Tilman Hoppstock - Lieder Von Liebe & Tod (Songs of Love & Death) - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Berlinski / Brubaker / Hauman / Shammash / Schwarz - Milken Arch American Jewish Music Avodat Shabbat [COMPACT DISCS] date 02/17/2004

Variation means change, and especially in the realm of tones, this is a particularly popular means of creating developments. In the programme of the guitarist Tilman Hoppstock, there are works with the designation InchVariationInch as well as many others, such as InchDoubleInch, PassacagliaInch, InchMutazioneInch or InchCapriccioInch. At the same time, it also reflects the possibilities of variation through the ages, beginning with compositions from the Baroque with Froberger, Buxtehude and Bach, through the Classical period - Beethoven, Carulli and Matiegka -to Romantic guitar music by Willcocks and Tansman, to the InchGarden of DreamsInch by contemporary composer Karl-Wieland Kurz, who in turn spreads his InchmutationsInch over a Renaissance theme.

One of the UK's finest chamber ensembles, the Navarra Quartet, presents a programme of music exploring those eternal human preoccupations Love and Death. Tolstoy's Kreutzer Sonata, inspired by Beethoven's work, in turn prompted Janácek to write his String Quartet No.1, a piece that reflects Tolstoy's story of passion and drama. Schubert's immortal 'Death and the Maiden' Quartet includes variations based on his song of the same name, in which the maiden attempts to delay Death's advances. In Chrysanthemums, Puccini evokes flowers at an Italian funeral, and Spanish composer Joaquín Turina wrote The Bullfighter's Prayer about a bullfighter's moment of contemplation before facing his audience, and his own mortality. These works are interspersed with gems by Kurtág, including a piece composed as a memorial for some of his dearest friends. The Navarra Quartet describes this programme as an Inchimaginary dialogueInch, and the unique, conversational rapport of these musicians draws the listener into their intricate musical world.