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CD
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NEOS 12006CD
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Georg Friedrich Haas is regarded as today's foremost proponent of microtonal composition. But it is precisely these three works -- Ein Schattenspiel, the String Quartets Nos. 4 and 7 -- that show that Haas is actually less immersed in his musical material. Instead, he concentrates on the communicative aspects of music and composition, so as to greatly unsettle and even shock the listener's perception. Of course, microtonality and composition that makes use of the overtone series and overtone chords presents a challenge to the listener accustomed to a more conventional, traditional harmony. But Haas's composition focusses more on the physical experience of this kind of music. It would not be completely inaccurate to speak of a musical aesthetic that seeks to bombard the senses into submission, where the pulsing beats inherent in the overtones and microtonality amalgamate to a roar and thunder roll of noise. The connection between the three works on this CD is the use of live electronics. It creates something like an "acoustic shadow", in which the music is played again with a time delay -- accelerated slightly in Ein Schattenspiel and thus a quarter tone higher than the original that was just heard. Together with the SWR Experimentalstudio, Sophie-Mayuko Vetter (piano), and the Arditti Quartet pre-sent exemplary world premiere recordings.
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CD/SACD
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NEOS 10919CD
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Featured works: Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich ... for percussion and ensemble (1999); ... aus freier Lust ... verbunden ... for bass flute, bass clarinet and two percussions (1994/95/96); ... und ... for chamber ensemble and electronics (2008, First version). Works commissioned by Pro Helvetia, Schweizer Kulturstiftung for the Collegium Novum Zürich; Collegium Novum Zürich/Enno Poppe; Martin Lorenz, percussion; Experimentalstudio des SWR, live electronics. "Georg Friedrich Haas writes music that is strongly hypnotic. A simple title like ... und ... (... and ...) forces together the ensemble and electronics, the microtones and the tempered system, this in a unique way. The result - at the premiere in September 2008 - are 27 minutes of intensely exciting playing, with the Experimentalstudio of the SWR and the Collegium Novum Zürich under Enno Poppe. These sounds impinge on the ear, and find their corollary in a vision no less intense: Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich ... (Who heard me when I cried...), with the percussion soloist Martin Lorenz. Other completely different but also fervent notions held by the composer Haas are more redolent of a piece for merely solo voices, which ... aus freier Lust ... verbunden ... (... arising out of free volition ... shall join ...), and are able to - here for example in the chamber music quartet-intermezzo." Stereo/multichannel hybrid SACD that can be played on any CD player.
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