Rich character pieces

The Swiss composer Martin Schlumpf (born 1947) studied clarinet, piano, conducting, theory and composition at the Zurich Conservatory from 1968 to 1972. After graduating with Rudolf Kelterborn, he continued his studies with Boris Blacher in Berlin in 1974. From 1977 to 2011, he taught theory at the Zurich University of the Arts (formerly the Zurich Conservatory). Until 1980, Martin Schlumpf was primarily active as a composer in the field of serious music. Since then he has also been involved with improvised music and since the end of the 1980s has been active in a wide range of activities at the interface between improvisation and composition.

Edition Kunzelmann has published Schlumpf's Duo Les Extrèmes se touchent for cello and (lightly) prepared piano was published for the first time. The original version, written in 1975, was completely reworked in 2015. 11 character pieces form a multi-layered whole with Webernian brevity. The approximately 19-minute score makes reference to 200 years of music history and establishes direct links to Beethoven, Chopin, Alexander Scriabin, Bernd Alois Zimmermann and Jonny Rollins. But there are also musical puzzles: in No. III (Aria), the cello sings in the highest register - a reminiscence of the V movement from Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps? It is left to the imagination of the performers and listeners to discover further references and similarities.

The edition contains precise information on the preparation of the grand piano and the use of the two-part click track in the IXth movement.

The musical and technical demands of the work are high and require a corresponding degree of technical skill from the performers.

The world premiere with the dedicatees Thomas Grossenbacher and Petya Mineva can be seen at the Youtube portal can be called up.

Martin Schlumpf: Les Extrèmes se touchent, 11 character pieces for violoncello and piano, GM-1919, Fr. 57.00, Edition Kunzelmann, Adliswil 2016