Wolfgang Rihm is a German composer whose compositions are grouped into a musical style often referred to as “New Simplicity,” that is also often referred to as “neoromanticism” or “neoexpressionism.” He studied with Karlheinz Stockhausen, among others, but has since rejected the more avant-garde style that Stockhausen and Boulez espoused in the seventies and eighties. While still firmly in the Twelve-Tone camp (the influence of Webern is unmistakable), his music is more approachable than many twentieth-century works. This, in turn, has led to a number of commissions, and many of his works have been premiered by major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic. A prolific composer, he has hundreds of published works to his credit, including twelve String Quartets, four of which are included in this excellent disc. Unfortunately, much of his catalog has yet to be recorded, so this superb disc from Cybele hopefully will help spur interest in his body of work.
There are a couple of college radio stations here in Atlanta, GA that are badly understaffed and tend to play an odd mixture of mostly twentieth-century works at unpredictably scheduled times that often go unannounced. These works – often chamber works, such as this – frequently pique my interest, but determining the composer can often be an exercise in near total frustration. Rihm’s music, is for me, that type of music – bold and daring, but just enough within the mainstream to not create any comfort-zone issues. For example, in his Eighth Quartet, at various intervals the players strike their music scores with their bows to create unusually exotic sonorities, and the musical effect is quite intoxicating. Much of the music is reminiscent of the Bartok quartets, or perhaps even Janacek – just a bit more “out there.”
The recording, as usual for Cybele, is outstanding, and really captures an excellent illusion of real players occupying a very real space. I’d highly recommend any of the discs in this excellent series of twentieth century music.
— Tom Gibbs
