It all seems quite straightforward: a classical concert guitar weighs little and can be taken anywhere, is quickly ready to play, and can be casually rested on the knee. Additional equipment such as a bow or chin rest, etc., is unnecessary. The volume and range of the sound are limited, as are the opportunities for instrumentalists to perform in front of large audiences or in ensembles. One suspects that “classical” guitarists are therefore more likely to be absorbed in themselves. Their own ears, close to the instrument, receive musical events, which they produce with sensitive accuracy and meticulously coordinated finger movements, as quietly as possible and as briefly flashing, delicate, fleeting sounds.
Well—we probably need to forget what you've read so far. Because this collection of new works sets out to prove something quite the opposite. It's about power. About physical experiences that push boundaries and a sound spectrum that never ceases to amaze us with how it is created in and with the guitar. In fact, all of the compositions recorded here are sounds produced by a single player with a guitar. Live electronics or similar devices are not involved, even if one might occasionally think so, only the occasional mechanical aid to extend the usual guitar technique.
Klara Tomljanovič knows all of the composers involved, some of them for many years. Perhaps it is the relationship of trust that has developed as a result that makes this challenging otherness of the guitar possible in the first place. Added to this was a lasting commitment on the part of both the performer and the composers: the musician lent the non-guitarists an instrument from her own collection for an extended period and, in joint tryouts, shared her own playing techniques, developed over decades. Perhaps both of these factors fueled the sometimes breakneck desire to experiment. Paradoxical or not, what began with the soloist's personal abilities, playing techniques, and physical condition ultimately led to an immense expansion of precisely these qualities.
Lydia Jeschke