That's what Pierre Boulez calls him, together with György Kurtág, and György Ligeti. Boulez was talking about the many Hungarian composers of contemporary music he has been working with at IRCAM. Eötvös conducted IRCAM's inaugural concert and became it's musical director until 1991.
I had listened to the CD of his opera Three Sisters and wanted to learn more about him. Great help to increase my knowledge and understanding of this man is the DVD György Kurtág, The Matchstick Man - The Seventh Door Peter Eötvös. Two short films by Judit Kele very informative and well done. It has short appearances of Boulez in an interview and fascinating scenes with Karlheinz Stockhausen who I saw 'alive' for the first time and he turned out to be a very humorous, jolly man. This film also revealed to me the unusual conducting gestures of Boulez; whenever I see him on a DVD I wonder how the orchestra can follow him. Now I know. It's Stockhausen who 'invented' it, Boulez and Eötvös are using it. Probably other young conductors too, but I am not aware of them.
Now I have to go shopping for more Eötvös's works. Intriguing snippets are shown in this film, Insetti is one of them. I want to compare it with Langgaard's Insectarium.
Who can recommend more of this remarkable man's compositions?
The DVD:
Sadly, I don't know much of his work (I only have one recording and have heard maybe 2 or 3 of his pieces live) but I have seen him conduct and he was really good!
Maciek
I've got a few pieces of his, and for the most part I like his music rather than love it.
I think the piece that most impressed me is Atlantis, a wild, over-the-top piece that I really could see appealing to a lot of those who aren't necessarily going to like new music.
Quote from: MrOsa on April 30, 2007, 03:58:52 PM
Sadly, I don't know much of his work (I only have one recording and have heard maybe 2 or 3 of his pieces live) but I have seen him conduct and he was really good!
Maciek
So we both can learn more about him. I have his opera
Three Sisters on a CD but it is totally different than the short scene shown in the DVD. Originally it was composed for four counter tenors, but the Nagano CD has females, very disappointing.
I have not searched yet for more of his works, but in the DVD it showed him working on his '
Stones', which he dedicated to Pierre Boulez, playing with the French word for stone: pierres, which also stands for Peter. He actually did knock two stones together to create sounds - shades of Tan Dun! -
If you have seen him conduct then you experienced the 'Stockhausen Manier'! I have a CD of him conducting Beethoven's 5th with the
Ensemble Modern and that is an experience, believe me. I am tempted to say it's the best 5th I have ever heard! ;)
Quote from: edward on April 30, 2007, 04:12:41 PM
I think the piece that most impressed me is Atlantis, a wild, over-the-top piece that I really could see appealing to a lot of those who aren't necessarily going to like new music.
This DVD shows quite lengthy scenes with him talking about
Atlantis and he is talking about his ideas and inspirations to create it.
Although I had a bit of "listening fatigue" from a bunch of concerts last weekend, I did tune in to PBS for a little of Angels in America - The Opera, and liked what I saw. (I believe it was produced at Théâtre du Châtelet.) Eötvös seemed to be using sprechstimme for much of the time -- interesting but may not "scratch the itch" for those wanting more "music over speech." But what I heard had an appealing lyricism, and was quite touching. The cast was excellent and highly committed, and plunged into the roles with gusto. (Cast included Daniel Belcher as Prior Walter, Topi Lehtipuu as Louis Ironson, Omar Ebrahim and Julia Migenes as Joe and Harper Pitt, Donald Maxell as Roy Cohn and Barbara Hendricks as The Angel.)
Steve Smith wrote wrote a good piece last year about the American premiere in Musical America, and reprinted it on his blog, here:
Boston Modern Opera Project and Opera Boston present Angels in America (http://nightafternight.blogs.com/night_after_night/2006/06/angels_in_ameri.html)
--Bruce
Quote from: uffeviking on April 30, 2007, 04:14:26 PMOriginally it was composed for four counter tenors, but the Nagano CD has females, very disappointing.
Which CD is that? The DG recording uses countertenors. It's superb, but I must say that I'd rather listen to females. (I'm not big on countertenors.)
Aside from
Three Sisters, I've only heard his
Replica, which is very good. He's a superb conductor, too, and recorded my favorite take on
Bluebeard's Castle.
Quote from: Todd on May 01, 2007, 08:39:14 AM
Which CD is that? The DG recording uses countertenors.
I wish I could answer your question honestly, but what I have is a 'gift' from a friend and he didn't give much info on the disc. :-[
When I questioned him, he too insisted those singers are countertenors. Which means they either are simply superb, or I should see an audioligist! ::)
Yes, on the DVD there are a few snatches of him conducting
Bluebeard's Castle; I'll try to find a recording of it, if possible a video.
I have been an admirer of his conducting but has none of his music in my collection (strange, I know, since I am into modern classical music), until I heard a recording of Three Sisters which sounded so wonderful. I just bought the DVD (Kurtag and Eotvos) and will watch it later this week.
Quote from: springrite on May 01, 2007, 09:48:59 AM
. I just bought the DVD (Kurtag and Eotvos) and will watch it later this week.
You'll enjoy that one, I am sure. Maybe not the Kurtag, depends on your tolerance of 'unusual' modern works. For some reason I don't get moved by a composer touching only one key on his piano and claiming it is music. To Kurtag it might be, good for him! ;)
But the Eötvös section of the DVD is a jewel, crammed with fascinating information. Watching Boulez, Eötvös and another conductor sitting around a table, facing each other and 'air conducting', a special humorous treat. ;D
I've never heard any of Eotvos' music, but I have a disc of Stockhausen's Gruppen and Punkte with him as conductor, and it's some of the best Stockhausen I have (and I've got a lot).
If you have a chance - or the money! - do buy this DVD, or maybe rent it from your library. It has a very charming, alas short scene with Stockhausen and Peter, short, but it shows us Stockhausen as a human being, not the much maligned ogre as misrepresented among uninformed people!
The Gruppen I have is conducted by Claudio Abbado with the Berlin Philharmoniker. I'll have to look for the performance with Peter conducting!
Quote from: uffeviking on May 03, 2007, 06:21:29 AM
If you have a chance - or the money! - do buy this DVD, or maybe rent it from your library. It has a very charming, alas short scene with Stockhausen and Peter, short, but it shows us Stockhausen as a human being, not the much maligned ogre as misrepresented among uninformed people!
The Gruppen I have is conducted by Claudio Abbado with the Berlin Philharmoniker. I'll have to look for the performance with Peter conducting!
The Eotvos is a
lot better than the Abbado, believe me. Plus you get the Punkte in its latest (and I suppose final) revision. In fact, just writing about the thing has enticed me to give it a spin, and I've got orchestras orbiting around my cranium even as I type!
First time I ever
heard of Eotvos was on a Stockhausen vinyl disc; two pieces from the
Fur kommende zeiten set, released on Chrysalis (home of rock bands like Procol Harum). He played camel bells, triangle and synthesizer. There's a combination you don't find very often.
Quote from: uffeviking on May 03, 2007, 06:21:29 AM
It has a very charming, alas short scene with Stockhausen and Peter, short, but it shows us Stockhausen as a human being[...]
I thought that even Stockhausen classed himself as extra-terrestrial 0:)
Maybe he actually is, but transmigrated back into human form for the shooting of this video! ;D
I don't get one thing - how can Gruppen even be performed with only one conductor?? ???
I've only heard the piece once, live (in 2000, during Warsaw Autumn), and frankly (please don't beat me up!) I didn't think much of it. I found it "interesting" but nothing more than that (though I have to admit it was the best of the three pieces performed at that concert).
Last night Peter Eötvös was in town to conduct a concert of his own music (and play piano on one piece). This is some thrilling stuff! My favorite might have been the final piece, Snatches of Conversation (2001) for chamber ensemble, double-bell trumpet (!) and soprano (here, Barbara Hannigan, who was sensational). The singer whispers into a microphone, beginning with "sound check, sound check," and then spouts out other conversational excerpts, while the ensemble sort of murmurs along with her. The trumpet, using muted "wah-wah" sounds, helps create a sort of dance hall atmosphere with the other musicians.
Eötvös is hard to describe: the spareness of Webern, the theatricality of Kagel, the spatial concerns of Stockhausen. Much of his music is very quiet, with outbursts much louder. Thoroughly enjoyed getting to know his work.
Mildly amusing were two distractions: first, an elderly woman's cell phone went off, and she answered it. :o As people in the audience gasped, one of the musicians onstage asked cheerily, "Anyone else, before we begin?" The usher came over, and the woman was trying unsuccessfully to turn it off, as it continued to make noise, so finally the usher grabbed the phone and took it outside, to thunderous applause.
Then a woman entered halfway during one of the quieter pieces and loudly tromped down the aisle to the very front row. People were "shh-ing" her the entire way. As the work ended and the musicians took their bows, she stood up and faced the audience, waving her arms and gesturing toward the stage. She alternated between facing the performers and applauding wildly, and then turning back to us as if she had been the one performing. Fast-forward to intermission: the police took her away, since apparently she was intoxicated. Never a dull moment. ;D
--Bruce
You sure can pick 'em, Bruce! ;D
Eötvös -Psychocosmos (1993) for cimbalom & orch
Miklós Lukács (cimbalom), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Peter Eötvös (conductor)
from recent BBC Total Immersion
https://rapidshare.com/files/1421558091/E__tv__s_-_Psychokosmos_-Luk__cs__BBC_Sym__E__tv__s___May_2011_.flac (https://rapidshare.com/files/1421558091/E__tv__s_-_Psychokosmos_-Luk__cs__BBC_Sym__E__tv__s___May_2011_.flac)
Quote from: Todd on May 01, 2007, 08:39:14 AM
Which CD is that? The DG recording uses countertenors. It's superb, but I must say that I'd rather listen to females. (I'm not big on countertenors.)
Aside from Three Sisters, I've only heard his Replica, which is very good. He's a superb conductor, too, and recorded my favorite take on Bluebeard's Castle.
3 Sisters is on Erato.
Quote from: snyprrr on May 20, 2011, 06:37:41 AM
3 Sisters is on Erato.
It's on Deutsche Grammophon, a recording (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00002R2SW?ie=UTF8&tag=3636363-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00002R2SW) in the label's "20/21" series.
Ah, since we've revived this thread I've got a chance to do a bit of reviving of my own. Here's a blog post I wrote in January...
QuoteThe London Philharmonic Orchestra program last night opened with a UK premiere, "Shadows" by Peter Eötvös. It's sort of a mini concerto for flute, clarinet, a percussionist with snare drum and suspended cymbal, and orchestra. It also calls for a bizarre orchestral layout in which some of the forces sit with their backs to the audience. Here's a diagram:
(http://bgreinhart.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/eotvosshadows.png)
I couldn't figure out why the orchestra was asked to sit like this based on the music itself: to muffle the brass? To divide the strings really dramatically? Aside from placing the solo instruments literally in the center of the ring, there seemed to be no particular aural advantage to this. Since the performance was recorded for a CD, perhaps the CD experience will explain Eötvös' decision.
As for the music itself: it fairly clearly was originally a chamber piece; the best movement was scored for flute and clarinet alone. At other points the orchestra interjected Scary Music chords, reminiscent of Jaws or film noir, and there were some interesting coloristic effects – neat sounds being produced by the ensemble as a whole or individual soloists. Still and all, I'm not entirely sure I could deduce from listening why Eötvös actually wrote the piece. My cynical guess is he had a nice chamber duet sitting around and fulfilled a commission by arranging it up (N.B. looking at his website, this guess is wrong; it was originally for the soloists plus a small wind ensemble and handful of strings). It achieved interesting colors and sounds but didn't develop any sort of argument or even conversation.
Possibly this says as much about the listener as the listened.
Extracted for Henningmusick-related emphasis:Quote from: Brian. . . the best movement was scored for flute and clarinet alone . . . .
Quote from: CRCulver on May 20, 2011, 10:04:48 AM
It's on Deutsche Grammophon, a recording (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00002R2SW?ie=UTF8&tag=3636363-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00002R2SW) in the label's "20/21" series.
It must be the same performance repackaged. I do remember seeing it on Ebay (so, you know, it true! ;D). I am aware of the DG, so I must've subconsciously assumed. But, there is an Erato cd, a very early one, with the timing on the booklet cover if I remember correctly, and a very 'white' cover, I believe. Licensing,... ahhh. ::)
Here are two more Eötvös works, live recordings from BBC Total Immersion:
Levitation: https://rapidshare.com/files/3206307353/E__tv__s_-_Levitation_-_Hosford_Bradbury_BBC_Sym__E__tv__s___May_2011_.flac
Zero Points: https://rapidshare.com/files/3217989227/E__tv__s_-_Zero_Points_-_BBC_Sym__E__tv__s___May_2011_.flac
Re: the
Eotvos THREE SISTERS opera:
Quote from: CRCulver on May 20, 2011, 10:04:48 AM
It's on Deutsche Grammophon, a recording (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00002R2SW?ie=UTF8&tag=3636363-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00002R2SW) in the label's "20/21" series.
I owned the 20-21 recording and had it basically stolen from me by an ungrateful borrower: will I never learn?
I see that there is a 2012 edition from Budapest Music Center, a licensed reissue of the DG. Does anyone know about this BMC edition, i.e. does it come with libretto in some form? The cover is pretty ugly, but the DG is only affordably available as a burn-to-order CDR from Arkiv. Here's a link to the BMC reissue:
[asin]B007BJOM3Y[/asin]
The web page for the BMC edition has a messy libretto in romanized (?) Russian, plus liner notes:
http://www.bmcrecords.hu/pages/tartalom/index_en.php?kod=190 (http://www.bmcrecords.hu/pages/tartalom/index_en.php?kod=190)
I'm now hearing Replica for Viola & Orchestra (on ECM, w/ Kim Kashkashian) for the first time and really enjoying it a lot. Kind of in that Dutilleuxish/Lutoslawski-ish vein for me, a slice of contemporary music that I enjoy a good bit. Where to next with Eötvös...?
I'm a big fan of his Multiversum, for pipe organ, Hammond organ and orchestra.
I first got to know Eötvös's music through his opera Three Sisters (on Chekhov), recorded by DG after the premiere in Lyon in the mid-90s, and then reissued by BMG. One of the great operas of the late 20th century, IMHO.
[asin]B007BJOM3Y[/asin]
About 5 years ago, I saw Eötvös conduct the Plural Ensemble here in Madrid in his Steine (for chamber ensemble) and his Sonata per sei (a sort of Bartók Sonata for two pianos and percussion gone berserk), and both were quite appealing (the program started with Stockhausen's Kontra-Punkte and Boulez's Improvisations sur Mallarmé 1 & 2, and it was an extraordinary concert).
[asin]B00004T74U[/asin]
[asin]B00HV3W4OO[/asin]
There's plenty more Eötvös in my collection, but these are the pieces that come to mind now. I regard him as a great all-round musician, not only as a composer--he maintains a link with the apostles of high modernism of the 50s and 60s, but has a very personal voice--, but also as a conductor (his recordings of e.g. Stravinsky's Les noces and Berio's Sinfonia, are of the highest quality).
Quote from: ritter on June 12, 2020, 02:29:10 AM
I first got to know Eötvös's music through his opera Three Sisters (on Chekhov), recorded by DG after the premiere in Lyon in the mid-90s, and then reissued by BMG. One of the great operas of the late 20th century, IMHO.
[asin]B007BJOM3Y[/asin]
About 5 years ago, I saw Eötvös conduct the Plural Ensemble here in Madrid in his Steine (for chamber ensemble) and his Sonata per sei (a sort of Bartók Sonata for two pianos and percussion gone berserk), and both were quite appealing (the program started with Stockhausen's Kontra-Punkte and Boulez's Improvisations sur Mallarmé 1 & 2, and it was an extraordinary concert).
[asin]B00004T74U[/asin]
[asin]B00HV3W4OO[/asin]
There's plenty more Eötvös in my collection, but these are the pieces that come to mind now. I regard him as a great all-round musician, not only as a composer--he maintains a link with the apostles of high modernism of the 50s and 60s, but has a very personal voice--, but also as a conductor (his recordings of e.g. Stravinsky's Les noces and Berio's Sinfonia, are of the highest quality).
Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. I think I will seek out that Kairos disc and perhaps also the Wergo, which seems pricey, but I'll check it out first and see what I think. I too find him interesting as a conductor, seeing him as somewhat in the same vein as Pierre Boulez and Matthias Pintscher. I've been meaning to check out his Rite of Spring; I've heard it's really good. I have a disc of him conducting Stockhausen and another of him conducting Kurtág's song cycles and ...quasi una fantasia...—a really good disc.
Coming on January 19, the world premiere of Valuska, commissioned by the Hungarian State Opera, and apparently Eötvös' first opera written in Hungarian. The stream will be available for six months.
PS, the composer celebrated his 80th birthday on Jan. 2.
https://operavision.eu/performance/valuska
-Bruce
"In three movements -fast-slow-fast-, this concerto would fit into the most classical pattern,.....
"Allegro e felice," says Péter Eötvös at the head of the first movement. Could this be joy inspired by its interpreter Xavier de Maistre? "Xavier is sporty and knows how to dance, that's one aspect of the portrait I made of him," confides Péter Eötvös, before specifying: "I find most of the existing concertos very well written for harp, but they don't venture hardly in the modernities of recent decades. This is why I tried to nourish the harp writing with more current elements, and to associate it with a small orchestra. »....."
Extrait du concert enregistré le 18 janvier 2024 à l'Auditorium de la Maison de la Radio et de la Musique. Eötvös light, I'd say. A bit spooky and full of "farfadets, incubes, lutins, faunes, diablotins, chèvre-pieds, gnomes, démons, loups-garous, elfes, et des myrmidons,...." (Ravel/Ronde).
I will listen again!
Peter
And another sad loss for the music world: Peter Eötvös has died, apparently after a long illness. Haven't found details yet, but there's this on the Harrison Parrott website:
https://www.harrisonparrott.com/artists/peter-eotvos-1944-2024
-Bruce
Another sad loss indeed! I very much admire him as a composer and conductor.
I had the chance to exchange some words with him here in Madrid after a conference he held, and he inscribed a copy of the CD edition (from Glyndebourne) of his opera Of Love and Other Demons (based on García Márquez) to me.
The following evening he conducted a superb programme, consisting of Stockhausen's Kontra-Punkte, Boulez's Improvisation sur Mallarmé I & II, and his own Steine and Sonata per sei. It was quite clear how Eötvös was intimately connected with the great masters of the post-WWII avant-garde, whose successor and arguably last living representative he was.
R.I.P. Péter Eötvös .
Quote from: ritter on March 24, 2024, 06:49:52 AMAnother sad loss indeed! I very much admire him as a composer and conductor.
I had the chance to exchange some words with him here in Madrid after a conference he held, and he inscribed a copy of the CD edition (from Glyndebourne) of his opera Of Love and Other Demons (based on García Márquez) to me.
The following evening he conducted a superb programme, consisting of Stockhausen's Kontra-Punkte, Boulez's Improvisation sur Mallarmé I & II, and his own Steine and Sonata per sei. It was quite clear how Eötvös was intimately connected with the great masters of the post-WWII avant-garde, whose successor and arguably last living representative he was.
R.I.P. Péter Eötvös .
What a beautiful snapshot! And to have both the signature and that concert immediately after.
My most recent encounter with his music was in 2015, when the New York Philharmonic did
Senza Sangue (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/11/arts/music/review-a-peter-eotvos-premiere-and-schubert-at-the-new-york-philharmonic.html?unlocked_article_code=1.fE0.sd21.fHXPxFWsCaZH&smid=url-share). (Link to the NYT review is free.) I wish they had paired it with
Bluebeard's Castle, but never mind.
-Bruce
Quote from: brewski on March 24, 2024, 06:32:32 AMAnd another sad loss for the music world: Peter Eötvös has died, apparently after a long illness. Haven't found details yet, but there's this on the Harrison Parrott website:
https://www.harrisonparrott.com/artists/peter-eotvos-1944-2024
-Bruce
Sorry to hear that. Ironically, I've just been getting to know a tiny bit of it. :(
PD
RIP. Sad loss as both composer and conductor.
That is sad, a very gifted composer. RIP. :(
Eighty years is a lot, and yet it's a loss.
Eötvös started as a Wunderkind, being able to read music before he could read the alphabet. Often he regarded himself as a Transsylvanian composer, rather than Hungarian. It's hard not to think a whole Central European cultural world is coming top a close with Eötvös's death.
Eotvos is one of a kind. He is so low-key. Otherwise he'd be better known to a greater public.
In addition to being a composer and a conductor mostly known for conducting new music, he recorded my favorite version of Beethoven Symphony #5.
Quote from: springrite on March 27, 2024, 04:30:45 AMEotvos is one of a kind. He is so low-key. Otherwise he'd be better known to a greater public.
In addition to being a composer and a conductor mostly known for conducting new music, he recorded my favorite version of Beethoven Symphony #5.
Oh, nice! With which orchestra?
Quote from: springrite on March 27, 2024, 05:06:26 AMGoteburg
This one? https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-6926/
If so, what did you think of their use of amplification?
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on March 27, 2024, 05:26:57 AMThis one? https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-6926/
If so, what did you think of their use of amplification?
Yes, this is the one.
You won't truly "hear" the amplifications, per se. Everything sounds as natural as can be. What you will hear is the clarity and balance of every section of the orchestra. No "walls of sound". The result is just perfect (for me).