Hamburg Contemporary

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As with *Pierrot Lunaire*, this concert is also dedicated to the Arnold Schoenberg anniversary (the 150th anniversary of his birth). Under the direction of Prof. Tanja Becker-Bender, students from the string classes will present highlights from the composer’s oeuvre, while also showcasing some of his most characteristic creative periods. “Verklärte Nacht” (Op. 4) is certainly one of Schönberg’s best-known works alongside *Pierrot Lunaire* and is exemplary of his early period. The piece for string sextet (and, in a later version, for string orchestra), which draws on Wagner and Brahms, received a scathing review at its premiere: “It sounds as if someone had run a hand over the still-wet <Tristan> score,” declared the jury of the Vienna Tonkünstlerverein. Soon, however, this expansive, programmatic piece—based on the poem of the same name by Richard Dehmel—established itself as a staple of the repertoire and is considered one of Schoenberg’s most frequently performed works.
Schönberg’s “middle” phase is often described as “atonal,” “polytonal,” or “pantonal.” The Second String Quartet (Op. 10) in F-sharp minor dates from this period. With its pared-down tonal language and increasingly free treatment of dissonance, it serves as a bridge in today’s program between the late Romantic style and Schoenberg’s twelve-tone technique.
Finally, the Fantasy for Violin and Piano (Op. 47) dates from the period when the twelve-tone technique was conceived and applied as a compositional method. Schönberg wrote the work in 1949 at the suggestion of the violinist Adolph Koldofsky. The piece is thoroughly virtuosic, free in form as suggested by the title, and, in terms of expression, already draws somewhat on the composer’s neoclassical works, while still being based on the principle of dodecaphony —composing on the basis of the twelve tones of the (then) European tonal system, treating them as equal in favor of serial organizational principles.

Program:
Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951)
Fantasy for Violin and Piano, Op. 47 (1949)

Asiia Garipova, violin
Alexei Petrov, piano

Arnold Schoenberg
String Quartet No. 2 with Soprano, Op. 10 (1907/08)
Text: Stefan George

Moderate (moderato)
Very fast
Litany. Slow
Ecstasy. Very slow

Oda Lou Johansen, soprano
Asiia Garipova, violin
Yaodong Zhang, violin
Gung-Hui Ho, viola
Michael Heupel, cello

— Intermission —

Arnold Schoenberg
“Verklärte Nacht,” Op. 4, for six string instruments (1899)
based on a poem by Richard Dehmel

Very slow—Broad—Heavily emphasized—Very broad and slow—Calm

Kateryna Boskina, violin
Liliya Milcheva, violin
Chien-Ying Pan, viola
Jianxiu Jiang, viola
Thomas Haas, cello
Yixi Xia, cello

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New Music Week is back! From May 13 to 16, 2024, artists dedicated to contemporary music—and the classics of modernism—will once again take the stage.

No, and then yes after all: Two anniversaries of compositional giants fall in 2024, and yet Hamburg Contemporary does not place itself solely in the spotlight of Arnold Schoenberg (150th birthday) and Luigi Nono (100th birthday), even though that would have been so obvious and easy. For the spotlight is meant to shine on the truly contemporary—the young musicians who get their chance to perform here! Nevertheless, the music of the honorees and their contemporaries isn’t entirely omitted, and so students and faculty from various instrumental disciplines will perform several modernist classics: Schönberg’s “Pierrot Lunaire” and his string music, as well as Nono’s “La Fabbrica Illuminata.” A piano recital featuring Jewish composers from the first half of the 20th century will showcase music that has, in some cases, fallen into obscurity.
There will be sounds, clatter, and booms at the class recitals of the composition classes from Rostock and Hamburg, as well as at the piano concert organized by the practical seminar on new piano music! The exchange between the composition classes will be rounded out in the future with a return visit to Rostock. The final day will then feature two highlights: miniatures for three violins will be performed by members of the Ensemble Resonanz. The small festival will be rounded out by an ensemble concert: Students from the HfMT will perform selected works by renowned—and, take note: still living!—composers!

Eintritt frei

Registration is required and can be done via eventbrite.

You can also watch this concert live via our Youtube channel to follow the concert.

Events at a glance:
13.05., 18:00 - Composition class evening Rostock
13.05., 20:00 - Nono: La Fabbrica Illuminata and piano music: ...don't push the sounds... not even a little bit...?
14.05., 19:00 - Composition class evening Hamburg
15.05., 17:30 - Piano recital by Jewish composers of the early 20th century
15.05., 19:00 - Pierrot Lunaire: Milestone of classical modernism
15.05., 20:00 - Schönberg's string music
16.05., 19:00 - Miniature Wonderland - Ensemble Resonanz @ HfMT

The events are sponsored by the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius. They are part of the new series Hamburg Contemporary.