The Squid's Ear Magazine

Merkel, Clemens

Maderna . Beuger . von Schweinitz . Stiegler

Merkel, Clemens : Maderna . Beuger . von Schweinitz . Stiegler (Edition Wandelweiser Records)

Violinist Clemens Merkel interprets compositions by Wolfgang von Schweinitz's "Sonata for Violine Solo"; Antonie Beuger's "Unwritten Page"; Bruno Madema's "Piece Pour Ivry"; and Thomas Stiegler's cycle "Kammerkomplex" ("quasi una fantasia", "gran partita" and "sonata facile").
 

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Clemens Merkel-violin


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UPC: 011778038573

Label: Edition Wandelweiser Records
Catalog ID: EWR 9606
Squidco Product Code: 22200

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 1996
Country: Germany
Packaging: Jewel Case
Tracks 1 and 3 recorded in Hohenferchesar, July 1996.

Tracks 2 and 4 to 6 recorded at Atelier Bubu, in Berlin, February 1996.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"For Wolfgang von Schweinitz composing grows out of a strong wish "to fight his way into song." This desire is already governing his early "Sonata for Violin Solo", written in 1978.The reacquaintance with this piece, which had only been played once before, was a happy event for Wolfgang von Schweinitz. "Although stylistically I have gone a very different direction, it was fascinating for me to see that what I am seeking now was already guiding my work at that time. Clemens Merkel has not only reanimated the piece, in his interpretation he has found its true tempo, and its own space and time."

In Bruno Madernas case, music seems to spring from the realm of dance. Dance suggests freedom: lightness wrested from gravity. Madernas "Pièce pour lvry" sings and dances in a stunningly light and delicate way. lt is music of a most immediate pulse. A music of the skin. A music of the surface and of the air.

"Unwritten Page" by Antoine Beuger is dedicated to the American painter Agnes Martin. lt is a music of individual sounds: a very slow and aimless wandering, and then, once and awhile, a pause.

In his cycle "Kammerkomplex" ("quasi una fantasia", "gran partita" and "sonata facile"), Thomas Stiegler approaches the instrument as if discovered for the first time. "If you conceive of the instrument as a Iandscape," the composer says, "you find yourself confronted with a given infrastructure, a texture of possible routes: some predictable, some bumpy and some wildly overgrown." In this landscape the pieces, as it were, explore various routes, learning the way as they go."-Editions Wandelweiser


Artist Biographies

"Clemens Merkel's unconventional sound defines a new sensibility in contemporary music, through its intimate purity of tone, its settled understanding of microtonal or unconventional harmonic language, and its unhurried sensitivity. He is well known for innovative interpretations of Bach and John Cage, and is sought after by composers worldwide as an inspiration for new repertoire. His diverse collaborators range from the Wandelweiser collective to Montréal's Musique Actuelle community, and from emerging experimentalists to today's most revered composers.

For over a decade, Merkel's unusual sound has fused with that of the Quatuor Bozzini, considered one of the world's leading string quartets. Together they have mentored an entire generation of creators through the Composer's Kitchen; have released numerous critically acclaimed albums on their collection qb label; undertake multiple tours annually to be featured at festivals worldwide; and maintain a profound impact on the music scene across Canada and Europe in particular. They nourish Montréal audiences with unusual self-produced events that bridge worlds and cross boundaries of style, generation and culture.

Following an early career in Europe, where he contributed to the continent's leading ensembles, Merkel has made Montréal his home since 2000. He supports and advocates for new music in Québec and in Canada, and is regularly sought after as speaker, curator and adviser. His presence is felt in academia as well, through articles written for the Revue Circuit, and through his teaching at Concordia University. He's a passionate chef and lives in Montréal's Portuguese neighborhood together with his wife Isabelle Bozzini and children Félix and Béatrice."

-Quatuor Bozzini website (http://www.quatuorbozzini.ca/en/select/bio/?id=merkel_cl)
3/27/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Wolfgang Von Schweinitz: Sonate Fur Violine Solo Op. 14 (1977) 12:22

2. Antoine Beuger: Unwritten Page 10:34

3. Bruno Madema: Piece Pour Ivry (1971) 8:56

4. Thomas Stiegler: Kammerkomplex, Quasi Una Fantasia 10:36

5. Thomas Stiegler: Kammerkomplex, Gran Partita 12:07

6. Thomas Stiegler: Kammerkomplex, Sonata Facile 6:53

Related Categories of Interest:


Compositional Forms
Solo Artist Recordings
Stringed Instruments
New in Compositional Music

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Edition Wandelweiser Records.


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