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Salzburg Festival: World Premieres of Peter Eötvös's Halleluja – Oratorium Balbulum and Friedrich Cerha's Eine blassblaue Vision

Jul. 11, 2016

Salzburg Festival: World Premieres of Peter Eötvös's <em>Halleluja – Oratorium Balbulum</em> and Friedrich Cerha's <em>Eine blassblaue Vision</em>

The Salzburg Festival has long been one of the world’s pre-eminent presenters of major new works of contemporary music, and this year's festial proves to be no different. Following its premiere production of Thomas Adès’s third opera, The Exterminating Angel, the Salzburg Festival celebrates composer Peter Eötvös with the premiere of a major new oratorio and a portrait concert by the Klangforum Wien.

On July 30, Daniel Harding leads the Vienna Philharmonic in the premiere of Eötvös’s Halleluja – Oratorium Balbulum for mezzo-soprano, tenor, speaker, chorus and orchestra. In Halleluja, a meta-oratorio with libretto by Hungarian author Péter Esterházy, Eötvös augments his work with quotations from Halleluja settings from various musical periods. Ultimately, prophecies and the search for identity reveal bitter insights with allusions to the current political situation.

Following the premiere, Eötvös leads the Klangforum Wien in a portrait concert of his works on August 1. The program includeshis Sonata per sei as well as Shadows and Chinese Opera.

Also this season, the Salburg Festival focuses on the music of Friedrich Cerha. On August 6, Klangforum Wien deliver a performance of the Austrian composer’s works, including Les Adieux (Elegie) and Bruchstück, geträumt. The ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, led by Cornelius Meister, gives the world premiere of Cerha’s new large-scale orchestral work, Eine blassblaue Vision, on August 11. On August 12, HK Gruber joins the ensemble ‘œnm’ (Austrian Ensemble for New Music) as vocalist and conductor in performances of Cerha’s Quellen and I. Keintate.

Details on the Salzburg Festival can be found at salzburgerfestspiele.at.

Click below for more information on the composers: 

Peter Eötvös  |  Friedrich Cerha


Peter Eötvös
Halleluja – Oratorium Balbulum (2015)
for mezzo-soprano, tenor, speaker, chorus and orchestra
text (Ger) by Péter Esterházy
40’

Sonata per sei (2006)
for two pianos, three percussionists and sampler keyboard
20’

Friedrich Cerha
Les Adieux (Elegie) (2005)
for ensemble
pic.1.1.1.bcl.1.cbsn-2.1.2.0-2perc-cel.pno-str(1.1.1.1.1)
22’

Bruchstück, geträumt (2009)
for ensemble
0.0.0.0-2.0.1.0-3perc-hp.pno-3vn.2va.vc
18’

Eine blassblaue Vision (2013-2014)
for large orchestra
4(3,4pic).0.5(4,5bcl).2.cbsn-6.3.5.0-4perc-hp-str
20’

Quellen (1992)
for ensemble
0.0.1.ssax.0-1.0.1.0-3perc-acc.org.gtr-vn.va
13’

I. Keintate (1980/1982)
for medium voice (chansonnier) and instruments
text by Ernst Kein
0.0.2(1.Ebcl, 2.bcl).0-2.0.0.0-perc-acc-str
50’

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