Composer: Nikolaus Brass, Wolfgang Rihm, Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Sawer, Rodion Shchedrin, Johannes Maria Staud, Erkki-Sven Tüür
Performer: Korbinian Altenberger, Antoine Tamestit, Tristan Cornut, Apollon Musagète Quartett, Armida Quartett, Quartet Amabile, Quatuor Ébène
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BR Klassik
Catalogue: 900715
Release: 2017
Size: 288 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Rihm: Quartettstudie
02. Staud: Towards a Brighter Hue
03. Shchedrin: Lyric Scenes for string quartet
04. Sawer: Parthenope
05. Tüür: String Quartet No. 2 “Lost Prayers”
06. Salonen: Knock, Breathe, Shine
07. Brass: Etchings
This CD documents compositions for strings that were commissioned from contemporary composers by the ARD International Music Competition in Munich and per-formed between 2004-16 by the prestigious competition’s prizewinners – both by soloists (violin, viola and cello solo) as well as string quartets. The recorded literature thus reflects the very latest status of the compositional repertoire for precisely these performance combinations. In the Competition, a contemporary work is always obli-gatory; it has to be specially created for the competition by renowned composers, and undergoes several different interpretations during the course of the competition – an invaluable opportunity for listeners to experience the most recent works in interpre-tations that often differ greatly. Since it is not always the first-prize winners who offer the “best interpretation of the commissioned work”, a special prize is conferred for particularly excellent interpretations. It is also remarkable that the various award winners have gone through an astonishing development, and are now extremely successful on the international concert stage. The highly varied programme on this CD includes compositions by R. Shchedrin, N. Brass, W. Rihm, E.-P. Salonen, E.-S. Tüür, D. Sawer and J. Maria Staud. This is a representative cross-section of the current repertoire of contemporary music for strings, providing convincing proof of the high quality of musicianship among these young performers.