SKU: HL.48024645
ISBN 9781784544034. UPC: 888680949099.
In 1989 when Louis Andriessen was teaching at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Miles Davis Autobiography was published.While reading it, he suddenly knew what the subject of his piece for the Kronos Quartet should be - early be-bop licks and especially the work of Charlie Parker. He wanted to do the impossible - be-bop is not at all idiomatic for string instruments. But be-bop had been an important influence on his musical development when he was young, and he decided to do something with this music from his youth. Basically the essence of Charlie Parkers playing is the extremely fast tempo. This fast tempo is really fast, because the playing is based upon the chord structure of existing melodies which are sometimes played two or three times as fast as normal. Parker needed speed to express what he musically felt: little time was left for him. This is the main explanation of the title of the work.In the beginning of Facing Death, Andriessen literally quotes fragments of Charlie Parker improvisations. He also quotes one original melody: Ornithology (which is based on How High the Moon). The 7th and 8th bars of Ornithology become an important motif inthe piece. The whole composition is one long development in Parker's fast tempo. This work was composed in 1990 for string quartet and later arranged for saxophone quartet.
SKU: HL.4007906
Three works with quotations from well-known composers are contained in this tongue-in-cheek collection. Otto M. Schwarz has produced an outstanding recording of these works with members of the Slovak Philharmonic, which is available on all streaming and download platforms. 1. THE AMADEUS WATCH: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's own watch - if he had one - ticks away. The ticking carries us back in time with a piece that stylistically imitates the music of the 18th century in melody, harmony and rhythm. 2. COMPOSERS DINNER IN HEAVEN: At the music publisher De Haske, a composers' dinner was an integral part of trade fairs or meetings. The dinner was very popular among anyone who sat at it, not least of all because it offered one the opportunity to chat informally. Based on such a meeting, Otto M. Schwarz has composed a work that describes an imaginary dinner of great classical masters on a cloud in the sky. Guess which composers are present by the references in the form of musical quotations and stylistic devices! 3. SCHERZO FOR WOOD QUARTET: The work, in 12/8 time, moves in a rapid furioso. Underscored by a continuous eighth note rhythm, the work creates in the listener the sensation of a frantic rollercoaster ride. The theme moves throughout all the parts, and following a chromatically moving chord sequence, ends in a dramatic crescendo.
SKU: HL.48024644
ISBN 9781784544010. UPC: 888680949082. 9.0x12.0x0.273 inches.
In 1989 when Louis Andriessen was teaching at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Miles Davis Autobiography was published.While reading it, he suddenly knew what the subject of his piece for the Kronos Quartet should be - early be-bop licks and especially the work of Charlie Parker. He wanted to do the impossible - be-bop is not at all idiomatic for string instruments. But be-bop had been an important influence on his musical development when he was young, and he decided to do something with this music from his youth. Basically the essence of Charlie Parker's playing is the extremely fast tempo. This fast tempo is really fast, because the playing is based upon the chord structure of existing melodies which are sometimes played two or three times as fast as normal. Parker needed speed to express what he musically felt: little time was left for him. This is the main explanation of the title of the work.In the beginning of Facing Death, Andriessen literally quotes fragments of Charlie Parker improvisations. He also quotes one original melody: Ornithology (which is based on How High the Moon). The 7th and 8th bars of Ornithology become an important motif inthe piece. The whole composition is one long development in Parker's fast tempo. This work was composed in 1990 for string quartet and later arranged for saxophone quartet.
