Trios 1969-1994

Track Listings

1. Chiffre IV

2. Am Horizont

3. Verzeichnung - Studie

4. Deploration

5. 2. Streichtrio

6. Paraphrase

7. In Nuce

Tracks:

Chiffre IV
Am Horizont
Verzeichnung - Studie
Deploration
2. Streichtrio
Paraphrase
In Nuce

Customer Reviews:

the review by Ed wright is excellent, but somewhat unsympathetic.......2005-09-09

I have little to add to the wonderful review by Edward Wright... until the point where "unimpressive" and later " juvenile" are used. Rihm is perhaps our greatest living composer. To have a glimpse of his always impressive early " hunts" is a treasure. Nothing here disappoints. Rihm finds new forms in his hunts which is the basis of all his music ( maybe his Violin Cto is an exception so accesible is it ). With each new piece my goosebumps become mountains. Unlike Wright , I have listened to the music many times before reading the self-deprecating liner notes. None are lacking; all are facinating. Simply this is a must for those who will eventually make their way to " Jagden und Formen " . And if you don't own and cherish the latter, one of the greatest pieces of contemporary music, then there is no sense in revelling in his earlier constructs. Rihm is not for everyone, though he should be. Rihm is a genius.

An uneven collection, but still worth hearing.......2003-11-18

This volume in Kairos' exploration of the music of Wolfgang Rihm is devoted to music for various combinations of three instruments. With seven works on one disc, this recording largely focuses on more minor works by this interesting and exceedingly prolific composer, meaning that the collection certainly has its longeurs.

The best work on the disc is Am Horizont, a seven-minute 'silent scene' for violin, cello and accordion, which holds a weightless, motionless stillness for its entire duration. This is a deeply haunting piece, and certainly represents Rihm at his best. Also strong works are the two trios for lower strings (viola, cello and double bass). Verzeichnung-Studie begins in a formidably dynamic manner--very much akin to the energetic fifth string quartet--before the rhythmic dynamism begins to fracture and the work collapses into grumbles and moans, while In nuce uses extended techniques to conjure eruptions out of quiet hissing and burbling sounds.

The rest of the disc is less impressive. Chiffre IV, for bass clarinet, cello and piano does impress with its Feldmanesque harmonies and sudden scurryings, but the three early works are unlikely to provoke repeated listening. Deploration, for flute, cello and percussion, mourns the playwright Ingeborg Bachmann effectively enough, but the mature Rihm would have probably written a much more striking work. It's better than the second string trio, which is little more than juvenilia. Written when the composer was still at high school, it is a routine, anonymous piece of mainstream post-serialism. Paraphrase, for cello, percussion and piano, certainly has dynamism and the beginnings of a distinctly Rihmian language--which is impressive for a composer at the end of his teens--but inevitably suffers from structural sprawl and the occasional loss of tension and focus.

Music Track: