ICH DENKE DEIN… - Rolf Martinsson

ICH DENKE DEIN…
Lisa Larsson
Swedish soprano Lisa Larsson started
her career as a flautist and later studied
singing in Basel. Her first engagements
followed at the Zürich Opera House,
where she performed with conductors
such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt and
Franz Welser-Möst.
Following her debut at La Scala di
Milano in “Die Zauberflöte” under
Riccardo Muti, she swiftly developed an
international opera career, in
particular as a Mozart singer with guest
appearances at renowned opera houses
and festivals such as the Bavarian State
Opera, Royal Opera House Covent
Garden, Teatro La Fenice, Grand
Théâtre de Genève, Opéra de Monte
Carlo as well as at the Salzburg Festival,
Lucerne Festival, Glyndebourne Festival
and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
Lisa Larsson is also known as a remarkably versatile concert singer. In recent years she has
constantly expanded her broad repertoire with works by Mahler, Richard Strauss, Brahms, Berlioz,
Britten and Stravinsky. Conductors she has performed with include Claudio Abbado, Sir Colin
Davis, David Zinman, Vassily Sinaisky, Edo de Waart, Louis Langrée, Sir Roger Norrington, Vasily
Petrenko, John Storgårds. This with orchestras such as the Berlin PO, Frankfurt Radio SO, Munich
PO, Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, Vienna SO, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France,
Netherlands PO, Bergen PO, Hong Kong PO, NHK SO (Tokyo).
Most recent additions to her substantial discography: a Haydn album with the Combattimento
Consort Amsterdam, followed by a Berlioz recording respectively a Mahler programme with the
Arnhem PO. Previous major recordings include Strauss’ “Vier letzte Lieder” under Douglas Boyd,
Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 under David Zinman, the Mozart operas “Don Giovanni” under Daniel
Harding, “Mitridate” under Adam Fischer and “Il sogno di Scipione” under Gottfried von der Goltz,
Händel‘s “Jephta” under David Stern, numerous Cantatas, Magnificat as well as the Christmas and
Easter Oratories by Bach under Ton Koopman respectively Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
Lisa Larsson maintains close collaboration with the Swedish composer Rolf Martinsson, who has
dedicated several compositions to her. Her next CD release will be Martinsson’s “Orchestral Songs
on Poems by Emily Dickinson” in collaboration with the Royal Stockholm PO together with Andrew
Manze for BIS.
www.lisalarsson.info
Rolf Martinsson
Rolf Martinsson is one of Sweden’s leading composers. His trumpet concerto “Bridge”, written for
Håkan Hardenberger, led to an international breakthrough and “Bridge” has to date been performed
more than 60 times worldwide. Martinsson’s music has been performed by soloists such as Lisa
Larsson, Anne Sofie von Otter, Martin Fröst and Christian Lindberg and conductors such as Alan
Gilbert, Andris Nelsons, Manfred Honeck, Vassily Sinaisky, John Storgårds and Neeme Järvi.
Martinsson collaborates with the major Nordic orchestras as well as the BBC SO, CBSO, Vienna RO,
Bamberger Symphoniker, NDR Hamburg, Cleveland O, Detroit SO in venues such as Musikverein/
Konzerthaus Vienna, Philharmonie/Konzerthaus Berlin, Concertgebouw, Salzburger Festspielhaus,
Royal Festival Hall and Carnegie Hall.
As of today, Martinsson has composed some 130 works, including orchestral pieces, solo concertos
and pieces for solo-voice and various ensembles, some of which dedicated to soprano Lisa Larsson.
Martinsson has been featured composer at the Stockholm International Composer Festival,
Composer in Residence (CiR) in Concertgebouw with the Netherlands PO and CiR with the
Helsingborg SO 14-17. His highly acclaimed trumpet concerto has been performed at the
Tanglewood Music Festival by Hardenberger/Boston SO/Nelsons and Hardenberger/Nelsons have
also performed the piece at the Nobel Prize concert with the Royal Stockholm PO. Recent
highlights include two world premieres of works dedicated to and performed by Lisa Larsson: “Ich
denke Dein...” (soprano/orchestra), co-commissioned by the Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra,
Philharmonia Orchestra, Netherlands PO, Helsinki PO and Gothenburg SO, and “Garden of
Devotion” (soprano/strings), cocommissioned by Netherlands, Scottish,
Stuttgart and Swedish chamber
orchestras and Staatsorchester Weimar
along with other major Swedish
orchestras. Lisa Larsson gave the world
premiere of Martinsson’s “Into Eternity”
for soprano and orchestra at the
inauguration of Malmö Live 2015. In
2019 Martinsson’s opera, commissioned
by the Royal Swedish Opera, will be
premiered in Stockholm.
Rolf Martinsson is a Fellow of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Music and
also serves as professor of composition
at the Malmö Academy of Music,
Sweden.
www.rolfmartinsson.com
Reviews
Performances
– by Lisa Larsson - Ich denke Dein…
“... Like the famous tune of your favourite operetta, this melody (1st movement) remained with the listener
long after the concert... Larsson gave life to this magnificent natural scene (4th movement) with quiet, very
pure voice. Without the use of vibrato and exaggerated dynamics, she effortlessly filled the hall with her brilliant soprano. The resplendent colour of her voice carried easily, yet was never obtrusive - a musical reflection
of the vivid, admiring image in Eichendorff’s words: even the most quiet of pianos were full of suspense, her
lines always focussed. The sheen of the blossoms, the wide fields and quiet woods made audible in this song
may have caused the souls of many in the hall to spread their wings... As Lisa Larsson sang “her” new Martinsson songs, it wasn’t mere performance, but a precisely fitting nestling of the work to her voice. Her considerable contribution to the creation of the songs was obvious in every note, be it breathed, spoken or in brilliantly bright heights. Her perfect, accent-free German allowed a deep insight into the development of music
with text... The reaction of the audience and the warm embrace of Larsson and Martinsson had me hope for
future collaborations of this Swedish duo.”
by Katharina Hogrefe, Bachtrack (translation by Hedy Muehleck)
The varied concert offered two big surprises: that someone dares to write so unashamedly enjoyable, sinfully
sexy music as the Swedish composer Rolf Martinsson (b. 1956)! And luckily he does not only dare to but he
also can do it...As a Postmodernist Martinsson is not the only one of his kind; we also have our own hedonists and stylistic borrowers from Ilkka Kuusisto to Kimmo Hakola. But Martinsson is so skilful in his orchestration...melodicism and silken harmonies, that you need to prick your ears for the second time: can this even
be true? When the shockingly good soprano Lisa Larsson performed Martinsson’s brand new song cycle Ich
denke dein and John Storgårds created an “überschön” orchestral background, the listener felt as if he was
being led into an enchanted garden, where an angel had fallen from heaven. Larsson’s soprano radiated and
floated, and was sublime in the pianissimos. It soared effortlessly and entwined playfully with Pekka Kauppinen’s intoxicating violin and Tomas Nuñez-Garcés’s alert cello in the highest spheres/registers...”
by Veijo Murtomäki, Helsingin Sanomat
Work Note
In Lisa Larsson the composer found his muse... ’Ich denke Dein…’ contains a choice out of the
German poetry: Goethe, Eichendorff and Rilke. Their joint theme is love... Liebeslied (Rilke) is
written in the first person singular. That person wonders how he can lift his soul over his sweetheart
‘zu andern Dingen’ (towards other things). He realizes that it will be not successfull. He and the
beloved lady are caught in the stroke of a bow, which out of two strings, jointly stricken, let sound of
one voice. The poem ends with a sigh: ‘On what instrument have we been bend? And which player
holds us in his hand? O sweet song’. Can a composer wish a more musical text?... In the throat of
Larsson the sweet song merges to one sound by the two trifling voice muscles... ’Ich denke Dein…’
grew in close cooperation with Lisa Larsson. The conversations with her focused on things as the
balance between syllables and ornamental series of notes (the so called melisma) in connection to the
representation of the text. To do justice to the contents, Martinsson took much care to the dynamic
differences and the colouring. The beautiful poems are already full of music, according to
Martinsson. For each poem he searched a suiting musical form of the song line and in combination
therewith he developed the orchestration. Celesta, vibraphone, harp and piano bring in light accents
in the well-stuffed orchestra.
Extract from a work note by Heinz Köhnen. Contact the composer for the complete work note.
2015-01-14/15/16 World premiere
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich / John Storgårds
Tonhalle Zürich, Switzerland
2015-01-28/29 Finnish premiere
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / John Storgårds
Musiikkitalo, Helsinki, Finland
2015-03-07/10 Dutch premiere
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra / Marc Albrecht
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2015-09-09/10 Swedish premiere
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra / Antonello Manacorda
Concert Hall, Gothenburg, Sweden
2015-10-01/02/04 Italian premiere
Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi / Gustavo Gimeno
Auditorium, Milano, Italy
2016-06-09 Icelandic premiere
Iceland Symhony Orchestra / Antonello Manacorda
Harpa, Reykjavik, Iceland
2016-10-06
Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra / Stefan Solyom
Konserthuset, Helsingborg, Sweden
2017-05
Malmö Symphony Orchestra / Stanislav Kochanovsky
Malmö Live, Sweden
2017-11 Australian premiere
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra / John Storgårds
Hamer Hall, Melbourne, Australia
2017 UK premiere
Philharmonia Orchestra
Royal Festival Hall, London, UK
2017/2018 Stockholm premiere
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Concert Hall, Stockholm, Sweden
Poems by Rilke, Goethe, Eichendorff
4 - Mondnacht - Eichendorff
5 - Nähe des Geliebten - Goethe
Es war, als hätt der Himmel
die Erde still geküßt,
daß sie im Blütenschimmer
von ihm nun träumen müßt.
Ich denke dein, wenn mir der Sonne Schimmer
vom Meere strahlt;
ich denke dein, wenn sich des Mondes Flimmer
in Quellen malt.
Die Luft ging durch die Felder,
die Ähren wogten sacht,
es rauschten leis die Wälder,
so sternklar war die Nacht.
Ich sehe dich, wenn auf dem fernen Wege
der Staub sich hebt;
in tiefer Nacht, wenn auf dem schmalen Stege
der Wandrer bebt.
Und meine Seele spannte
weit ihre Flügel aus,
flog durch die stillen Lande,
als flöge sie nach Haus.
Ich höre dich, wenn dort mit dumpfem Rauschen
die Welle steigt!
I’m stillen Haine geh’ ich oft zu lauschen,
wenn alles schweigt.
2 - Blaue Hortensie - Rilke
1 - Liebes-Lied - Rilke
Wie soll ich meine Seele halten, daß
sie nicht an deine rührt? Wie soll ich sie
hinheben über dich zu andern Dingen?
Ach gerne möcht ich sie bei irgendwas
Verlorenem im Dunkel unterbringen
an einer fremden stillen Stelle, die
nicht weiterschwingt, wenn deine Tiefen schwingen.
Doch alles, was uns anrührt, dich und mich,
nimmt uns zusammen wie ein Bogenstrich,
der aus zwei Saiten eine Stimme zieht.
Auf welches Instrument sind wir gespannt?
Und welcher Spieler hat uns in der Hand?
O süßes Lied.
So wie das letzte Grün in Farbentiegeln
sind diese Blätter, trocken, stumpf und rauh,
hinter den Blütendolden, die ein Blau
nicht auf sich tragen, nur von ferne spiegeln.
Sie spiegeln es verweint und ungenau,
als wollten sie es wiederum verlieren,
und wie in alten blauen Briefpapieren
ist Gelb in ihnen, Violett und Grau;
verwaschenes wie an einer Kinderschürze,
Nichtmehrgetragenes, dem nichts mehr geschieht:
wie fühlt man eines kleinen Lebens Kürze.
Doch plötzlich scheint das Blau sich zu verneuen
in einer von den Dolden, und man sieht
ein rührend Blaues sich vor Grünem freuen.
3 - Die Liebende schreibt - Goethe
Ein Blick von deinen Augen in die meinen,
ein Kuß von deinem Mund auf meinem Munde –
Wer davon hat, wie ich, gewisse Kunde,
mag dem was anders wohl erfreulich scheinen?
Entfernt von dir, entfremdet von den Meinen,
führ ich stets die Gedanken in die Runde,
und immer treffen sie auf jene Stunde,
die einzige; da fang ich an zu weinen.
Die Träne trocknet wieder unversehens:
Er liebt ja, denk ich, her in diese Stille –
und solltest du nicht in die Ferne reichen?
Vernimm das Lispeln dieses Liebewehens;
mein einzig Glück auf Erden ist dein Wille,
dein freundlicher zu mir – gib mir ein Zeichen!
Ich bin bei dir, du seist auch noch so ferne,
du bist mir nah!
Die Sonne sinkt, bald leuchten mir die Sterne.
O, wärst Du da!
Instrumentation
2 Flutes (2nd doubling Piccolo)
2 Oboes (2nd doubling English Horn)
2 Clarinets in Bb (2nd doubling Bass Clarinet in Bb)
2 Bassoons (2nd doubling Contrabassoon)
4 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in C (mutes: harmon)
Trombone (mute: straight)
Bass Trombone (mute: straight)
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion (2 players)
I
Glockenspiel, Metal Wind Chimes, Suspended Cymbal, Tam-Tam
II Vibraphone (motor)
Harp (the two lowest strings should be tuned in C and D)
Piano (doubling Celesta)
Solo Soprano
String Orchestra (Double Basses: with extension to low C)
Duration 26 minutes
YouTube cliphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KglXjQbQFg
Soprano
Composer
Lisa Larsson
[email protected]
www.lisalarsson.info
Rolf Martinsson
[email protected]
www.rolfmartinsson.com
Agency
Publisher
Impulse Art Management
Martijn Jacobus
+31 20 626 69 44
[email protected]
Gehrmans Musikförlag
Kristina Fryklöf, promotion manager
+46 8 6100 617
[email protected]
www.gehrmans.se
Photo Merlijn Doomernik
Larsson
Photo Mats Bäcker
Martinsson
Design & Layout
www.louisemartinsson.se
2016-01-01