5.0 out of 5 stars
A remarkable masterpiece; do experience it, February 24, 2011
This review is from: Schenker: Michaelangelo Symphony (Audio CD)
Friedrich Schenker (b.1942) is a former East German composer, and certainly one of the most strikingly individual and interesting of the contemporary composers emerging from the East German tradition after, say, Geissler, Goldmann and Dessau. Schenker's style is somewhat eclectic, but the various elements are integrated into a strong, personal voice. Already in the 1970s he was counted as one of East Germany's most provocatively radical avant-garde composers (he caused several scandals, apparently), and his music employs serialism and aleatory techniques, as well as influences from montage and collage techniques, theatrical effects, allusions to classical masters as well as contemporary pop and jazz.
So yes, Schenker's large-scale Michelangelo-Sinfonia from 1985 is certainly uncompromisingly avant-garde, but it must also rank as one of the most stunningly absorbing masterpieces composed in the last 50 years, at least among those I have heard. It is based on a selection of sonnets and madrigals by Michelangelo, and Schenker employs a wide variety of techniques and layers of techniques to bring out the expressive subtleties; tonal elements are mixed with serialism and noise to create a thoroughly absorbing collage. It is a journey of discovery, apparently in search of beauty and love - in the course of the work, we move from intense, ferocious drama through gradually lighter and more serene textures, culminating in (or attempting to culminate in) almost unearthly bliss. Nothing in the "symphony" sounds really like anything else I have heard, however, and the range of imagination and ingenious use of the various influences and techniques are masterly.
The performances sound thoroughly committed - the choral contributions are particularly impressive, but the instrumental contributions are full of color, fervor and subtlety. They combine to create stupendous riots as well as passages of breathtaking beauty. The sound may be a little dry and a little close, but it fully captures the required perspective and the montage-like layers of the music. Recommended with all possible enthusiasm.
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