Gruber's Concertos

Tempo ◽  
1991 ◽  
pp. 22-27
Author(s):  
Paul Driver

The concerto evidently appeals to HK Gruber, as symphonies do not. He has so far written four works that are unambiguously in this form: ‘…aus schatten duft gewebt…’, a concerto for violin and orchestra of 1977–8; the concerto for percussion and orchestra Rough Music (Rauhetöne) of 1982–3; Nebelsteinmusik, for solo violin and string orchestra, of 1988; and the Concerto for Cello and Chamber Orchestra of 1989. Ambiguous examples of the form are his early Concerto for Orchestra (1960–64) – concertos for orchestra are by definition ambiguous – and Frankenstein!!, his ‘pan–demonium’ (rather than ‘concerto’) for baritone chansonnier and orchestra (on children's rhymes by H.C. Artmann), finalized in 1977. Then there are four works which remain in manuscript (withdrawn from circulation): Concerto No. l for flute, vibraphone, xylophone and percussion (1961); Concerto No. 2 for tenor saxophone, double bass and percussion (1961); ‘furbass’ for double bass and orchestra; and an unsatisfactory forerunner of the violin concerto, Arien (1974–5). The symphony he has not touched; and one is tempted to see in this reliance on solo/ensemble confrontation an attempt to hold together the self–splintered, all too globally diversified language of the late 20th century by an eloquent soloist's sheer persuasiveness, by musical force, so to speak, the soloist being dramatized as a kind of Atlas. In the same way Gruber's recourse to popular songs and idioms of ‘light music’ in these works can seem like a desperate attempt to find a tonal prop and sanction for a language so pervasively threatened by tone–deafness and gobbledygook.

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-147
Author(s):  
Zhang Kailin ◽  

This article is devoted to the comparative description of two string concerts by Sergei Mikhailovich Slonimsky (1932–2020): the violin "Concerto Primaverile" (1983), focused on the Romantic style of the XIXth century, and the viola "Tragicomedy" (2005), related to the avant-garde line of the composer's work. Each of the opuses embodies different types of programmaticity: a generalized one in "Concerto Primaverile" for violin and string orchestra, and more concretized one in the concert on "Crime and Punishment" by F. Dostoevsky for viola and chamber orchestra. Thus, Slonimsky also turned to both types of programmaticity in solo compositions for these instruments, for example, figurative specificity becomes the main characteristic in the dramaturgy of the final piece for violin "Legend" (based on the novel by I. Turgenev). On the contrary, the Viola Sonata and Variations for a solo instrument rather address a generalized compositional approach. Comparison of the two concert scores follows the lines of their stylistic difference: programmaticity, specificity of dramaturgy and technical implementation, and in particular problems such as complex melodic figuration, contrapuntal saturation of homophonic monodic texture, the role of micropolyphony, the introduction of third and quarter tones and other non-standard principles of sound production.


Tempo ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 58 (229) ◽  
pp. 60-66
Author(s):  
Guy Rickards

MARGARET BROUWER: Lament for violin, clarinet, bassoon and percussion12,4,6,10; Light for soprano, harpsichord, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and percussion1,7,2,5,13,14,11; Under the Summertree for piano8; Skyriding for flute, violin, cello & piano3,13,14,9; Demeter Prelude for string quartet15. 1Sandra Simon (sop), 2Sean Gabriel (fl), 3Alice Kogan Weinreb (fl), 4Jean Kopperud (cl), 5Amitai Vardi (cl), 6Donald McGeen (bsn), 7Jeanette Sorrell (hpschd), 8Kathryn Brown (pno), 9Mitsuko Morikawa (pno), 10Dominic Donato (perc), 11Scott Christian (perc), 12Laura Frautschi (vln), 13Gabriel Bolkosky (vln), 14Ida Mercer (vlc), 15Cavani String Quartet. New World 80606-2.CHEN YI: Momentum; Chinese Folk Dance Suite for violin and orchestra1; Dunhuang Fantasy for organ and chamber wind ensemble3; Romance and Dance for 2 violins and string orchestra1,2; Tu. 1Cho-Liang Lin (vln), 2Yi-Jia Susanne Hou (vln), 3Kimberley Marshall (org), Singapore SO c. Lan Shui. BIS-CD-1352.SADIE HARRISON: The Light Garden for mixed quintet1; The Fourteenth Terrace for clarinet and ensemble2; Bavad Khair Baqi! for solo violin3. Traditional Afghan Music4. 1Tate Ensemble, 2Andrew Spalding (cl), Lontano c. Odaline de la Martinez, 3Peter Sheppard Skærved (vln), 4Ensemble Bakhtar. Metier MSV CD92084.MISATO MOCHIZUKI: Si bleu, si calme1; All that is including me for bass flute, clarinet and violin1,2,3; Chimera; Intermezzi I for flute & piano1,4; La chamber claire. 1Eva Furrer (fl, bass fl), 2Bernhard Zachhuber (cl), 3Sophie Schafleitner (vln), 4Marino Formenti (pno), Klangforum Wien c. Johannes Kalitzke. Kairos 0012402KAIONUTE NARBUTAITE: Symphony No. 2; Liberatio for 12 winds, cymbals & 4 strings; Metabole for chamber orchestra. Lithuanian National SO c.Robertas Fervenikas. Finlandia 0927-49597-2.ALLA PAVLOVA: Symphony No. 1, Farewell Russia1,3,4; Symphony No.32,3,5. 1Leonid Lebedev (fl), Nikolay Lotakov (picc), Mikhail Shestakov (vln), Valery Brill (vlc), Mikhail Adamovich (pno); 2Olga Verdernikova (vln), 3Russian PO c. 4Konstantin D. Krimets, 5Alexander Vedernikov. Naxos 8.557157.‘APPARENZE: Collana di Nuove Musiche 1997’. Works by SILVIA DELITALA, RITA PORTERA, CATERINA DE CARLO, BEATRICE CAMPODONICO, PAOLA CIAR-LANTINI, JANET MAGUIRE, MARCO SANTAM BROGIO, PAOLO MINETTI, FEDERICO MONTAGNER, RINALDO BELLUCCI and BIAGIO PUTIGNANO. Maria Vittoria Vallese (sop), Pia Zanca, Fiametta Facchini, Rinaldo Bellucci (pnos), Duo Soncini-Flückiger, Italian Guitar Quartet, Ensemble Paul Klee, Fabrizio Fantini, Gianluca Calonghi (cls), Giuseppe Giannotti (ob). Radio Onda d'Urto E.F.B 001.


Tempo ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 59 (231) ◽  
pp. 70-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Palmer
Keyword(s):  

HOLLIGER: Violin Concerto, ‘Hommage à Louis Soutter’. YSAŸE: Sonata op. 27, No. 3, ‘Ballade’ for solo violin. Thomas Zehetmair (vln), SWR Sinfonieorchester c. Heinz Holliger. ECM New Series 476 1941.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
Xin Xing ◽  

The article analyzes "The Love" Violin Concerto (2009) by the famous Chinese and American composer Tan Dun in contextual, composing and linguistic aspects. Based on the statements of his contemporaries, the author considers the composer's musical and aesthetic views that determine the originality of his style, organically combining avant-garde techniques with elements of traditional Chinese music. Tan Dun's Violin Concerto exists in three versions with different titles ("Out of Peking Opera" 1987, "The Love" 2009, "Rhapsody and Fantasy" 2018), representing different artistic concepts with a new viewpoint on the same intonational material. Three movements of the Concerto "The Love" reflect the evolution of feelings at different stages of human life. The composer manages to combine the idea of "national" (a tendency going back to the version of the Concerto "Out of Peking Opera" 1987) with a philosophical understanding of the category of love. The paper discusses the originality of the dramaturgy of "The Love" Violin Concerto, which assumes the third part as the main center (based on the development of thematic material of the first and second movements), the consolidation of parts of the attacca cycle and the rondality of the musical form. The most important peculiarity of the composition is the mixture of elements belonging to different cultural and temporal layers of music. The stylistic diversity of Tan Dun's Concerto is reflected in the following details: the composer's introduction of a stylized tune from the Beijing Opera erhuang, speech intonations resembling recitatives of Chinese dramas, borrowings from his own film music (the second movement), the use of methods typical for traditional Chinese music, yaoban and sanban, the timbre of oriental percussion instruments in a classical symphony orchestra, as well as dodecaphone techniques, aleatorics and Hip-hop rhythms. Special attention in the article is paid to interpretation of expressive possibilities of solo violin: methods of classical-romantic technique are synthesized with traditions of performance on Chinese stringed instruments.


2002 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 179-194
Author(s):  
David W. Deamer

Movies are the myths of late-20th century western culture. Because of the power of films likeETto capture our imagination, we are more likely than past generations to accept the possibility that life exists elsewhere in our galaxy. Such a myth can be used to sketch the main themes of this chapter, which concern the origin of life on the Earth.


Tempo ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 60 (235) ◽  
pp. 39-40
Author(s):  
Peter Palmer

URS JOSEPH FLURY: Vineta; Concerto for Cello and Orchestra; Sinfonietta for Strings. Biel Symphony Orchestra; Pierre Fournier (vlc), Vienna Volksoper Orchestra; Vienna Chamber Orchestra c. Urs Joseph Flury. Musikszene Schweiz MGB CD 6184.SCHOECK: Concerto for Cello and String Orchestra, op. 61; Suite in A flat for Strings, op. 59. Julius Berger (vlc), South West German Chamber Orchestra of Pforzheim c. Vladislav Czarnecki. ebs 6145 (www.EBSMusikproduktion.de).


1992 ◽  
Vol 133 (1795) ◽  
pp. 466
Author(s):  
Han de Vries ◽  
John Downey ◽  
Gary Karr ◽  
London Symphony Orchestra ◽  
Geoffrey Simon
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
pp. 18-24
Author(s):  
Աննա Արևշատյան

Among the works, dedicated to Komitas and the Armenian Genocide, the oeuvre of the outstanding contemporary Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian (born 1939) holds a special position. T. Mansurian addressed this topic back at the end of the 1960s. Most notable are, however, his large-scale compositions, created over the past decade, such as Concerto No. 4 for cello and string orchestra, "Where is thy brother Abel?" (2010), Requiem for soloists, mixed choir and chamber orchestra (2011), Sonata da chiesa for viola and piano (2015). The musical language and stylistic peculiarities of the above works testify to the fact that T. Mansurian is a direct successor to Komitas' creative traditions and an innovator, too, whose works have largely enriched contemporary Armenian music, imparting a new quality to the Armenian compositional thought.


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