THURSDAY AND SATURDAY
Lied [Song] (for orchestra) composed 2003-09
“Schubert’s music draws tears from the eyes without questioning the soul, so direct and actual is its effect. We weep without knowing why, because we have not come close to the promise of the music.” —Theodor W. Adorno, writing about Franz Schubert
by
Jörg
WIDMANN born June 19, 1973 Munich now living in Freiburg
Severance Hall 2012-13
Lied [pronounced leed], or “Song,” for orchestra, was commissioned by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. The following commentary was written for the world premiere performances in 2003: O F T H E O R I G I N of his commissioned work in homage to Franz Schubert, Jörg Widmann was very clear — Schubert’s melody should be at the heart of his work. “Schubert is a melodic genius,” says Widmann. Nothing in Schubert’s work has fascinated him more than the composer’s ability to invent and shape his melodies and carry them forward, melodies that are not simply beautiful but also have the capacity to captivate the listener with their great intensity. Widmann’s original idea for the piece was to write a monodic orchestral work, which would treat the orchestra as a single singing agent in which “all the instruments sing a kind of eternal melody without cease.” Widmann planned, in other words, an orchestral piece that would “present its lines naked and uncovered, unprotected and without a safety net, as if one were to perform a Schubert song without the accompaniment.” This idea is embodied in Widmann’s Lied for orchestra, yet he drew away from his original idea when he decided to insert in the single-voice sections passages that vary from single lines to polyphonic [multiple] lines. This was achieved by juxtaposing harmonic and timbral levels, leading to passages in the work that regularly threaten to break apart when two layers are in apparently unreconcilable opposition. In the foreground is the melodic line, often marked at “very very very loud” (triple forte), laden with expression; behind it is a harmonic background, sometimes so soft as to be almost inaudible, creating a sinister and pale counterpoint. What thus found its way into Widmann’s composition About the Music
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