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| The tale of the Sleeping Beauty set somewhere between science fiction and biting social criticism. In her texts Elfriede Jelinek explores the states of sleep, of apparent death, of semi-consciousness, or of being barely awake – and in doing so investigates Austrian everyday life in all its uniqueness, including all the petty power games and battles of the sexes. Jelinek's grim texts, recited by Anne Bennent, Hanna Schygulla and an artificially generated voice, are combined with Olga Neuwirth's throbbing computer sounds: she composes around the texts, or addresses them directly, drowns them out, or stays in the background. "Beyond the words, the music perhaps communicates that which is unspeakable, the smooth enchantment that doesn't spare us clichés and irony; it comes back like a memory, stays with us never to leave. It adapts itself to the words, and one senses its continued presence through slow and fast undulations." (Olga Neuwirth) Dreamy, eerie – and simply brilliant! |
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| Recommendation |
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Having set out to track down ’typically Austrian’ elements in contemporary music, the ensemble Intégrales discovered – Alpenglühen (’alpenglow’).  |
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| A virtue out of necessity: under Cage’s hands the preparation of the piano developed from a flash of inspiration into a distinctive mode of expression. |
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| Markus Hinterhäuser shows us a terrific interpretation of the piano sonatas from the russian composer. Massive music! |
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