Hans Abrahamsen: Zählen und Erzählen Tamara Stefanovich

• Hans Abrahamsen (1952- ): Four Pieces for Orchestra (2002-2004)
• 1 In sehr langsamer Zeit, immer ausdrucksvoll 04:11
• 2 Stürmisch, bewegt 01:40
• 3 Fließend und unruhig (Wie ein Scherzo-Fragment) 02:00
• 4 Sehr langsam 05:54
• Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1999-2000)
• 5 Allegro volante e nervoso 02:03
• 6 Adagio, innocente e semplice 06:10
• 7 Tempo di grande gioia 02:25
• 8 Fluente ma tranquillo 04:00
• Ten Studies for Piano (1983/1998)
• 9 Traumlied (Adagio sostenuto) 02:25
• 10 Sturm (Presto) 01:17
• 11 Arabeske (Dolce cantabile) 02:01
• 12 Ende (Adagio) 02:43
• 13 Boogie-Woogie (Presto) 02:03
• 14 For the Children (Moderato innocente) 00:57
• 15 Blues (Andante rubato) 01:52
• 16 Rivière D'oubli (Fluente ma tranquillo) 02:28
• 17 Cascades (Vivo e scintillante) 02:03
• 18 Le trombe del mattino (Adagio espressivo, molto rubato) 03:54
• Total Runtime 50:06

Info for Hans Abrahamsen: Zählen und Erzählen

The discovery of the as sensitive as original composer Hans Abrahamsen Hans Abrahamsen’s musical language – full of echoes and memories – fascinates and captivates the listener. His music is celebrated on the big concert stages of the world. The Berliner Philharmoniker, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Symphonieorchester of Bayerischer Rundfunk, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conductors like Andris Nelsons and Kent Nagano perform compositions of him in their programmes. With „Schnee“ in 2009 the collaboration with Winter&Winter starts, „/Walden/Wald/“ follows. Long expected, the third album „Zählen und Erzählen“ („Counting and Recounting“) will now be released. Hans Abrahamsen’s sound world is a coherent whole, where parts are diversely connected without seeming complex. His music opens up to the listener in a completely approachable style. His compositional skills and orchestration are exceptional and exquisite and they are able (as the Frankfurter Allgemeine points out) to grip, even move a larger audience.

Hans Abrahamsen: „Composing means starting out simply, and finding something that I had absolutely no idea of when I started. It means constantly investigating music afresh, and finding new things that surprise me and fascinate me.” Three pieces can be heard on “Zählen und Erzählen”, which form a unit: 4 Pieces for Orchestra, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra and 10 Studies. The piano concerto, the album’s centerpiece (Tamara Stefanovich, piano, with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln under Jonathan Stockhammer), Abrahamsen writes few years ago after a long creative break. The musical source of the piano concerto as well as of the 4 Pieces are the 10 Studies for Piano from the years 1983/1998. Abrahamsen dedicates this programme to his most important instrument, the piano, thus expressing his constant commitment to the German Romantic repertoire. Hans Abrahamsen creates music, which speaks from the depths of the soul.

Tamara Stefanovich, piano
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Jonathan Stockhammer, conductor

Tamara Stefanovich
Known for captivating interpretations of a wide repertoire, Tamara Stefanovich performs at the world’s major concert venues including Carnegie Hall New York, Berlin Philharmonie, Suntory Hall Tokyo and London’s Royal Albert and Wigmore Halls. She features in international festivals such as La Roque d’Antheron, Ravenna, Salzburger Festspiele, Styriarte Graz and Beethovenfest Bonn. Stefanovich has appeared with orchestras including The Cleveland and Chicago Symphonies, London Symphony and London Philharmonic orchestras, Bamberger Symphoniker, Britten Sinfonia, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

The 2017/18 season will see her debut with the Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo where she will feature as ‘artist in focus’. She will be on tour throughout Europe with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and Vladimir Jurowski as well as the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain under George Benjamin, performing at Royal Albert Hall (BBC Proms), in Aldeburgh and Birmingham. Together with London Sinfonietta, she celebrates the orchestra’s 50th Birthday, performing Abrahamsen’s Concerto for Left Hand. She returns home to Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra to play Brahms’ Piano Concerto No.1 and is the soloist in Gershwin’s Piano Concerto with Saarländisches Staatsorchester Saarbrücken. Recitals will take her to Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Monte Carlo, Southbank Centre, Klavierfestival Ruhr, Edinburgh International Festival, Snape Maltings and Lucerne Festival.

Recent engagements have included performances with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, WDR Sinfoniesorchester Köln, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Iceland Symphony Orchestra. She also made an extensive US recital tour marking the 90th birthday of Pierre Boulez garnering exultant reviews.

Tamara Stefanovich has collaborated with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Osmo Vänskä and Susanna Mälkki, as well as leading composers including Pierre Boulez, Peter Eötvös and György Kurtág. She regularly leads educational projects at London’s Barbican Centre, Kölner Philharmonie and at Klavier-Festival Ruhr such as the innovative online project of interactive pedagogical analyses Boulez’ Notations: www.explorethescore.org. Tamara is cofounder and curator of a newly created festival “The Clearing” at Portland International Piano Series.

Her discography includes the Grammy-nominated recording of Bartók’s Concerto for Two Pianos, Percussion and Orchestra with Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Pierre Boulez and the London Symphony Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon. Stefanovich has also recorded for the AVI and harmonia mundi labels new piano solo works by Thomas Larcher. Her latest recording of Hans Abrahamsen’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, and 10 studies for piano with WDR Symphonieorchester Köln released by Winter & Winter. She has recorded Quasi una fantasia and the Double concerto with Asko|Schönberg Ensemble and Reinbert de Leeuw/Jean-Guihen Queyras for ECM’s complete recording of Kurtág’s works for ensemble. The recording has just been released and has received a 5* review in The Guardian.

This album contains no booklet.