Jörg Widmann

The tense balance between tradition and renewal is characteristic of Widmann's own music. In this lecture recital, he demonstrates how the apparent contrast between old forms and new means of expression inspires his own compositions. He illustrates his insights with examples from Classical and Romantic music - Mozart and Schumann - as well as from his own work. For this occasion, pianist Irene Russo relearned Widmann's 'Hallstudie', a work that she premiered in 2003. It is not only the keyboard that is played, but the entire instrument as a great generator of sound. In the search for new and unprecedented sounds, the piano is as it were turned inside out by 360-degrees. Underlying the development process is a traditional tonal chord in A minor, not coincidentally Schumann's favourite key.