Zimmermann - Canto di Speranza - ECM: 4766885 - download

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The synthesis of Bartók, Schoenberg and Stravinsky in the sparky Violin Concerto of 1950, played with expressive intelligence by Thomas Zehetmair, seems light years away from the deep pessimism... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2009, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 1st Dec 2008
Catalogue No: 4766885
Label: ECM
Series: New Series
Length: 73 minutes

Diapason d’Or de l’Année

2009

Zimmermann, B A: Konzert für Violine und großes Orchester

Work length19:03

$2.55

$3.45

Thomas Zehetmair (violin)
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Heinz Holliger
Recorded: 2008
Recording Venue: Philharmonie Köln

1. Sonata. Allegro moderato, rubato

Track length4:43

$0.85

$1.15

2. Fantasia. Rubato molto

Track length10:03

$0.85

$1.15

3. Rondo. Allegro con brio

Track length4:17

$0.85

$1.15

Zimmermann, B A: Canto di speranza

Work length17:47

$0.85

$1.15

Thomas Demenga (cello)
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Heinz Holliger
Recorded: 2008
Recording Venue: Philharmonie Köln

Zimmermann, B A: Ich wandte mich und sah an alles Unrecht, das geschah unter der Sonner

Work length36:37

$0.85

$1.15

Robert Hunger-Bühler (singer/speaker), Gerd Böckmann (singer/speaker)
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Heinz Holliger
Recorded: 2005-05-24
Recording Venue: Philharmonie Köln

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Three key figures from ECM’s contemporary music roster – Heinz Holliger, Thomas Zehetmair, and Thomas Demenga – team up for an exceptional recording of three works by one of the leading German post-war composers Bernd Alois Zimmermann. Zimmermann, almost half a generation older than the serialists such as Boulez and Stockhausen, integrated state-of-the-art compositional methods in his writing while constantly following his own independent, highly expressive musical language. His compositions ranged from orchestral works and ballets to solo sonatas (ECM has recorded all three on 449 9042), electronic pieces and Die Soldaten (The Soldiers), probably the most important German-language opera since Berg.

The rhythmically energetic and jazz-inspired Konzert für Violine und Orchester (1950), which is partially based on twelve-tone models and cast in three movements, was soon hailed as a model for a post-war solo concerto, while Canto di Speranza (Song of Hope) (1953/57), a one-movement cello concerto with a sensuous quality, emphasizes monologue and introvert meditation. Ich wandte mich und sah an alles Unrecht, das geschah unter der Sonne on the other hand is Zimmermann’s last work, finished only five days before he committed suicide in August 1970. Labelled by the composer as an “ecclesiastical action”, the 35-minute oratorio on biblical verse and the famous parable "The Grand Inquisitor" from Dostoevsky’s “Brothers Karamazov” is a deeply pessimistic “performance art” piece - of the kind that flourished in Germany’s ‘Fluxus’ scene around the time it was written - involving recitation, singing, and both gestural and acrobatic action. Towards the end the two speakers are called upon to stamp on the floor and scream at the top of their lungs!

Reviews

March 2009

The synthesis of Bartók, Schoenberg and Stravinsky in the sparky Violin Concerto of 1950, played with expressive intelligence by Thomas Zehetmair, seems light years away from the deep pessimism of Zimmermann's final work, the 'ecclesiastical action' Ich wandte mich und sah an alles Unrecht, das geschah unter der Sonne (So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun)... the 1957 'cantata' for cello and orchestra, Canto di Speranza. ...has the focus and economy that Zimmermann's later music sometimes lost; Thomas Demenga's performance of the solo part maintains that purity even under the greatest pressure.

July 2009

…the two concertos are essential. The 1950 Violin Concerto is essentially Bartókian, although the long blues-based slow movement hints at Zimmermann's developing polystylistic tendencies: Canto di speranza for cello and orchestra, written only two years later, is hardcore serialism - but his questioning persona shines through as he shakes the system.

Zimmermann - Canto di Speranza

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