One of Austria's contemporary composers. I think he's interesting to investigate. Someone familiar with (some of) his works?
This looks like a query for Cato . . . calling Cato, white courtesy telephone, please!
Quote from: Henk on August 15, 2008, 07:07:16 AM
One of Austria's contemporary composers. I think he's interesting to investigate. Someone familiar with (some of) his works?
I know him only as the guy who completed the last act of Berg's "Lulu" so that it could finally be staged in his entirety. As almost every time I see his name in print it is in that role, it does seem to have eclipsed his own music. Among living Austrian composers the younger Olga Neuwirth, for all her limited appeal, seems much more widely represented on disc than Cerha.
Quote from: Henk on August 15, 2008, 07:07:16 AM
One of Austria's contemporary composers. I think he's interesting to investigate. Someone familiar with (some of) his works?
His
Spiegel cycle (7 pieces) is fantastic, especially I-IV.
One of Austria's oldest composers, for sure.
I just finished listening to Spiegel, again. And to the other two pieces on that set.
And to the cello concerto, which I bought this afternoon. So that I could respond to this thread and receive great glory. Oh, and so I could have another piece by this interesting composer. I wasn't too taken with the cello concerto on one hearing, but that only means that I'm not always all that good at making snap judgments. I thought it was less edgy, less interesting, less various than Spiegel from around thirty years earlier. But I also thought that Für K, which is on the two CD set with Spiegel, and later than the concerto, is pretty interesting. Long spaces inbetween things. Quirky changes from one thing to something completely different. Pretty cool, actually.
The other piece, Monumentum für Karl Prantl, from around the same time as the cello concerto, late 80s, is also kind of a throwback. It's as if someone asked him to write some "pretty" music, and he agreed!! I much prefer the beautiful stuff, myself, I must say.
I had some Cerha on an LP, Wergo as I recall. I must not have been all that impressed by it, as I didn't burn a CD of it when I got rid of all my LPs. Idiot! It was probably very cool. Like the cello concerto may turn out to be, once I get to know it well.
I have the Arditti playing Cerha's SQs 1-3 plus a sextet.
His first two SQs explore middle eastern forms, the kind of thing avant composers were doing in order to get away from the staus quo, but they do not sound exotic. Rather, they re smooth one mvmt works in arch shape, continuously moving and growing and then settling down again.
SQ No.3 is more like Cerha's typical modern SQ, a multi mvmt. work with all the things we associate with all the modern composers of his generation.
The sextet is much longer, multi mvmt, and deeper.
All in all, this is a very prestigious cd...a perfect Arditti cd I would say.if you're on the tip, I highly recommend this as a perfect example of what happened to the modernists as they entered the forbidden zone of post moderism. Berio's late SQs come to mind.
Quote from: some guy on August 15, 2008, 05:06:08 PM
One of Austria's oldest composers, for sure.
I just finished listening to Spiegel, again. And to the other two pieces on that set.
And to the cello concerto, which I bought this afternoon. So that I could respond to this thread and receive great glory. Oh, and so I could have another piece by this interesting composer. I wasn't too taken with the cello concerto on one hearing, but that only means that I'm not always all that good at making snap judgments. I thought it was less edgy, less interesting, less various than Spiegel from around thirty years earlier. But I also thought that Für K, which is on the two CD set with Spiegel, and later than the concerto, is pretty interesting. Long spaces inbetween things. Quirky changes from one thing to something completely different. Pretty cool, actually.
The other piece, Monumentum für Karl Prantl, from around the same time as the cello concerto, late 80s, is also kind of a throwback. It's as if someone asked him to write some "pretty" music, and he agreed!! I much prefer the beautiful stuff, myself, I must say.
I had some Cerha on an LP, Wergo as I recall. I must not have been all that impressed by it, as I didn't burn a CD of it when I got rid of all my LPs. Idiot! It was probably very cool. Like the cello concerto may turn out to be, once I get to know it well.
Keep trying with the cello concerto. I think it's another magnificent score - one of my favourite contemporary pieces.
Quote from: Guido on April 24, 2009, 02:07:39 PM
Keep trying with the cello concerto.
To hear is to obey. When I take another break from transcribing Lillios' interview,* I will put that cello concerto on. I haven't listened to it since I last commented on the fact that I wasn't ready to comment on it.
*When you're the boss and all the employees, you get to do everything, however painful. And transcribing interviews is the most painful of all.
I did that once, and I agree, it is awful!!!
Is that Elainie Illios?
Elainie it is. What a sweetie.*
And I agree about the Cerha cello concerto. It grows on one, as any good music will.
And speaking of good cello concertos, I'm right now listening to Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen's For Cello and Orchestra, perhaps a nod to Feldman there in the title. Certainly there's some Feldman-like licks in it.
I wish there were more recordings of music. What else is all this money for?
*Referring to Elainie, not to you, Guido. Though it may equally apply to you, I don't know.
Gudmundsen-Holmgreen's concerto is one that has never stuck with me, but I'll try again on your recommendation. The Feldman is another of my all time faves.
What do you mean you wish there was more music recorded??!! :o :) There's far too much to be heard in a lifetime!
Five or six more CDs of Cerha's music wouldn't hurt, would it?
Plus, what about all the kids in their twenties just churning it out? Gotta have as much of their stuff as I can get before I hit the inevitable.
Sure there's too much. I want more, I tells ya. More!! ;D
Quote from: some guy on April 24, 2009, 09:49:04 PM
Five or six more CDs of Cerha's music wouldn't hurt, would it?
Have you seen the Cerha "Dokumente" 12-CD boxset on ORF? I passed on that once, not sure if I would do again.
Quote from: petrArch on April 25, 2009, 02:45:51 AM
Have you seen the Cerha "Dokumente" 12-CD boxset on ORF? I passed on that once, not sure if I would do again.
I just got this in the mail today, ordered it about 10 days ago directly from ORF (http://shop.orf.at/1/index.tmpl?shop=oe1&SEITE=artikel-detail&ARTIKEL=714&startat=1&page=1&zeigen=t&lang=DE). Will keep me busy for the next few weeks, yum!
Now, if only the Arditti CD with his quartets showed up for sale somewhere at a more normal price (i.e. less than the eye-gouging US$130 some sellers are asking)...
$100+ seems to be par for the course these days for ANYTHING desireable on Amazon.
However, if you like Cerha's explorations into ethnic musics and can't get a hold of his SQs, may I recommend Dimitri Terzakis' even more authentic sounding absorbtion on the "Gates of Night and Day" cd (also on CPO). If you do get Cerha, Terzakis is a great companion.
Quote from: petrArch on June 15, 2009, 02:58:49 PM
Now, if only the Arditti CD with his quartets showed up for sale somewhere at a more normal price (i.e. less than the eye-gouging US$130 some sellers are asking)...
Just ordered it from ebay.de for about $60, can't wait!
Now the search centers on Mathias Spahlinger's
Musica Impura double CD on Accord...
His name's been on my to-get list for years: he's represented at no library I've ever been a member of and I've never seen anything of his broadcast on radio. Is he a boring serialist?
Quote from: Sean on July 25, 2009, 01:07:40 PM
His name's been on my to-get list for years: he's represented at no library I've ever been a member of and I've never seen anything of his broadcast on radio. Is he a boring serialist?
Define boring...
Quote from: petrArch on August 15, 2008, 03:32:34 PM
His Spiegel cycle (7 pieces) is fantastic, especially I-IV.
I heard and taped three of the
Spiegel pieces broadcast by BBC3, of course, in the '80s and really enjoyed them, but thought that they were a bit second-tier Ligeti and Penderecki. In 2001, I got hold of the complete set via Amazon (it's never been released in the UK). I think most of the pieces are still worth hearing, but, some amazing moments aside, none them are as good as
Atmospheres or
Threnody.
petrArch, I just got that 12 CD set myself the other day. I won't have time to listen to it all before I leave for Europe (8 festivals in 12 weeks!), but I've been enjoying what I've heard so far. I particularly like the Klangkompositionen.
How've you been enjoying that set?
Quote from: some guy on August 11, 2009, 07:03:49 PM
petrArch, I just got that 12 CD set myself the other day. I won't have time to listen to it all before I leave for Europe (8 festivals in 12 weeks!), but I've been enjoying what I've heard so far. I particularly like the Klangkompositionen.
How've you been enjoying that set?
I like it a lot, except perhaps for
Baal, but then I tend not to like that sort of vocal music.
Quote from: some guy on August 11, 2009, 07:03:49 PM
petrArch, I just got that 12 CD set myself the other day. I won't have time to listen to it all before I leave for Europe (8 festivals in 12 weeks!), but I've been enjoying what I've heard so far. I particularly like the Klangkompositionen.
How've you been enjoying that set?
Someguy and petrArch - Where did you get your sets from? The only source I find is Amazon.de from a secondary seller. Thanks
Quote from: UB on February 26, 2010, 11:52:12 PM
Someguy and petrArch - Where did you get your sets from? The only source I find is Amazon.de from a secondary seller. Thanks
I got mine directly from ORF's website.
So did I.
Just found this at a store. Haven't heard it in full yet (still away traveling), but it does have some early works by Cerha that sound interesting from a quick scan.
http://shop.orf.at/orf/shop.tmpl?art=536 (http://shop.orf.at/orf/shop.tmpl?art=536)
(http://shop.orf.at/oe1/BILDER/2001784g.jpg)
Got these two in the mail yesterday. Listening to the first one at the moment. This new recording of Spiegel sounds cleaner and less diffuse than the one on Col Legno, although the older recording sounds more 'organic' to my ears and has the tape much more in evidence. And once again it reminded me how I truly enjoy it--a good complement to the great orchestral textures of Ligeti, Scelsi and Penderecki.
[asin]B003JSQOAK[/asin]
[asin]B004OGDW2O[/asin]
Quote from: petrarch on October 16, 2011, 01:51:49 AM
Got these two in the mail yesterday. Listening to the first one at the moment. This new recording of Spiegel sounds cleaner and less diffuse than the one on Col Legno, although the older recording sounds more 'organic' to my ears and has the tape much more in evidence. And once again it reminded me how I truly enjoy it--a good complement to the great orchestral textures of Ligeti, Scelsi and Penderecki.
[asin]B003JSQOAK[/asin]
[asin]B004OGDW2O[/asin]
I'm considering
Spiegel. Which one again?
Quote from: petrarch on August 12, 2009, 04:21:35 AM
I like it a lot, except perhaps for Baal, but then I tend not to like that sort of vocal music.
Just listened to this again. I've been going through my CDs according to a simple randomisation. It forces me to listen to things I don't particularly like, like
Baal.The payoff is that sometimes I find I'm really digging the thing I didn't used to like, like
Baal.Anyway, I'm just glad I like it now. I like liking things better than not liking things.
(Or, as Cage put it in that performance of Waterwalk on youtube, "I prefer laughter to crying.")
Which Spiegel should I get?
The one petrarch got.
It's a two CD set with Monumentum and Momente as well. Can't be beat.
There are other recordings of Monumentum, but this is the only one of Momente I know of.
Quote from: snyprrr on December 15, 2011, 06:16:40 AM
Which Spiegel should I get?
Both :). The one on Col Legno is a favorite and there are discernible differences between that one and the one on Kairos, namely the burbly sounds on tape in
Spiegel IV on the earlier release. The latter is good because it is a pristine modern recording, on SACD, and for the first time I thought that
Spiegel VII at realistic sound levels would bring down the house.
Quote from: petrarch on December 15, 2011, 06:04:49 PM
Both :). The one on Col Legno is a favorite and there are discernible differences between that one and the one on Kairos, namely the burbly sounds on tape in Spiegel IV on the earlier release. The latter is good because it is a pristine modern recording, on SACD, and for the first time I thought that Spiegel VII at realistic sound levels would bring down the house.
The new Kairos offers clearer, more detailed sound and comes with extensive notes, although I'm still hanging on to my old CL recording which has its moments.
Still haven't gotten 'Spiegel'. :(
Latest on Forbes:
Classical CD Of The Week: Friedrich Cerha Succumbs To Lulu At Night
(https://blogs-images.forbes.com/jenslaurson/files/2017/07/Forbes_Classical-CD-of-the-Week_CERHA_Nacht_3-Orchesterstuecke_KAIROS_Laurson_1200-1200x469.jpg?width=960)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2017/07/25/classical-cd-of-the-week-friedrich-cerha-succumbs-to-lulu-at-night/#194656c03cd3 (https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2017/07/25/classical-cd-of-the-week-friedrich-cerha-succumbs-to-lulu-at-night/#194656c03cd3)
Quote from: petrarch on August 15, 2008, 03:32:34 PM
His Spiegel cycle (7 pieces) is fantastic, especially I-IV.
A comment made 14 years ago! But I wonder why you singled out the first four.
Can anyone share with me recordings of the Langegger Nachtmusik I - III? There was one in the ORF Dokumente box but that has now become impossible to find (though there's one at an affordable price in the States, if anyone wants to do a deal with me for it.)
Quote from: Mandryka on September 02, 2022, 12:01:16 AM
A comment made 14 years ago! But I wonder why you singled out the first four.
I meant I-IV as an arc, as IV is the highpoint of the cycle for me.
Quote from: Mandryka on September 02, 2022, 12:03:50 AM
Can anyone share with me recordings of the Langegger Nachtmusik I - III? There was one in the ORF Dokumente box but that has now become impossible to find (though there's one at an affordable price in the States, if anyone wants to do a deal with me for it.)
I have the box and will rip those works shortly. It only has I and III, not II.
Having now heard Langegger Nachtmusik III and Spiegel it's interesting to reflect on Cerha's evolution, an expressionism and lyricism in the later music which seems alien to Spiegel. (Obviously very different composers but the evolution has something in common with Rihm's. Maybe Ligeti's too.)
By the way, there's a performance of Langegger Nachtmusik II on YouTube.
:'(
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/a-tribute-to-friedrich-cerha-who-has-died-at-the-age-of-96 (https://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/a-tribute-to-friedrich-cerha-who-has-died-at-the-age-of-96)
Quote from: Artem on February 14, 2023, 07:41:45 AM:'(
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/a-tribute-to-friedrich-cerha-who-has-died-at-the-age-of-96 (https://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/a-tribute-to-friedrich-cerha-who-has-died-at-the-age-of-96)
Sad news, but he had a long and fruitful life. R.I.P.
Now listening to his
Impulse für Orchester, and enjoying it quite a bit.
Listening to Cerha's Bruchstück. Appropriately, given the sad news, there is a passage in Bruchstück which sounds a bit like a passing bell.
It's well worth reading his essay on Spiegel and other pieces composed around that time in the booklet for Cambreling's recording, just for the way he tells the story of how his thinking about music was developing.
https://static.qobuz.com/goodies/03/000154630.pdf
By the way, the Gielen comes up on Qobuz as "remastered" - but it doesn't sound as good as Cambreling. The interpretations are different of course.
By the way, last night I was listening to his Art Chansons - it's great fun, music like a modernised version of Weill.
https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/klangforum-wien-e-pom-rico-werke-von-neuwirth-paxton-furrer-berio-cerha-dlf-kultur-86e79330-100.html
Cerha Jahrlang ins Ungewisse hinab, small orchestra and voice. I think Sciarrino-esque. Someone else tells me it's Rihm-esque. At the end of the day it's nice. Starts at 1:23:15.
There's an intro in German before hand -- if any German understanders can say whether it says anything interesting (like when it was composed etc.) that would be cool.