 |
|
|
|
in the Royal Festival
Hall |
|
 |
Return to articles
menu page >
At first glance, Matthias Pintscher might seem to embody a
handful of paradoxes: a protégé of the most
conservative of living German composers, Hans Werner Henze,
and yet himself a composer whose music is free from dogma
and prescription; a leading figure of the German arts world
who is devoted to all things French - history, culture and
cuisine.
Pintscher himself probably wouldn't recognise such clashes.
Neither would he point too readily to compositional influences
which are often cited by commentators. And that's not entirely
surprising, because Pintscher's music offers an originality
that doesn't lend itself to being forced into recognisable
shapes.
One of the few composers to whom Pintscher has pointed an
appreciative finger recently is Monteverdi. 'There are so
few notes, and the music is of maximum sonority', says Pintscher
about Monteverdi's L'incoronazione
di Poppea, which seems to reflect the direction in
which Pintscher's music is moving. He sees his scores almost
like play scripts, creating atmospheres of theatrical intensity,
with his instruments assuming character-dramatic roles. 'My
music is made up of musical processes that follow a dramatic
principle…an imaginary theatre, full of mystery and intimacy',
he says. The theatre analogy has legs: it can be hard listening
to complex, dissonant scores, but in Pintscher's the theatrical
narrative is discernable. The music develops, like an engaging
play, building upon musical statements and arriving at scenes
of great intensity.
Though he might not explicitly point to Ravel and Debussy
as having played a role in shaping his works, you can see
how Pintscher uses his orchestra like those composers - with
colourful instrument combinations, unlikely effects, and intoxicating
atmospheres. This is recognisable in the Five
Orchestral Pieces, whose movements range from Beethovenian
tirades to Mahlerian contemplations, all the while strictly
controlled: an exquisitely pruned piece of orchestral topiary.
So perhaps Pintscher as a paradox is unfair. Yes, his influences
and interests differ, but in the creation of his 'imaginary
theatre' Pintscher is naturally looking elsewhere, treading
his own paths, and so arriving at sounds which are truly out
of the ordinary and quite beautiful.
Pintscher's music during 2007/08
Saturday 1 December 2007 Five
Orchestral Pieces (UK première)
Sunday 25 May 2008 Towards Osiris
(UK première)
Return to articles
menu page >
Back to top >
|
|
|
|
