Moritz Eggert was
born in 1965 in Heidelberg and studied piano and composition with Wolfgang
Wagenhaeuser and Claus Kuehnl at Dr.Hoch´s Konservatorium in Frankfurt, with
Leonard Hokanson at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt and with Wilhelm Killmayer in
Munich at the Musikhochschule Muenchen. He also played keyboard in various
bands, together with guitarist Marcus Deml.
Later he continued his piano studies with Raymund Havenith
and Dieter Lallinger, and composition with Hans-Jürgen von Bose in Munich. In
1992 he spent a year in London as a post-graduate composition student with
Robert Saxton at the Guildhall School for Music and Drama.
In 1996 he played the complete works for piano solo by Hans
Werner Henze for the first time in one concert and, in 1989, he was a prize-winner
at the International Gaudeamus Competition for Performers of Contemporary
Music. He is a regular guest artist at festivals around the world and has been
commissioning composers for various chamber music projects. He lives in Munich.
As a composer, Moritz Eggert has been awarded prizes such as
the composition prize of the Salzburger Osterfestspiele, the
Schneider/Schott-prize, the ‘Ad Referendum’ prize in Montréal, the Siemens
Förderpreis for young composers, and the Zemlinsky Prize.
Moritz Eggert has covered all genres of music in his work
which includes nine operas as well as ballets and works for dance and music
theatre, often with unusual performance elements. His concert-length cycle for
piano solo, ‘Haemmerklavier’, is among his best known works and has been
performed around the world. In 1997 German TV produced a feature-length film
portrait about his music.
In1991, together with Sandeep Bhagwati, he founded the
A*Devantgarde Festival for new music www.adevantgarde.de
and, in 2003, became a member of the ‘Bayerische Akademie der Schoenen
Kuenste’.In October 2010 he became professor of Music and Theatre at Munich University.
www.moritzeggert.de
I had not heard any
music by Moritz Eggert until receiving a copy of this new CD from Audite
Records www.audite.de Entitled The Raven Nevermore this new release features six works by the composer
written between 1985 and 2010.
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| 92.687 |
Tetragrammaton for string orchestra (2009) refers to
the Hebrew theonym (or proper noun) that refers to a deity, transliterated to
the Latin letters YHWH or Yahweh meaning God. In some of his works Eggert has
chosen mysterious titles in order to ‘focus on the unspeakable.’ At nearly
twenty one minutes this is the longest work on this disc.
The work opens with harmonic sounds that are reminiscent of
the Hardanger fiddle used in Norwegian folk music. I love this sound and, as
this work progressed, I was attracted to the different effects that Eggert
draws from the strings. There is a feeling, during the earlier stages of the
work, that the music is moving but yet not going forward – perhaps this is what
Eggert calls ‘…circling around something that isn’t definite.’
The music at times becomes more strident before the return
of the harmonies of the opening. At
times Eggert seems to be playing with the effects that he can obtain from the
strings, with increasing dissonance. Later pizzicato strings provide contrast
before the string sound becomes richer and the music seems to gain more
direction. The piece ends quietly with a solo violin over hushed strings before
a sudden chord ends the work. This is a lovely work and I am thankful that
Audite has recorded it.
Der Rabe Nimmermehr
Ouverture (The Raven Nevermore Overture) for chamber orchestra (1991), that gives this disc its title,
concerns itself with the idea of transience and decline as does the Edgar Allan
Poe poem of that name. There is certainly a narrative in this more strident and
rapidly varying piece but it is difficult to follow at one hearing. In
subsequent hearings I felt I could detect a struggle between quiet harmony and
discord.
Adagio – An Answered
Question (1994/2011) for string
orchestra is a more static work that nevertheless has moments of drama to
avoid any lack of interest. Musical phrases seem to emerge from the static
background and the piece rises to a rich climax before the quiet coda.
Der ewige Gesange (The eternal song) for strings (1985/89)
is a short, but effective piece lasting less than three minutes where the
string orchestra opens, rises to a climax where there is a simple descending
motif, then falls back again.
The final piece on this disc is Drei seelen (Three Souls) for
violin and piano (2002). There are three movements: the first rapidly
changing between a melody for the violin and a more strident theme. Here again
Eggert uses the harmonics of the violin to great effect. After a second
movement that has a melody that seemingly revolves around itself in a
quasi-minimalistic way, there comes a final that mixes Eggert’s contemporary
style with a more traditional classical sound.
So is there a distinctive voice at work here? I certainly
think there is with his use of strange harmonies and harmonics and his sudden
flights of fancy where themes appear out of a seemingly static background or
where the music suddenly changes direction.
Tetragrammaton could easily take its place in the repertoire of works for
string orchestra.
The performances are first rate and the booklet notes very
informative. Sadly there are no texts provided for Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen but there are many on-line sources
for Friedrich Rückert’s poem.
If you are open to hearing contemporary music that is
endlessly fascinating, sometimes challenging, but often very beautiful then you
should try this CD.
