Denhoff, Grisey, Neuwirth

Dan Albertson

[April 2006.]

Michael DENHOFF: Sounds and Shadows — Klavierwerke
von Michael Denhoff. Susanne Kessel (piano), Selçuk
Sahinoglu (clar.). confido 270405. No American distributor,
but available directly from confido/Capitol Sound Studios (info@capitolsound.de).

German pianist Susanne Kessel is one of European new music’s
greatest friends and this new release is another demonstration of her
ability to perform with charm, grace and virtuosity. Michael Denhoff
(b. 1955), a resident of Bonn, occupies a unique position in German music.
His influences come not so much from Lachenmann or Stockhausen as from
Feldman, Kurtág and Nono, with touches of the post-expressionism
of his German predecessors Boris Blacher or Bernd Alois Zimmermann. The
core duality of his music lies almost always between light and shadow,
introvert and extrovert, rendering each piece familiar yet unpredictable.

The opening work, … al niente …,
Op. 95 (2002), builds from a Feldmanesque motif which appears and disappears
regularly, in whole or in part, later in alternation with a more restive
theme. In its 23 minutes, it presents a vast spectrum of piano polarities,
from the instrument’s high haze to its lowest growl, each shift
in temperament separated by shoals of silence. Next is the nine-movement
set of miniatures called Nachtschattengewächse, Op.
96 (2001/04). Each subtitled movement centers on themes of night, growth,
mystery and light. This does not imply that the piece offers a unified
front. Indeed, its nine movements, ranging from 0:24 to 2:44, hold more
surprises than reprises. The last work is the most introspective and
the CD’s namesake, Sounds and Shadows, Op. 86b (1999).
Its 33 minutes are mostly subdued, its inward glances seeming more personal
and elusive than those of the opening piece. In the work’s second
half, almost imperceptibly, a distant, on-and-off-again clarinet reflects
on Kessel’s monologue. The closing passages are relegated solely
to the clarinet, an autumnal foghorn from afar. The music’s duration
bespeaks an intense level of engagement, the now plaintive, now anxious
textures aptly summing Denhoff’s aesthetic. Thanks in good part
to an excellent recording, Kessel sparkles throughout these rich soundscapes.

Gérard GRISEY: Les Espaces Acoustiques.
Andrew Joy, Joachim Pöltl, Kathleen Putnam, Hubert Stähle (horns),
Garth Knox (viola), Stephan Blaumer (viola), Stefan Asbury (cond.), Asko
Ensemble, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln. Kairos 0012422KAI (http://www.kairos-music.com/).
Distributed in the US by ArkivMusic (http://www.arkivmusic.com/).

Had he lived, Gérard Grisey would be 60 this year.
Along with the late ensemble work Vortex Temporum, Les
Espaces Acoustiques stands as his crowning achievement. The cycle,
one of the most ambitious of its time, spans 1974-85, and this is its
second complete recording. It could not be more different from its predecessor
on Accord, with Pierre-André Valade and Court-circuit in
the ensemble works, and the Frankfurter Museumsorchester in the cycle’s
second half under Sylvain Cambreling’s direction. (See timetable
below for a breakdown of the most noticeable discrepancy: duration.)

Les Espaces Acoustiques accrues in instrumentation
from a solo viola to a septet to 18 players to 33 players to 83 players
to four solo horns and 82 players. Listening to these competing cycles
back-to-back is a rather startling experience. Tempi fluctuate wildly.
Here, the Dutch and German performers require 97 minutes for the six-piece
set, whereas the French take 87. Court-circuit, devoted to the spectral
school, delivers the more authoritative account, largely because the
music benefits from a quicker, but by no means harried, pace. I prefer
by a slight margin Garth Knox’s account of the Prologue to
the one on Accord, not because it is speedier, but because he
brings a greater tension to the music’s lyricism alternating with
brusque force. The Asko performance also proves enlightening, as in the
more sensual effects of the middle sections, Périodes (7
players), Partiels (18 players) and Modulations (33
players), the interpretation more obviously lingering on the score’s
pure auditory beauty. This slow-footed Périodes,
alas, falls short of the piercing quality of its companion section. The
climactic passages require a motoric drive lacking here. Despite excellent
musicianship, Asko’s Partiels seems equally stupefied
and directionless. Both readings of the rhythmically complex Transitoires show
this to be an orchestral masterpiece of shifting contours. Both surpass
Pierre Boulez’s original recording of Modulations (Erato
4509-98496-2, O/P), a work which he seems not to have understood.
Asbury again delineates the textures somewhat in Modulations and Transitoires,
but to no great detriment.

The playing in both cases warrants praise. The sets complement
each other in gratifying ways. Because of the sheer cohesion his musicians
bring to the scores, Valade leaves a greater impression and will probably
be the standard against which future recordings are judged. However,
in offering committed performances and a radical interpretation, Asbury
succeeds on his own terms.

Olga NEUWIRTH: Chamber music. Akroata
Hadal (string quartet, 1995); Quasare/Pulsare (violin
/ piano, 1995-96); …?risonanze!… (viola
d’amore, 1996-97); …ad auras…in memoriam
H. (2 violins / getabera [wooden drum], 1999); incidendo/fluido (piano
and CD-player, 2000); settori (string quartet, 1999).
Irvine Arditti, Graeme Jennings (violins), Garth Knox (viola d’amore),
Nicolas Hodges (piano), Rohan de Saram (cello, getabera), Arditti
String Quartet. Kairos 0012462KAI (http://www.kairos-music.com/).
Distributed in the US by ArkivMusic (http://www.arkivmusic.com/).

Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth (b. 1968) has gained a
reputation of late, no doubt boosted by her previous Kairos CDs
and successful opera Lost Highway, based on the David Lynch
film with a libretto by Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek. Her music, while
partaking of a (Johann) Straussian lilt, owes more to Lachenmann & Co.
than to Austria’s belle-époque past. Often impressive and
undeniably well-written, her work lacks individuality. Admittedly, originality
in art need not equal genius, but how, I wonder, does one distinguish
her music from the quotidian work of others of her generation?

The string-quartet pieces which open and close this recording
are stereotypically modernistic and tension-besotted, never quite extending
beyond the parameters Ferneyhough and Lachenmann established decades
ago. The high squeaks say it all. Similarly, Quasare/Pulsare fails
to leave an impression, despite some well-placed violin knocks, piano
preparations, use of the e-bow on the piano, and other by-now-familiar
extended techniques. In avoiding the obvious romantic connotations of
the viola d’amore by exploiting mistunings and atypical resonances
in her …?risonanze!…, the composer scores
a coup. I especially enjoyed the graceful writing for the instrument’s
bridge, nicely setting apart the more predictable filigree work. The
violins-and-drum trio …ad auras…in memoriam H. is
hit-and-miss: Its tunings are again of interest and the occasional drum
accompaniment hearkens back to one of George Antheil’s early violin
/ piano sonatas, but there is too much wandering to sustain one’s
interest. Most noticeable is incidendo/fluido: As the live
piano material centers on the instrument’s middle register, the
listener also hears the distinctive sound of the Ondes Martenot, emanating
from a CD player stored deep within the piano itself and clearly echoing
an idea from Luigi Nono’s …sofferte onde serene….
While there is no direct dialogue between the two sources, the Ondes’ ever-present
hum adds an ethereal dimension to what is otherwise a mostly brutalistic
piece.

As always, the Arditti String Quartet, Garth Knox and Nicolas
Hodges shine. If not for their efforts, this disc would be even less
than the half-engaging amalgam it is.