Turm-Musik

Turm-Musik forms part of the Scardanelli Cycle, dedicated to the poet Friedrich Hölderlin. Deeply moved after reading biographies of mentally disturbed artists, Heinz Holliger composed this monumental cycle between 1975 and 1991 whose total duration is two hours. Hölderlin, who was considered to be mentally deranged, retreated to a room in a tower in Tübingen during the second half of his life; the title Turm-Musik makes reference to this place of refuge and Scardanelli is the pseudonym he used for his late poetry.

Though the orchestral scoring is largely traditional, it is enriched by innovative performance techniques. The work’s three sections ‘Bruchstücke’, ‘Glockenalphabet’ and ‘Winter’, played without a break, are characterized by complex rhythms and tension-laden harmony.