Spaces & Spheres

“Intuitive Music is for me the deepest and most fascinating way to make music: it is free, beyond all stylistic boundaries, rising out of the moment, without discussion, purely from the inner spirit guiding the player or players.” (Markus Stockhausen)

The five musicians Markus Stockhausen, Tara Bouman, Stefano Scodanibbio, Fabrizio Ottaviucci, and Mark Nauseef had known each other from numerous encounters since the 1980s. A sense of friendship on both personal and artistic levels grew among these musicians, as did the wish to make a recording of their Intuitive Music: a music that is fleeting – since it is only intended for the moment – but nevertheless deserves documentation. This is what motivated the present recordings: In February 2008, the five musicians met at Elmau Castle in the Bavarian Alps. For four days, they played together intuitively, without music or prior discussion. Walter Quintus recorded all these encounters and mixed them very skillfully.

The rules of this intuitive ensemble-playing have to do with discovering, listening intensely, responding, contrasting, and constructing – but with everything in real time: “Each player can directly employ and expand his or her musical skills and knowledge. It takes us on a journey through different worlds of sound: tonal, atonal, abstract or melodic, sometimes as a soloist, sometimes in the background as part of a team of musicians from different backgrounds. It requires alertness and concentration to remain open to unexpected situations. This type of music making is for me an expression of my self – every note comes from me, is a part of me, and at the same belongs to the ensemble.” (Markus Stockhausen)

Stefano Scodanibbio died on 8 January 2012, much too young, after a long and debilitating illness. This music is dedicated to him.