Jörg Widmann - Free Pieces for Ensemble | WDR Symphony Orchestra

Jörg Widmann's "Free Pieces for Ensemble" performed by the WDR Sinfonieorchester under the direction of the composer, the house's "Artist in Residence," at the WDR Funkhaus Wallrafplatz on Jan. 29, 2021.
Jörg Widmann - Free Pieces for Ensemble
00:00:00 I
00:01:23 II
00:06:43 III
00:09:21 IV
00:10:24 V
00:12:45 VI
00:14:41 VII
00:17:22 VIII
00:18:34 IX
00:21:30 X
WDR Symphony Orchestra
Jörg Widmann, conductor
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○ Work introduction:
The attribute "free" sounds almost casual in this simple work title. So brief and succinct that it could almost be overlooked. Yet freedom, in this case in the work of a young composer who was only 28 years old at the premiere, is both a curse and a blessing. "This freedom," as Jörg Widmann described it at the time, "harbors very great problems, and each time I have to confront this freedom anew with [...] a stringency of form." Freedom means the absence of boundaries. And of course there are no completely "free" pieces of music - just as there is no absolute freedom. But the opposite of freedom does not necessarily have to be constraint. Order can also be chosen, it can give support and create coherence.
In the "Free Pieces" it is the transitions between the ten, mostly almost fragmentary short pieces that create formal stringency. The conclusion of one piece determines and underpins the beginning of the next. At the same time, however, the individual pieces stand for themselves in that each concentrates on one idea: on an ethereal cloud of sound in the first piece, on gliding lines in the second, and in the further course on noises, tremors and trembling or the search for the beauty of a quarter-tone chord. With all concentration and reduction to one basic idea in each piece, Jörg Widmann succeeds in creating a world that is free and yet not arbitrary. With each new "free piece" he pushes open the door to a new space. And each new room obviously belongs to the same house: whether a lonely violin is playing there, the deep woodwinds are making foaming waves, or a rippled sound is slowly changing its shape.
This music consists of musical apparitions that often rise above the threshold of hearing, trembling and surrounded by a strangely auratic shimmer. Jörg Widmann celebrates their appearance and disappearance with calm, precision and a care - or to put it less soberly: with love. At the same time, the "Free Pieces" "for all their brevity, i.e. reduction in the horizontal, [...] have turned out to be downright lush by my standards, my first real ensemble piece," comments the composer. The fact that this "opulence" is always in the service of the matter at hand, that the richness of sound inventions surprises and impresses, but never becomes an end in itself, has contributed significantly to the success of the early exploration of freedom.
(Text: Martina Seeber)

[@boldizsarszefcsik2135]

Einfach geniale Musik. Ich bin so froh, dass ich es gestern live hören konnte.

[@gordonhamilton7160]

Clarinets on the timpani is really cool.

[@neslihansimsek9070]

Diese Musik kommt von Universum oder?

[@BetonBrutContemporary]

ERRORS IN THE TIMESTAMPS! PLEASE CHECK!

[@WDRKlassik]

Thank you, we fixed it! :)

[@BetonBrutContemporary]

@@WDRKlassik That was quick: Thanks!

[@WDRKlassik]

🤝

[@andreahelm2475]

Agatha