Simplicius Simplicissimus by Markus Stenz / Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra

Karl Amadeus Hartmann

Markus Stenz / Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra

Simplicius Simplicissimus

Price: € 14.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917263725
Catnr: CC 72637
Release date: 08 July 2014
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917263725

Catalogue number
CC 72637

Release date
08 July 2014

"["].. Markus Stenz and his superb Netherlands Radio Philharmonic relish the dense orchestral writing, wilst never obliterating the vocals.""

THEARTSDESK.COM, 25-4-2015

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

A native of Munich, Karl Amadeus Hartmann (b. 1905, d. 1963) ranks among the leading German composers of the twentieth century. A substantial portion of his œuvre, which includes eight symphonies and chamber works, had its origins in one of the darkest periods in world history – from 1933 to 1945 – when the Nazis were in power. This period, in which Hartmann gradually withdrew from public life and which eventually culminated in his own innere Emigration (inner emigration), represented a decisive turning point in his creative development. Before that time, Hartmann had adopted a playful, neoclassical style influenced by jazz and Dadaism with which he had hardly distinguished himself from his contemporaries. With no prospect of a performance of his work in sight, he subsequently created a musical language which, besides bearing the influences of Bach, Bruckner and Beethoven, was also highly indebted to those composers whose music the Nazis had banned, such as Mahler, Berg, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Bartók. He employs this language not only in his symphonies and many of his chamber works, but also in his opera Simplicius Simplicissimus, based on the 1669 novel Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen. The full title of the second version, presented here, is Simplicius Simplicissimus: drei Szenen aus seiner Jugend.

Simplicius Simplicissimus: Hartmanns bijzondere anti-oorlog opera
Deze opname van Karl Amadeus Hartmann's unieke anti-oorlog opera Simplicius Simplicissimus kenmerkt een belangrijke stap in de voortdurende herwaardering van zijn oeuvre. De opname is live opgenomen bij de Nederlandse première van de opera in 2012. Markus Stenz dirigeert het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, het Groot Omroepkoor en een spectaculaire cast van zangers met de gevierde sopraan Juliane Banse in de hoofdrol. Zowel de cast als de dirigent zijn specialisten van 20ste-eeuwse Duitse opera.

Hartmann behoort tot een van de toonaangevende Duitse componisten van de 20e eeuw. Een aanzienlijke hoeveelheid van zijn muziek had zijn oorsprong in een van de donkerste periodes van de geschiedenis—tussen 1933 en 1945. Deze periode betekende een keerpunt in Hartmanns creatieve ontwikkeling, waardoor hij een neoklassieke stijl van componeren aannam. Zonder uitzicht op enige uitvoering van zijn werk, creëerde hij een stijl die naast invloeden van Bach, Bruckner en Beethoven ook invloeden kende van componisten waarvan muziek niet langer uitgevoerd mocht worden, onder wie Mahler, Berg, Prokofiev en Bartók. Hij gebruikte deze stijl ook in zijn anti-oorlog opera Simplicius Simplicissimus, gebaseerd op het boek Der Abenteurliche Simplicissimus van Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen. Deze opera werd oorspronkelijk geschreven voor zangers en een kamerorkest in de jaren '30 en werd voor het eerst uitgevoerd in 1948, maar Hartmann heeft het voor een groot orkest gearrangeerd in 1956. Deze laatste versie wordt door Stenz gebruikt voor deze opname.

Der in München geborene Karl Amadeus Hartmann (1905-1963) ist einer der führenden deutschen Komponisten des 20. Jahrhunderts. Ein essentieller Teil seines Oeuvres, welche acht Sinfonien (Challenge Classics CC 72583) und Kammermusikwerken beinhaltet, hat seinen Ursprung in einer der dunkelsten Perioden der Weltgeschichte - von 1933 bis 1945 - in der Zeit der Nazis. Diese Zeit, in welcher Hartmann sich nach und nach vom öffentlichen Leben zurückzog, was höchstwahrscheinlch zu seiner 'Inneren Eimigration', wie er sie selbst nannte, führte, steht für einen ausschlaggebenden Wendepunkt seiner kreativen Entwicklung.

Vor dieser Zeit adaptierte Hartmann einen spielerischen, neoklassizistischen Stil, der vom Jazz und Dadismus geprägt war mit dem er ich nur schwer von seinen Zeitgenossen abhob. Ohne Aussicht auf eine Aufführung seiner Werke, erschuf er eine neue musikalische Sprache, die neben den Einflüssen von Bach, Bruckner und Beethoven, ebenso von der Musik bestimmter Komponisten beeinflusst war, die die Nazis verbannt hatten, wie Mahler, Berg, Strawinsky, Prokofiev und Bartók.

Diese Sprache finden wir nicht nur in seinen Sinfonien und den unzählihgen Kammermusikwerken wieder, sondern auch in seiner Oper Simplicius Simplicissimus, basierend auf der Novelle Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus von Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen aus dem Jahr 1669.

Dopo l’edizione integrale delle sinfonie (CC 72583), un nuovo passo importante verso la riscoperta di K.A. Hartmann come uno dei maggiori compositori del secolo scorso. Una pietra miliare della storia dell’opera del Novecento finalmente registrata con un approccio filologico, 29 anni dopo la precedente edizione discografica. Il direttore Markus Stenz ha scelto la versione più ottimistica, riveduta nel 1957.

«Hartmann completò la versione originale di Simplicius tra il 1934 e il 1936, per poi revisionare l’opera nel 1957. Era stato il suo amico Hermann Scherchen, direttore e sostenitore della musica contemporanea, a convincere il giovane Hartmann a scrivere l’opera. Scherchen riteneva che il soggetto si prestasse perfettamente a una parodia politica del Nazismo. Hartmann non voleva scrivere un’opera che storicizzasse la Guerra dei Trent’Anni imperversata in Germania dal 1618 al 1648. Al contrario, la sua ambizione era di fare uno specchio spietato del mondo dell’emergente Terzo Reich.

Simplicius è anche inequivocabilmente autobiografica. Uno dei temi centrali, in effetti, è la dicotomia tra l’allontanamento dalla società e il pieno coinvolgimento. L’Eremita, che fa la sua prima comparsa nella seconda scena, può essere visto come l’incarnazione di un aspetto particolare della personalità di Hartmann, che volutamente cercava rifugio nella propria innere Emigration, che, nel suo caso, era diversa da una effettiva fuga fisica dalla società.

In una lettera scritta all’editore Ludwig Strecker nel 1956, Hartmann spiega che la ragione principale della revisione di Simplicius era che il messaggio politico del libretto era troppo ovvio. Il risultato è che, nella versione riveduta, il risvolto politico ha una portata più universale. Benché la versione originale di Simplicius ci lasci un’impressione desolante, il postludio affermativo (Apotheosis) della seconda versione è dichiaratamente drammatico ma anche genuinamente ottimistico. Qui brilla davvero il sinfonista e il creatore degli appassionanti e trascinanti finali della Sesta e della Settima Sinfonia (risalenti rispettivamente al 1953 e al 1958).»
Maarten Brandt, dalle note di copertina

Artist(s)

Juliane Banse

Netherlands Radio Choir

The Netherlands Radio Choir is the largest professional choir in the Netherlands. Since its founding in 1946, the choir has performed a broad repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary music and has been synonymous with top-level music performed with passion. It works in various sizes and formations, depending on the music concerned and the conductor.
First official chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Choir was Kenneth Montgomery. After him came Robin Gritton, Martin Wright, Simon Halsey, Celso Antunes and Gijs Leenaars. As from the 2015-2016 season Klaas Stok is chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Choir. Michael Gläser has been its permanent guest conductor since September 2010.
The Netherlands Radio Choir has worked with guest conductors such as Marcus Creed and Peter Dijkstra, with early music specialists as Frans Brüggen, Philippe Herreweghe and Ton Koopman, and in the symphonic choral repertoire with Jaap van Zweden, James Gaffigan, Markus Stenz and Sir Simon Rattle, among others.
The choir often performs with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in public radio concert series, and it is regularly invited to perform with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since the early 1980s, the Netherlands Radio Choir has been a frequent guest in the Saturday Matinee series of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In these concerts the choir has regularly performed pre- mieres and works by contemporary composers such as Ligeti, Boulez, Birtwistle, Kagel, Reich, Wagemans, Adès, Adams and Vleggaar. Most concerts of the Netherlands Radio Choir are live broadcasted by Radio 4. On CD the Netherlands Radio Choir excels in a broad repertoire including music by Keuris, MacMillan, Mahler, Poulenc, Rossini and Wagner.

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Peter Marsh

Will Hartmann

German tenor Will Hartmann made his Royal Opera debut in 1998 in the baritone role of Da-ud (Die ägyptische Helena in concert), returning in 2000 in the title role of Gawain. Since moving to tenor repertory he has sung Macduff (Macbeth), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Froh (Das Rheingold), Mark (The Midsummer Marriage), Don José (Carmen), Painter (Lulu) and Narraboth (Salome) for The Royal Opera. In the 2015/16 Season he sings Peter (Morgen und Abend, world premiere).
Hartmann was born in Siegen and studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne. Early in his career he was a member of Cologne Opera and Hanover Opera. He now appears for opera companies and theatres including La Scala, Milan, Paris Opéra, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Liceu, Barcelona, Teatro Real, Madrid, Semperoper Dresden, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Komische Oper Berlin, Opéra national du Rhin, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Dutch National Opera and New National Theatre, Tokyo. His repertory includes Florestan (Fidelio), Max (Der Freischütz), Loge (Das Rheingold), Siegmund (Die Walküre), Laca (Jenůfa), Fritz (Der ferne Klang), Count Danilo (Die lustige Witwe), Pelléas (Pelléas et Mélisande), Matteo (Arabella), Shepherd (Król Roger) and Peter Grimes.
Hartmann’s recordings include Simplicius Simplicissimus on CD and The Royal Opera’sDie Zauberflöte and Lulu on DVD.

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Markus Stenz (conductor)

Markus Stenz is Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra (since 2012) and Principal Guest Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from the 2015/2016 onwards.
His previous positions have included most recently General Music Director of the City of Cologne and Gürzenich-Kapellmeister and Principal Guest Conductor of the Hallé Orchestra (posts he relinquished in the summer of 2014). Markus Stenz was Artistic Director of the Montepulciano Festival (1989 – 1995), Principal Conductor of the London Sinfonietta (1994 – 1998) – one of the most renowned ensembles for contemporary music and Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (1998 – 2004). Trained at the School of Music in Cologne under Volker Wangenheim and at Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa, Markus Stenz has held the positions of Artistic Director of the Montepulciano Festival (1989 – 1995), Principal Conductor of the London Sinfonietta (1994 – 1998) – one of the most renowned ensembles for contemporary music. As Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (1998 – 2004) Markus Stenz broadened his repertoire and established his career as an international conductor.
He made his debut as an opera conductor at La Fenice in Venice and has since conducted many world premieres and first performances including Henze’s Das Verratene Meer in Berlin, Venus und Adonis at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and L’Upupa at the 2003 Salzburg Festival. Markus Stenz has appeared at many of the world’s major opera houses and international festivals including La Scala in Milan, La Monnaie in Brussels, English National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Stuttgart Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Edinburgh International Festival, the Bregenz Festival (with the world premiere of Solaris by Detlev Glanert in July 2012) and Salzburg Festival.
His notable opera performances in Cologne have included Wagner’s Ring, Lohengrin,Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Parsifal as well as Janacek’s Jenufa and Katya Kabanova. Markus Stenz conducts many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Berlin Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Vienna Symphony, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo and the Symphony Orchestras of the Bayerische Rundfunk, the HR, the WDR and the NDR. In the United States these have included the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra.
His comprehensive discography includes many award-winning productions. His recording of the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler with the Gürzenich Orchestra (Oehms Classics), for instance, was given an enthusiasic international reception, and was selected among the "Quarterly Critic's Choice" issued by the German Record Critics' Award Association with the recording of Mahler's 5th. The discography was recently enlarged by the addition of recordings of the world premiere of James MacMillan’s St. Luke Passion and the Dutch première of K. A. Hartmnann’s Simplicius Simplicissimus (Challenge Classics) with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest as well as various Schönberg-recordings with the Gürzenich-Orchestra Cologne.
The 2015/2016 season leads Markus Stenz all over the world, from São Paulo to Shanghai. He will again conduct premières and world premières, among others the German premiere of a Cello Concerto by Pascal Dusapin with the cellist Alisa Weilerstein and an orchestra work by Dieter Ammann with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich in June 2016.
Markus Stenz has been awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Royal North

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Composer(s)

Karl Amadeus Hartmann

Press

["].. Markus Stenz and his superb Netherlands Radio Philharmonic relish the dense orchestral writing, wilst never obliterating the vocals."
THEARTSDESK.COM, 25-4-2015

The inspired direction of Markus Stenz adds to the success of this recording, which the Dutch orchestra truly transcends with undeniable engagement. In a superlative sound recording, this double SACD is quite simply a must-have.
Opushd.net, 05-1-2015

This music where relay at a sustained pace, besides those already evoked, the references to Mahler, Berg (through a choral by Bach), Schönberg (the spoken chorus) " O lauf ") and Eisler ( the military marches), is not nevertheless reducible to its eclecticism and testifies of an undeniable personality. We shall enjoy an energy, a sense of the scenic rhythm and an orchestral brilliance which seizes Markus Stenz and the orchestra of Dutch radio to deliver here a compelling performance.
L'avant-Scène Opéra, 05-1-2015

We shall enjoy a concentrated energy, a sense of the scenic rhythm and an orchestral brilliance which seizes Markus Stenz and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra to deliver here an enthusiastic performance.
L'Avant-Scène Opéra, 01-12-2014

EDITOR'S CHOICE (December 2014) A powerful piece, given an astonishing sense of drama and force by Markus Stenz, the rich orchestral playing every bit as vivid as singing.
Grammophone, 01-12-2014

Leading strong cast, Juliane Banse as the shepherd brilliantly meets the soprano part's technical challenges while evoking the naivety of the idealistic character. Ashley Holland, as the mercenary, Landsknecht, uses his baritone to impressive effect, and the tenor Will Hartmann captures the visionary spirit of the hermit Einsiedel. Conducting the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Forces, Markus Stenz proves himself an ideal exponent of this music, drawing a performance of convinction and intensity.
BBC Music Magazine, 01-12-2014

['']...A powerful piece, given an astonishing sense of drama and forch by Markus Stenz, the rich orchestral playing every bit as vivid as the singing...['']
GRAMOPHONE, 01-12-2014

On this Dutch premiere we hear the wonderful soprano Juliane Banse as Simplicius. Besides, we hear the charming and energetic Landsknecht, sung by Ashley Holland and the empathic Will Hartmann who performs heremiet. Extremely beautiful is the interlude at the second part that refers to a choral of J.S. Bach.
Musicframes.nl, 26-9-2014

"Extremely beautiful is the interlude at the second part that refers to a choral of J.S. Bach. Wonderful expressed by strings followed by the spoken Tränen des Vaterlands"
Musicframes, 25-9-2014

Markus Stenz conducts with aplomb and quite a bit of love, and is rewarded with a highly characterful performance from the Netherland Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Planet Hugill, 08-9-2014

Stenz and his cast capture that raw intensity very truthfully.
The Guardian, 05-9-2014

Markus Stenz's fine performance - with an outstanding Juliane Banse as Simplicius - was recorded in 2012 (...)
The Guardian online, 05-9-2014

Markus Stenz's fine performance – with an oustanding Juliane Banse as the naive shepherd boy, Simplicius (...) was recorded in 2012 at one of Netherlands Radio's invaluable Saturday matinees, at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. Stenz and his cast capture that raw intensity very truthfully.
The Guardian, 04-9-2014

"Stenz and his cast capture that raw intensity very truthfully"
Wrongmog, 04-9-2014

Our recommendation The clarity of the musical articulation, the naturally disposition of this complex acoustic world, the passionated play bring the described process of transformation to life.
Die Deutsche Bühne, 01-9-2014

Fresh and timeless, with the right mix of enthusiasm and sensitivity, the right balance between musical amusement and intimacy, this Dutch "Simplicius" is an enrichment of every Hartmann discography.
Fono Forum, 01-7-2014