his music.

On 30 December 2019, this exceptional artist turned 50, and we wish him many happy returns of the day.

Released by WERGO:
Rundfunk (WER 73882)
Holz / Knochen / Öl (WER 65642)
Scherben (WER 68622)

It is with great regret that we learned of the death of the opera singer and conductor Peter Schreier.

Schreier was renowned throughout the world as a Mozart singer but also for his performances of Bach's oratorios and passions, and his interpretation of lieder by Schubert and Schumann has no equal. His repertoire, however, also covers works from the 19th and 20th centuries (e.g. by Wolf, Prokofiev, Killmayer). He died in Dresden on 25 December 2019.

Published by Wergo:
Killmayer: Hölderlin-Lieder (WER 62452)

On 1 February, in celebration of the Beethoven’s 250 Anniversary in 2020, the Sibelius Academy Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo will perform Rodion Shchedrin’s Beethovens Heiligenstädter Testament. The concert, which will conclude the Sibafest in Helsinki, will also feature music by Kaija Saariaho and Mahler.

In 1802, Beethoven wrote a letter to his brothers, Karl and Johann, describing the effects of his advancing deafness. “Oh you men who think or say that I am malevolent, stubborn, or misanthropic, how greatly do you wrong me. You do not know the secret cause which makes me seem that way to you”. These words formed the opening of what has since became known as the Heiligenstädter Testament.

Rodion Shchedrin - Beethovens Heiligenstädter Testament

Shchedrin’s work was originally commissioned as an overture for the Sinfonieorchester des Beyerischen Rundfunks in 2008 and forms a poignant reflection on Beethoven’s testimony.

If the composer is possessed by an emotion, a thought or an idea of the human sound, then is born a work, which can inspire all of them who touch it. – Rodion Shchedrin

On 21 and 23 February the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México conducted by James Burton will perform Shchedrin’s Beethovens Heiligenstädter Testament for the first time in México. On 9 February, another of Shchedrin’s Beethoven-related works, a prelude to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 will be performed by Bielefelder Philharmoniker. Shchedrin’s Praeludium alludes to motifs, tonal colours, and harmonies heard in Beethoven’s symphony.

• Rodion Shchedrin – Profil


• Beethovens Heiligenstädter Testament – Work Details, Online-Score and Audio Stream


• Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra

On 21 January 2020, Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s opera Violanta will be performed for the first time in Italy. The production will take place at the Tearto Regio, Torino conducted by Pinchas Steinberg.

The opera in one act was finished in 1915 when Korngold was only 17 and was first performed to a private audience. Among the guests to the first performance was the artistic director of the Hoftgeater in Munich, Clemens von Franckenstein, who subsequently arranged for Violanta to be performed publicly the following year.

Hans Müller-Einigen wrote the libretto for the opera, which takes place in Venice during the fifteenth century. Set during carnival, Simone Trovai, a military commander of the Venetian Republic calls his soldiers to order and asks his maids to search for his wife, Violanta, who is not attending the carnival celebrations…

 Erich Wolfgang Korngold – Violanta: Carnival in Venice

The relationship between love and death, a central theme of the opera, is expressed in a carnival song that can be heard throughout the entire work. While the song sounds lively and cheerful when sung by the festive crowd its tone is as equally threatening when performed by Violanta.

Music is music whether composed for the stage, the conductor’s desk or for the cinema. The form can change and the method of notation can be different, but the composer cannot make any compromises in what he considers to be his musical convictions. – Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Following the first performance, Violanta will be performed on 23, 25, 26, and 28 January. Additionally, in April two productions of Korngold’s Die tote Stadt are set to open in Schwerin and Ostrava.

• Erich Wolfgang Korngold – Profil


• Violanta – Work details


• Erich Wolfgang Korngold – A Guide to the Stage Works


• Teatro Regio Torino

For 1 Piano, 4 Hands

John Adams

 

• Piano arrangement of John Adams’ 1986 orchestral work
• Advanced level
• Arrangement by composer and pianist Preben Antonsen

 

Written in 1986, John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine was written as a fanfare for orchestra, and built upon his already prevalent postminimal style developed in such works as Phyrigian Gates, Shaker Loops, and Nixon in China.

This transcription, dedicated to and recorded by Christina & Michelle Naughton, reveals the additional rhythmic and tonal aspects of this master work sometimes lost in its original orchestration and is deserving of a prominent place in the four-hand piano repertoire.