Browse by Artist: HENZE, HANS WERNER

Artist:	HENZE, HANS WERNER
Title:	Musica Da Camera: Ensemble Dissonanzen
Label:	MODE
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	MODE 202CD

"The selections of chamber music on this CD by Hans Werner Henze (b.1926) tend toward his lyrical side, and with an emphasis on compositions derived from his theater pieces. The CD's repertoire especially suits the Naples-based Ensemble Dissonanzen, featuring the talents of its guitarist, Marco Cappelli. The 'Sonatina for Flute and Piano' was written in 1947, its style owing something to both Fortner (Henze's teacher in Heidelberg at this time) and Hindemith. 'Boulevard Solitude,' composed in 1952, established Henze as one of the leading composers of his generation, particularly in the field of music theatre. 'Ein Kleines Potpourri' was concocted from the opera for chamber ensemble, The driving 'Perpetuum Mobile' movement is a transposition of the opera's savage Intermezzo. The 'Drei Tentos' are from Kammermusik for tenor, guitar and octet composed in 1958, when Henze, who had been living in Italy for years, spent some time in Greece. Here, fragments of Holderlin's text are evoked without being enunciated. The kaleidoscopic 'Carillon, Récitatif, Masque' is scored for the unusual plucked trio of mandolin, guitar and harp. 'Toccata Mistica' is one of only a handful of works Henze composed for piano. Its fluid, impetuous tidal waves of sound allude to a disfigured seascape, with the grand piano cast adrift like a raft amid the breakers. The seven 'Neue Volkslieder und Hirtengesänge' are derived from Henze's stays in Styria, an Austrian region where folksongs feature the bassoon. Here the folksong melodies are transformed verse by verse and influenced by a complex harmonic and contrapuntal texture in which the guitar accompaniment plays a key role."

Artist:	HENZE, HANS WERNER
Title:	Ein Landarzt, Das Ende Einer Welt
Label:	WERGO (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	WER 6666

"At the beginning of the 1950s, Hans Werner Henze wrote two radio operas for the former North West German Radio. The genre was developed in the 1930s and comprises a form of opera without visual elements and hence without a stage. Under such circumstances, the plot has to reach the listener's ears by other means -- by making the text exceptionally easy to follow, and by means of acoustic special effects like echo or sound collages. Featured works on this disc are the oppressive, surrealist Ein Landarzt (A Country Doctor) with texts by Franz Kafka and the scathing satire of Das Ende einer Welt (The End of a World), written by Wolfgang Hildesheimer. In this recording of Das Ende einer Welt, Henze himself plays the role of the narrator. In addition to a huge cast of singers and performers, the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln is conducted by Marcus Stenz." Packaged with 92 page libretto.

Artist:	HENZE, HANS WERNER
Title:	El Cimarrón
Label:	WERGO (GERMANY)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$48.00
Catalog #:	WER 6710

Performed by El Cimarrón Ensemble, under the direction of Michael Kerstan. Recorded 2005. "El Cimarrón (1970) is a milestone of politically-engaged music theater, and a key event in Hans Werner Henze's career. In this 'recital for four musicians,' the composer tells the story of Esteban Montejo (sung here by bass-baritone Angelo De Leonardis) -- an escaped Cuban slave who, at the remarkable age of 104, was interviewed extensively about his life (and taped) by the Cuban ethnologist Miguel Barnet. A German-language libretto by Hans Magnus Enzensberger was translated into English by Christopher Keene and is heard in this version. Henze's composition incorporates echoes of Montejo's speaking style -- observed by the composer during their 1969 encounter. The score includes free improvisation as well as aleatoric components and composed fields, in which pitches and sounds are specified but the tempi and dynamics are determined by the performers. Henze also makes effective use of popular forms such as the habanera. Writing about a 1999 performance by the El Cimarrón Ensemble, the composer praised the chamber group's 'energy, artistic brio, and personal commitment ... In Michael Kerstan's staging, this performance becomes a highly impressive, touching, and captivating action.'"

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