The basic idea is succinct: an IN-SCHRIFT [“inscription” or “epigraph”]. This occurs in writing [in Schrift], both musical and writing notational characters, written into the line like adages. The orchestration is darkened, thereby attaining focus. (Wolfgang Rihm)
Daniele Gatti will be conducting Wolfgang Rihm’s IN-SCHRIFT together with Brucker’s Symphony No. 9 on a tour that takes him from the Netherlands to the UK, Switzerland and Germany.
The tour commences on 30 August at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Follow-up performances take place on 1 September at the BBC Proms in London and on 4 September at the Lucerne Festival, before the tour concludes on 6 September at the Philharmonie in Berlin.
The Schwäbisch Gmünd Festival Europäische Kirchenmusik honours Wolfgang Rihm with their annual “Preis der Europäischen Kirchenmusik.” Rihm would have accepted the prize on Saturday, 15 July, however he won’t be able to attend the ceremony due to a severe illness. At 8pm works by Rihm will be performed under the baton of Jörg-Hannes Hahn.
The title of Lichtes Spiel might be translated as “Light Game” or “Light Play”, and can be taken as a pun on the German expression “leichtes Spiel”, meaning “an easy job”; or what one might call “Child’s Play”. Rihm has said that he intended it as “a transparent orchestral movement … something light, but not ‘lightweight’”.
The orchestration of Lichtes Spiel is based on that of Mozart’s concertos and it will be performed together with works by Mozart on 14 and 15 June in Würzburg and on 16 June in Fürth. Leo Hussain conducts the Bamberger Symphoniker (Bart Vandenbogaerde, vln).
Wolfgang Rihm, Tzimon Barto and Christoph Eschenbach at the world première of the Piano Concerto No. 2 in 2014
On 20 May Christoph Eschenbach, Tzimon Barto and the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest will present the Dutch première of Wolfgang Rihm’s highly acclaimed Piano Concerto No. 2 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
The concert will be broadcast live by npo radio 4. Listen live
Rihm has his own sonic language, his own brilliance in his creativity, but he really does stand with both feet firmly planted in musical tradition. (Anna Prohaska)
Two Swiss premières by Wolfgang Rihm at the Lucerne Easter Festival: Mariss Jansons, sopranos Mojca Erdmann and Anna Prohaska and baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann present the Swiss première of Wolfgang Rihm’s Requiem-Strophen on 8 April. Also on the programme: Gruss-Moment 2 | in memoriam Pierre Boulez for orchestra.
Wolfgang Rihm’s Missa brevis for choir a cappella will be premièred by Rupert Huber and the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks on 11 March at the Prinzregententheater in Munich.
Before the concert, host Johann Jahn presents a concert introduction with Rupert Huber, Martin Smolka, Robert Moran and Vinko Globokar.
The concert will be broadcast live on br-klassik.de and a recording will be available on demand for one week.
Our latest newsletter is out now:
- Nicolas Hodges presents the UK première of Wolfgang Rihm’s Piano Concerto No 2 at the Barbican Hall
- The definitive form of Janáček’s Sinfonietta premièred in Prague
- Johannes Maria Staud’s opera Die Antilope receives its German première at the Cologne Opera
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25 years ago today, on 9 February 1992, Wolfgang Rihm’s opera Die Eroberung von Mexico was first heard at the Hamburg State Opera – Ingo Metzmacher conducted.
On the same day in 1992, Arvo Pärt’s And One of the Pharisees ... was given its world première by Paul Hillier and the Theatre of Voices.
In 1949, the orchestral suite of Gottfried von Einem’s Dantons Tod was premièred in Baden Baden by the Radio Orchestra.
… and on this day in 1945, Frank Martin’s Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke was performed for the very first time in Basel by the Basel Chamber Orchestra and Paul Sacher.
And Happy Birthday Alban Berg! He was born on 9 February 1885, 132 years ago today.
Today’s opening concerts that mark the start of a three-week festival celebrating the opening of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg can be watched in a 360 degree live stream.
Among the works performed is the world première of Wolfgang Rihm’s Reminiszenz | Triptychon und Spruch in memoriam Hans Henny Jahnn.
Watch the opening concert live here:
Bologna Modern runs from 14 to 23 October at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Universal Edition is strongly represented, with performances by Georg Friedrich Haas, Wolfgang Rihm, Friedrich Cerha and Alban Berg.
Baritone Georg Nigl and pianist Alexander Melnikov will be performing the world première of Wolfgang Rihm’s dort wie hier today at the Kölner Philharmonie – together with Lieder by Franz Schubert, Alban Berg and Johannes Brahms.
The Dutch première will take place tomorrow at the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ.
Luxembourg pianist and ECHO Rising Star Cathy Krier will be performing the Austrian première of Wolfgang Rihm’s Toccata capricciosa for piano – a work that Rihm wrote for her – together with works by Rameau, Schuler, Ravel and Dutilleux tonight at the Musikverein in Vienna.
“Artaud’s theatrical work is not a historical drama; it is a phantasmagoria about ambivalence” (Wolfgang Rihm on Die Eroberung von Mexico)
In case you’ve missed the Oper Köln’s [German] introductory trailer for Wolfgang Rihm’s Die Eroberung von Mexico, you can watch it here:
Alejo Pérez conducts Peter Konwitschny’s production, which has already been shown at the Salzburg Festival. Further performances take place on 13, 20, 26 and 29 May.
Mira Wang and Jan Vogler performed the German première of Wolfgang Rihm’s Duo Concerto together with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra on 24 October at the Dresdner Musikfestspiele.
You can watch a complete recording of the concert on medici.tv:
Pitted against the Minguet Quartett’s contemporary sensibilities – shifting between tender supplication and confrontational toughness – the textured renaissance richness of the Huelgas Ensemble is thrown into sharply acidic relief. Atmospherically recorded, with poetically pointed notes by Paul Griffiths. (Michael Quinn, Choir & Organ, September/October 2015)
Congratulations to the Huelgas Ensemble, the Minguet Quartett and Paul Van Nevel for the 5-star review that their recording of Wolfgang Rihm’s ET LUX received in the Choir & Organ magazine. ET LUX was released by ECM New Series.
The CD includes a beautiful booklet with an introductory statement by Wolfgang Rihm and liner notes by Paul Griffiths and Wolfgang Schreiber.
Wolfgang Rihm on ET LUX [German interview with English subtitles]: