Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann is a special composer. I have listened my way through many of his works (in fact, most of the pieces available as some kind of recording), and have not found a single piece yet that I didn’t find intellectually stimulating. Sadly, he died in 1970 - otherwise he might have contributed way more, and 20th century German music history might have taken some very different turns.
Zimmermann’s music is capable of it all.
It’s sometimes darkly cynical wit in parodistic compositions, as in his Rheinische Kirmestänze, Giostra Genovese, or - collage masterpiece! - Musique pour les Soupers du Roi Ubu.
It’s also sometimes absolutely vast, large-scale, and uncompromising. There are two main examples of this. The first is the opera Die Soldaten, which was deemed impossible to perform before eventually the right people took courage and brought it to the stage. Here’s part 1 of a four-part series showing that. (Mmmm yeah it’s not pretty, but neither is the subject.)
The second example is the “pluralistic” piece Requiem für einen jungen Dichter, requiring orchestra, chorus, soloists, narrators, electronic recordings, jazz combo, and maybe something I’ve forgotten. This piece is almost impossible to appreciate without a guide. It’s fascinating.
Finally, Zimmermann’s music can just be simply very good music. My favourite example of that is his trumpet concerto “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen”, which, you guessed right, paraphrases the well-known spiritual. Give it a try.
Tags: music