Gottfried von Einem: 90th anniversary fanfare for 2008
(January 2008)
HK Gruber pays tribute to Gottfried von Einem in his 90th anniversary year
“Gottfried von Einem (1918-96), who first worked as a repetiteur at the Berlin State Opera and studied with Boris Blacher, found his own musical language right from the beginning. He possessed an individual voice not bowing to any trend, with a lively and rebellious style that was dangerously off-limits in the early 1940s. Listening to the Princess Turandot ballet op.1, the Capriccio for orchestra op.2 or the Concerto for Orchestra op.4, the music is remarkable, given the background of restrictions imposed by Nazi cultural politics.
“Einem knew art intrinsically, but the art of his own time inside out. Not only was the music of the past always present with him, but naturally also that of his contemporaries. He was friendly with many of them, not least through his positions at the Salzburg Festival and the Konzerthaus in Vienna. Joining particular cliques was alien to him, both artistically and because of his political experience.
“An example of his unmistakable personal style is the opera The Trial, with a libretto by Blacher and Heinz von Cramer after Kafka, premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 1953. The Trial ticks along inexorably in the orchestra – the main character of the opera – driving the drama towards the execution of Josef K. Anticipating John Adams’ Nixon in China, the singers, in parallel with the orchestra’s pulsation, have to develop an extremely precise, almost percussion-like style of Sprechgesang; a challenge which, to my knowledge, has seldom been met on the stage. A flawless oratorio-like concert performance would be most effective.
“I see Einem in the line of important Austrian classicists of the 20th century. His most significant works, presented in an intelligent selection, can give refreshing stimuli to festivals and special features. Measuring the musical intelligence contained in Gottfried von Einem’s music, these are masterworks.”
HK Gruber, 2007
Photo: Werner Neumeister
> News Search
Mailing List
Sign up for news updates and offers via email
SIGN UPFeatured Publication
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
This classic orchestral showpiece is one of the best-sellers in the Masterworks series of full scores.
READ MORESPECIAL OFFERS
