infotext:
Manfred Trojahn - string quartets So far, Manfred Trojahn's list of works includes four string quartets, namely from the years 1976, 1979/80, 1983 and 2009. Trojahn has since written other works for this instrumentation, sometimes expanded by additional instruments - as already mentioned in the 2nd string quartet, where mezzo-soprano and clarinet complement the string ensemble in three movements. In the Sonata IV »Printemps« from 1995 a flute is added, and in the Schubert homage Schedule from 1996 a soprano voice. In the seven-movement cycle Lettera amorosa from 2007, on the other hand, a string quartet, two more violins and two sopranos form movement-specific instrumentation combinations. All in all, what has been paradigmatic for the genre since Beethoven's last quartets at the latest also applies to Trojahn's quartets: Trojahn's quartets are also unmistakably unique - both in terms of the tone they strike and in their conception. They, too, are testimonies of compositional ambition, based on Beethoven's high demands on his own composition; and they too, taking up the internalized expressive gesture of Beethoven's quartet oeuvre, offer the listener, so to speak, a private message of personal communication. The work consisting of six aphoristic pieces Fragments for Antigone from 1988 was originally intended as incidental music for a performance of Friedrich Hölderlin's Antigone-Translation planned in Bochum. The music then remained unused, however, because, according to Trojahn, "it resisted being incorporated into the drama because of its radical sparseness." Provided with fragmentary sentence headings from Hölderlin's text, the music formulates the final stages of Antigone, so to speak. Disparately composed pieces that make do with two or three motif gestures alternate with mono-motivic pieces. In them in particular, Trojahn dispenses with the traditional quartet movement with flexible role-playing because of the block-like use of the instruments. In the last piece, which only presents the note c in the cello's constant tapping meter and the pizzicato interludes of the other strings, the »one-tone« in the original sense of the word becomes the fatalistic expressive gesture of the title heroine, who is gradually expelled from life. The has a completely different musical fact Chant d'Insomnia III, the sixth movement of the cycle' Lettera amorosa , which was premiered in 2007 for the reopening of the Anna Amalia Library in Weimar: After the Molto Adagio introduction initially presented the quartet as an espressivo ensemble acting in unison, the compositional structure takes on proportions in the division of roles between accompanying patterns and cantilenas of tradition, and post-romantic color values emerge. In this »Song of Insomnia« the poetic image of a lover tossing and turning between being awake, half asleep and being startled again may appear, who finally seems to have been completely transported into the realm of dreams in the weightlessly shimmering euphony of the final part. Trojahn's concentrated and concise contrasts with the soft melos of this night music 3nd string quartet from 1983 clearly. In a flexible disposition inspired by Beethoven's quartet art, the parts react to each other in an extremely exciting way and only require a small repertoire of sharply contoured, short and concise sound gestures for communication. The movement types of the tradition can at best be guessed at: for example in the disparate motifs in the 1st movement, in the calm tempo of the 2nd movement, which ends in a siciliano movement, or in the 3rd movement, which relies on breaks, rhythmic contrasts and turns. In the final movement, with its small scherzando episode, the principle of sequence is at work, so that the motivic building blocks give a rondo impression due to their multiple recurrence. While the compressed nature of the musical events may have arisen from dealing with works of the Viennese school, the contemporary style of the late 20th century is reflected in the advanced harmonies, which at best allow fleeting echoes of tonality to flow in. Of course, avant-gardism is not an end in itself in Trojahn's compositions - all the more so as the artistic expression of a history-conscious individuality. And so offers Trojahns 4nd string quartet nothing less than a modern update of musical romanticism. Tonal fixation is already taken into account in the tristanesque chromaticism of the opening movement. Cantilenas and duet passages evoke the idea of an elegiac scene. By giving the second movement, a brilliant scherzo that boasts open work and virtuoso joy of playing, the subtitle “First Strange Scene”, Trojahn leaves it up to the listener to work out what the strangeness is. Looking at the year of the premiere, 2, given Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's 2009th birthday, it is natural to think of a turbulent Mendelssohniade. The third movement, in turn, ties in with the mood of the first. Singability, the coloring of the melodic main lines by accompanying voices suggest a Schubert or Dvořák proximity, whereby the fragile, floating sound impression that is typical of Trojahn's quartet work as a whole is created by alienated playing styles in the final section. Trojahn places a »Second Strange Scene« at the end of the work in an ironically invoked tradition of Kehraus. Tarantella-like rhythm counterpoints and disturbs the folk-song-like sextense bliss. With a wink in tones, Trojahn creates that communicative understanding between the composer and the listener, which requires active reception on the part of the listener, but requires the inclusion of traditional intonations and idioms in one's own music, so that "the conclusion could be reached," says Trojahn 1989 that »listener and composer combine similar experiences and knowledge«. Robert Mashka |
program:
Manfred Trojahn (* 1949)
Third string quartet (1983) 12: 39
[01] I. Molto Adagio 04:13
[02] II. very delicate, extremely slow 03:46
[03] III. Agitate 01:27
[04] IV. very slowly, with extreme calm 03:16
Fragments for Antigone 21:46
Six pieces for string quartet (1988)
[05] I. ...if we are not in the dark, time will keep us (Holderlin) 03:31
[06] II. not a word came to me… (Holderlin) 02:37
[07] III. ...marble shine... (Holderlin) 03:17
[08] IV. …the same thrusts of the soul (Holderlin) 05:21
[09] V. O me, just before death this is the word. (Holderlin) 02:17
[10] VI. ...and not where I'm going. (Holderlin) 04:40
[11] Chant d'insomnia III 10:16
No. 6 from Lettera amorosa (2007)
Fourth String Quartet (2009) 20: 43
Dedicated in friendship to the Henschel Quartet
This composition was commissioned and supported by Kunststiftung NRW
[12] I. molto moderato 05:15
[13] II. moltissimo vivace (First foreign scene) 03:29
[14] III. lento, rubato 06:14
[15] IV. andante, leggiero, semper un poco staccato (Second strange scene) 05:44
total time: 66:04
Henschel Quartet
Christoph Henschel, violin Markus Henschel, violin
Monika Henschel, viola Mathias Beyer-Karlshøj, cello
Press:
24.02.2012
Hölderlin's renewal
frm. Perhaps Friedrich Hölderlin was also able to become a central source of inspiration in new music because he believed in a renewal of the world through art and music. After two infernal world wars, this attitude was both a comfort and an incentive. In any case, it is striking that such different composers as Paul Hindemith, Hanns Eisler, Stefan Wolpe, Wolfgang Fortner, Benjamin Britten, Hans Werner Henze, Aribert Reimann, György Ligeti, Wolfgang Rihm, Luigi Nono, Bruno Maderna and Heinz Holliger reflected on the poet.
Manfred Trojahn and Peter Ruzicka also dealt with Hölderlin, as evidenced by two CDs with string quartets by Trojahn (Henschel Quartet) and piano works by Ruzicka (Sophie-Mayuko Vetter). In "Parergon" from 2006/07, Ruzicka uses six images from his opera "Hölderlin", whereby the "eternal longing of man for unity with himself and nature" leads from shadowy shudders to the greatest desire for destruction to utter silence.
A similar inner cycle is drawn by Trojahn's six "Fragmente für Antigone" from 1988, which were planned as incidental music for a performance of Hölderlin's translation of "Antigone"; a radical austerity lives in them, so to speak. From these two Hölderlin centers the musicians develop compelling listening journeys.
11/2011
28.07.2011
Born in 1949, Manfred Trojahn is one of a number of middle-aged, middle-ranking German composers whose music remains practically unknown in Britain. To date, he's composed five symphonies, four operas, and four numbered string quartets, two of which the Henschel Quartet play here alongside the six pieces for quartet that make up his Fragments for Antigone, and a shorter work taken from an ensemble cycle called Lettera Amorosa.
Pinning down Trojahn's personal style from these works is tricky, though. The Third Quartet and the fragments, both from the 1980s, are essentially latter-day expressionist in style. They are terse, economical, and impressively coherent, most clearly indebted to the Second Viennese School and to Webern especially, but also to the composers who followed in his wake after the second world war.
The Fourth Quartet from 2009, is, however, very different. Its music is never neo-romantic in a simplistic way, but seems to look back at the great 19th-century string quartets - notably Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms - through a prism that adds piquancy to the string writing while remaining fundamentally tonal and classical in shape.
It's sometimes striking and sometimes disconcerting, although the Henschels' performance is always wonderfully assured.
Andrew Clements
My experience has been that Manfred Trojahn's music is rarely encountered. I have come across his Symphony No. 3 with the Berlin RSO under John Carewe as part of a six CD box set titled German Symphonic Works 1950-2000, Volume 2 on RCA Red Seal. In addition to his opera Enrico 1989/90 is available on the CPO label.
The present fine release of music for string quartet should assist Trojahn to gain notice by a larger audience. The performers of the Henschel Quartet inform me that all scores contained on the disc are world premiere recordings.
Trojahn was born in 1949 at Cremlingen Braunschweig in Germany. Studying mainly at the Hochschule Hamburg he later spent a year of study at the Villa Massimo, Rome. From 1991 Trojahn has been professor of composition at the Robert Schumann University, Dusseldorf. A close contemporary of fellow German composers Wolfgang Rihm and Detlev Glanert, Trojahn's work list shows he has composed a substantial body of scores including operas and five symphonies.
I have been following the career of the outstanding Munich-based Henschel Quartet for some time and was excited to hear that a disc of contemporary works for string quartet by Manfred Trojahn was in the process of being recorded.
Trojahn's four movement String Quartet No. 3 was composed in 1983 and premiered the same year by the Auryn Quartet in Hamburg. Stark and uncompromising the score initially seemed uninviting and even a touch threatening. With repeated hearings this highly absorbing music became far more engaging.
The opening movement greets the listener with a wall of harmonics. Cold as steel, there is an unwelcoming quality to this bleak writing. From 0:52 the singing tone of the violin serves as a gleaming shaft of light through all the gloom. This is music of significant tension and heavily loaded with harmonics. Dying away quietly the writing could depict a lonely figure walking towards a distant horizon. Movement two inhabits a warmer more tranquil sound world. At 0:54-1:33 the doleful cello plays its deep rich line. The shifting music slowly provides a sense of the metaphysical, leaving a breathlessness that fades to nothing. Unquestionably unsettling the extremely short third movement consisting of sharp contrasts just thrusts and surges forward. In the Finale the atmosphere is similar in many respects to the opening movement but with a more prominent cello. The fluctuating patterns and varying tempi and textures are predominantly austere and unwelcoming. Overall there is a surprising degree of tranquility in the writing that at times suggested to me the late quartets of Webern and Berg.
From 1988 Fragments for Antigone are a set of six pieces for string quartet. Trojahn created the series as incidental music for a staging in Bochum of the Friedrich Hölderlin version of Sophocles's tragedy Antigone. Considered inappropriate for the play the music wasn't actually used. Described in the accompanying booklet notes as “aphoristic pieces” the titles for each of the six have been allocated titles extracted from Hölderlin's text. I have been provided with an approximate English translation of each of the six titles to serve as a guide. The score was premiered by the Auryn Quartet at the Goethe Institute in Barcelona in 1988.
The opening piece ….if not time holds us in the darkness) is music of severity, recurrently prodding, punching and screeching. The hostility of the writing conveys an atmosphere of gathering anxiety.
Piece number two ....not came a word to me... (...not came a word to me...) uses a nervy ostinato that just flashes by. The writing is interspersed with numerous silences that seem almost as important as the music.
Containing liberal use of high harmonics the third piece titled .…marmornen Glanz… (…marble shine…) projects an eerie tension. I was struck by the wide and often razor-sharp dynamics of the writing. From 1:17 and 2:43 there are short shifts of mood and texture after which any remaining vitality seems to burn itself out.
Playing tightly as a unit the febrile fourth piece ...the same convulsions... of the soul...) contains a strident and unrelenting ostinato like a septic throb. The overload of tension created is of neurosis proportions. On first hearing the uneasiness that the writing creates was quite overwhelming.
Contrastingly piece five O me, just before death this is the word. (O me, just before death this is the word.) is marked by feather-light textures. A mesmerizing drone is interrupted by an abundance of silences.
The final piece six .…and not where I'm going. (...and not where I go.) is underpinned by incessant and deeply resonant beats on the cello that ever so gradually lessen in weight. A remarkable grief-laden sound created by the cellist hitting the string very near the bridge with his right thumb. Intermittent dancing pizzicato impedes only fleetingly on the cello texture.
Chant d'insomnie III (Song to Insomnia III) is the penultimate movement of the seven movement score Lettera amorosa (Love letter) for 2 sopranos, 2 violins and string quartet (2007). The Henschel premiered the piece in 2007 at the reopening after fire damage of the Duchess Anna-Amalia Library in Weimar, Germany. This substantial nocturne-like movement is probably the most immediately accessible work on the disc. Long melodic lines create a dreamlike and mainly romantic setting. From 4:33 the intensity increases to form music that borders on the delirious. At 5:04 the mood lightens becoming one of essentially calm refection with a curious sense of weightlessness. A terse, acrimony-filled episode from 7:35-7:59 is the only real disruption. From 8:45 birdlike fluttering accompanies the sorrowful melodic line and brings the score to a close.
The most recent score on the disc the String Quartet No. 4 was written for and dedicated to the Henschel Quartet. At its premiere in 2009 at the Haus der Stadt,
Düren the four movement work garnered considerable acclaim for both composers and performers. With its broad melodic lines the Elysian opening movement is an engaging mix of the amorous with an occasional sense of heartbreaking despair. Trojahn could easily be depicting a torrid love affair.
The Henschel asked Trojahn to design a Mendelssohnian link in the score and they got it in movement two. Subtitled 'First strange scene' the movement comes across as a contemporary version of an elfin Scherzo in the manner of Mendelssohn. This is intriguing and highly virtuosic writing from Trojahn creating thrilling and vibrantly imaginative music twisting and weaving that just gallops on and on with great momentum. Quartet violist Monika Henschel-Schwind has described this writing as a contemporary Sommernachtstraum (Midsummer Night's Dream) movement.
Broad languid melodies in the third movement provide a warm and comforting blanket. The prominent ostinato figure first heard at 1:40 could have come from a Dvorák quartet. Wistful introspection strangely draws the listener in. From 4:29-5:04 harmonies surround the singing melodic line. A romantic close to the movement provides an ethereal sense of floating. This would make a wonderful independent piece.
The concluding movement subtitled 'Second strange scene' is an uncommon mix of
tarantella rhythms and cheerful melodies of a distinct folk feel. Although maintaining Trojahn's unique style the writing seemed on occasions suggestive of Romantic composers: Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann. A race at breakneck speed sends the listener hurdling to the conclusion.
Clearly the preparations for these demanding Trojahn scores, all world premiere recordings, must have presented the quartet with innumerable challenges. Scrupulously prepared as always the Henschel Quartet demonstrate an impeccable unity to their expressive playing. With an enviable control notable is their outstanding phrasing, articulation and tone. Yet to reach their peak I marvel at how much better these hard-working and talented players can become.
Trojahn doesn't seem an overly derivative composer; he has his own unique sound world. These are challenging and rewarding contemporary scores certainly within the compass of the average listener. They can be best appreciated with an open mind and a reasonable degree of concentration. The two most immediately accessible scores of Chant d'insomnie III and the String Quartet No.4 are quite exceptional and deserve to be staples of the contemporary string quartet repertoire. Lovers of progressive chamber music repertoire should search out this outstanding Neos music release from the Henschel Quartet. A cast-iron certainty to be one of my 'Recordings of the Year' for 2011.
Most discerning about their choice of repertoire it would be good to see the Henschel turn their attention to the string quartets of Haydn and Schumann or maybe Schulhoff and Britten.
Michael Cookson