The Artistry Of Heinz Holliger

Jose [10] Mauricio Nunes Garcia (Composer), Georg Philipp Telemann (Composer), George Frederick Handel (Composer), Johann Christian Bach (Composer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Krzysztof Penderecki (Composer), Heinz Holliger (Composer), Toru Yuki (Conductor), Christiane Jaccottet (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Christiane Jaccottet
• Conductor: Toru Yuki
• Composer: Jose [10] Mauricio Nunes Garcia, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Frederick Handel, Johann Christian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, et al.
• Audio CD (December 12, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Denon Records
• ASIN: B0000034NB
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #572,608 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Inter Vestibulum, Motet

2. Fantasia, for flute No. 3 in B minor, TWV 40:4

3. Overture: La Changeante, suite for strings & continuo in G minor, TWV 55:g2

4. Trio sonata for 2 violins & continuo in B flat major, Op. 2/3, HWV 388

5. Quartet for flute (or oboe/violin), violin, viola & cello in B flat major Op. 8/6, CW B56 (T. 307/2)

6. Adagio for English horn, 2 horns & bassoon in C major (fragment), K. Anh. 94 (K. 580a)

7. The Musical Offering (Musikalisches Opfer), for keyboard and chamber instruments, BWV 1079: Ricercare a 06

8. Capriccio for oboe & 11 strings

9. Studie über Mehrklänge, for oboe solo

10. Lied for electric flute

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Perfect, but highly recommended., June 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Artistry Of Heinz Holliger (Audio CD)

Heinz Holliger is an excellent performer. Each time I hear something that he has done, the performance is impeccable. Holliger is almost universally known as the premiere oboist in the world. His playing is spare, but always aesthetically appropriate and musical. It is less well known that Holliger studied composition with Pierre Boulez and has been an ardent patron of modernist music through his career.

Many pieces on this 'beginners guide to Holliger' are outstanding. First, Holliger's adaptation of J. S. Bach's "Musikalisches Opfer" is performed with the insight of a composer or great conductor; with a knowledge of the interaction of the actual and 'implied' melodic lines. Holliger has done his schenkerian analysis and it shines in this recording. Holliger does just as well on the telemann (especially the solo pieces), though the rigor of holliger doesn't get to reveal itself as thoroughly in the comparatively simple music of Telemann. The virtuosity and poise of the Penderecki track is excellent (this is where we see some of the best ensemble work, along with the musical offering).

My initial reason for purchasing this collection with Holliger's own 'Study on Multiphonics' (Studie uber Mehrklange), which I had heard performed in the university concert hall some year earlier. This piece is a wonderful expose' of the possibilities of the technique of multiphonics, and if you are a composer, you must hear this piece. If you are a woodwind player who has never heard multiphonics before (or if you have and are interested), you should hear this piece. However, I would recommend it to anyone with an open mind about music. The ideas are almost purely timbral (dealing with sound color), but it is a tight and involving piece (it is a study for both the oboist and audience). The 'Lied' for electric flute was, in my opinion, the second highlight of this disc. It is a very interesting work, reminiscent of the works of Luciano Berio. Sparse, diverse sounds are combined in a somewhat 'conversational' fashion.

However, I have some reservations about the Mozart Adagio and the Handel Trio Sonata. Both of these are ensemble pieces coupling oboe or english horn with a small string ensemble (one with basso continuo). The balance is totally off at times. I think that the sound engineer tampered with the dynamics so that the oboe 'soloist' would be featured in places. In my opinion, Holliger is too loud in these tracks. Though these pieces are mostly homophonic, most brief contrapuntal devices are completely bulldozed by this defect. I'm using some hyperbole here, and I should say that the balance is not consistently bad throughout these tracks, but there are moments the strings and harpsichord sound as if they are located in a different room than Holliger.

However, I still must recommend this disc. The Mozart and Handel compositions weren't that interesting to begin with, and an outstanding performance probably wouldn't have rescued them from mediocrity, anyway. The Telemann is somewhat dull in composition, but worth a listen for Holliger's excellent interpretation of the material. He makes the banal Telemann sound live and graceful. The Bach, Penderecki and Holliger compositions are excellent and excellently played, and they alone are worth the low price of this disc (an excellent half an hour for just over ten dollars). Plus, this is the only affordable recording of the Holliger multiphonic study, which as I previously mentioned, you should hear.