In the Maze: The Musician Jörg Widmann

#trumpet #clarinet #violinconcerto
Music takes on a life of its own in the moment of writing, believes Jörg Widmann. It assumes its own form, becoming a living being that forges its own path. As such, it remains a fragment, because it is not what he, the composer, had intended.
This film accompanies Jörg Widmann in the composition of his trumpet concerto “Towards Paradise (Labyrinth VI),” commissioned by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. We witness the piece take shape, from the first drafts to the premiere performance. As clarinetist and conductor, we see him at the Salzburg Festival, at the Boulez Hall and at the Konzerthaus Berlin. We experience this “universal musician” alongside Daniel Barenboim (as pianist), with the celebrated violinist Anne Sophie Mutter, for whom he composed his “String Quartet No. 6,” and during a concert tour of Taiwan together with his sister, the violinist Carolin Widmann.
For Widmann, the image that best describes the progression of composing is a maze or labyrinth. Today, this has become the theme that runs through his life’s work, one that he has explored musically over the course of six distinct pieces. In the maze, one gets lost and bumps into things. There are moments “where it doesn’t go any further. And that is something that I often experience as problematic and very painful in composing. As happy as composing is.” He was drawn into composing through his role as a clarinetist (for many years considered one of the world’s best), but increasingly, he is led out of the maze of composing by his activities as a conductor.
The German musician expresses his love of novelty and excitement through the clarinet, exploring new sounds and feelings that theory alone cannot expose. We see how these explorations influence his compositions, as well as how his love of novelty draws the musician to visit far away countries like Taiwan. Widmann has set foot on Taiwan several times since 2018 to work with the Taiwan Philharmonic, also known as the National Symphony Orchestra. During his time in Taiwan, the musician experiences Taiwanese audiences’ unique passion and love for classical music, a phenomenon he finds both joyful and unexpected.
Chapters:
00:00 In the Maze: The Musician Jörg Widmann
01:12 Widmann Begins Composing His Trumpet Concerto
04:13 Rehearsals of Mendelssohn’s “Reformation Symphony” at the Berlin Konzerthaus
07:42 Widmann Interrogates His Ideas
10:51 Widmann Performs Mozart’s “Clarinet Concerto” in Salzburg
13:06 His Work as a Clarinetist Informs His Work as a Composer
14:11 Diving Back Into the Labyrinth
16:27 The Struggle of Composing Contemporary Music
20:46 Dead Ends and Detours
23:05 Rehearsals of “Four Pieces” by Alban Berg
26:26 Rehearsals of Mozart’s “Clarinet Quintet”
27:27 Widmann Prepares for Travel to Taipei, Taiwan
29:46 Widmann Arrives in Taipei and Meets His Sister, Violinist Carolin Widmann
31:02 Rehearsals of Jörg Widmann’s “Violin Concerto No. 2”
34:19 Jörg Widmann Conducts His “Violin Concerto No. 2,” Performed by Carolin Widmann and the National Symphony Orchestra in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
38:15 Widmann Finds His Way Back to the Trumpet Concerto After Time Away
39:55 Thoughts on Hearing His Trumpet Concerto for the First Time
41:47 Rehearsals of Widmann’s “Towards Paradise”
47:54 Premiere Performance of “Towards Paradise” by Jörg Widmann
51:41 End Credits
#ClassicalMusic #Arte #TaiwanPlus
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[@baileyreidrickman]

Such a great documentary, and lovely to hear snippets of “Towards Paradise”! Greetings from a Widmann fan! ❤️🎶

[@taiwanplusdocs]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@leroychaar4218]

Thanks for uploading. What's that piece he plays at the piano right at the beginning, Chopin?

Yes it’s Chopin Nocturnes Op. 9, No. 2 😊

[@baileyreidrickman]

Actually it’s the first movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet. Such a great piece. :)