Allegro sostenuto

Helmut Lachenmann and Salvatore Sciarrino – in a slightly paradoxical way, one might call both of them avant-garde classics. Lachenmann developed a reputation for writing conventional material alongside his highly consequent use of noises which traditionalists would not even consider music. Noises which are generated on familiar orchestral instruments using new, sophisticated playing techniques, opening up sound worlds beyond well-worn patterns of perception. Lachenmann’s early String Trio is a precursor of this aesthetic, which appears fully formed in »Allegro sostenuto«.

A self-taught composer, Sciarrino developed a sonic idiom completely his own. Over the course of many years, he pursued a plan of »liberating the voice from the sluggish imitation of instruments«; then he proceeded to transfer his »small vocal conquests« to the instruments. His new cycle »Una lettera e 6 canti« for voice and six instrumentalists combines both goals.  

Gefördert durch die Kunststiftung NRW und unterstützt durch das Istituto Italiano di Cultura Köln