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| There is nothing ordinary in Kagel's music: the selection of orchestral pieces assembled on this collage CD ranges from Les idées fixes, his rondo for orchestra that appears so harmless at first sight, to the wonderfully bustling Opus 1.991. Neither in his music nor in any other discipline Kagel ever intended to adhere to a specific trend, or curb his creativity through specialization. "The deliberate break, the joining of the incommensurable, irritation through ambiguity, are Kagel's true vocation, one which he pursues with great delight in disguises and multihued iridescent role-play." (Ulrich Dibelius) Les idées fixes (1988-89) recalls traditional forms: five rondos meet one another while thematically encompassing the whole world, from ragtime to suggestions of waltzes and Eastern folk music. No less than four pianos are needed for Kagel's Musik für Tasteninstrumente und Orchester (1987-88), whereas Opus 1.991 (1990) works with philosophical references (to Hegel's "abstract subjectivity") and evokes cinematographic reminiscences. And the master of tricky rhythms himself handles the baton – to perfection! |
1CD | Orchestral | Contemporary | Special Offers |
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| Recommendation |
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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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| In 1951, after numerous solo compositions, Cage tried his hand at a piano concerto, naturally for the prepared variety. And in marked contrast to the concerto: Sixty-Eight. |
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| From subtle irony to direct provocation: Satie, the complacent gentleman with a hat and goatee, meets the "pianist-futurist" Antheil. |
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