Lachenmann: Klangschatten – mein Saitenspiel — Full Score

Helmut Lachenmann: Klangschatten – mein Saitenspiel – composed in 1972 ∙ NDR Symphony Orchestra ∙ Peter Roggenkamp, piano ∙ Zsigmond Szathmáry, piano ∙ Gerhard Gregor, piano ∙ Michael Gielen, conductor ∙ Recording: 1972 © Kairos 2001 “In combination with ‘Gran Torso’ and minor pieces of chamber music, ‘Klangschatten – mein Saitenspiel’ for 48 strings and 3 grand pianos belongs to a series of works whose sounds are oriented towards in the dialectics of ‘denial’ and ‘offer’: By excluding familiar sound practice, all that was suppressed hitherto is revealed. In a sense, the soundscape discloses the verso of conventional philharmonic patterns; the strings, instead of resounding, are uniquely prevented from sounding. Naturally, it may not be a matter of structurally proceeding with the unveiled sound residues as if nothing had occurred. Surely the conjured aura is to be undone, but not forgotten or ignored. This explains the succinct formulation of the musical text – a type of transparent façade – compelling the ear to listen behind the sounds, to perceive the aura as stifled, but also to grasp the process of denial as the tender of expressive intensity that reflects the bourgeois longing for beauty and wishes to fulfill, that is, to overcome it. This composition is dedicated to Michael Gielen.” — Helmut Lachenmann