Horizon 10. Oeuvres de Detlev Glanert, Martijn Padding, Christiaan Richter, Blai Soler, Theo Verbey, Rick van Veldhuizen, Bram Kortekaas, Celia Swart, Nick Woud, Wolfgang Rihm, JabobTV, Ryan Wigglesworth, Rob Dirksen. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Semyon Bychkov, Jaap van Zweden, George Benjamin, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Gustavo Gimeno, Fabio Luisi, Antony Hermus, Alain Altinoglu, François-Xavier Roth, Ryan Wigglesworth, Alexei Ogrintchouk. 2017-2021. Livret en anglais, allemand, français et nerlandais. 171’3”. RCO 20002.
The Royal Orchestra of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is a faithful pillar of contemporary creation, which it promptly documents as part of its label’s beautiful “Horizon” collection. This volume n°10 offers us a wide panorama recorded between 2017 and 2021.
This editorial window is a real opening onto contemporary horizons, whether purely symphonic or sometimes chamber music. We find big international names like Wolfgang Rihm, Detlev Glanert and Ryan Wigglesworth, renowned Dutch composers like Theo Verbey, Jacob TV (Jacob ter Veldhuis) and Martijn Padding and young talents Christiaan Richter, Bram Kortekaas, Rick van Veldhuizen and Celia Swart . Without forgetting 2 international guests: the Englishman Ryan Wigglesworth and the Spaniard Blai Soler.
The different styles of these composers also show the richness of the current scene shared between elders with a very characteristic style, even if sometimes nostalgic, and a young generation which sometimes searches for itself with an innate talent but sometimes with a form of shyness, but it is the lot of youth. In any case, it is admirable to see that a legendary orchestra like the Concertgebouw supports the young national generation.
At Celia Swart, we love the beauty of the textures and the meditative tone of her Reflections, a kind of instrumental mirror with sparkling timbres. Christian Richter also seduces with his twists, musical evocation of the architecture of the Amsterdam school surrounded with a sense of instrumental colors, a communicative energy and a great beauty of textures. Certainly we sometimes feel the dawn of Messiaen’s palette and the strength of Xenakis, but this score is chiselled down to the smallest detail is a major discovery of this box set. In view of the success of twists, Christian Richter immediately received a new order from the orchestra. His 2270 celebrates 250 years since the birth of Beethoven. The score includes short excerpts from Concerto pour piano n°4. The ear rediscovers this delicacy of line and this instrumental brilliance already noticed with twists. Christian Richter, a name to follow! the Sol by the Spaniard Blai Soler is also a great success by his sense of orchestration in parsimony but who knows how to create original instrumental alloys.
Other works are certainly well written, but less striking, such as the But the body is stained with shadows by Rick van Veldhuizen, well tucked in its instrumentation but a little behind or hovering Softly Bouncing by Martijn Padding, a little too uniform in tone. On his side, Rob Dirksen draws a dark portrait in Resilience sort of tragic dance for chamber orchestra.
The late Theo Verbey, closely linked to the Concertgebouw, presents his Ariadne, created here posthumously in 2020. The undulation of instrumental textures imposes a cold and disenchanted beauty.
Jacob TV (Jacob ter Veldhuis) delivers a brilliant Who, What, Where, When, Why? sort of dynamic fantasy about present times. The engine is brilliant and it allows the music stands of the orchestra to shimmer in a whirl worthy of John Adams.
Ryan Wigglesworth demonstrates tremendous writing skill with his Clocks from A Winter’s Taleinspired by his opera A Winter’s Tale according to Shakespeare. In three parts, this work in dark hues deploys a powerful and evocative sound envelope of a universe of darkness, it is quite “Brittenian” in the plastic beauty and the dramatic tension.
On the side of the big elders Detlev Glanert is at his best with his Broad land (Musik mir Brahms), whose Brahmsian sap flows through the instrumental veins with powerful neo-romantic writing. In Supported, Wolfgang Rihm also explores a vein from the past with an imposing art of form and instrumental mastery, this is one of his best recent scores.
Throughout these 3 discs, the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam is obviously masterful as much in tutti in works for chamber orchestra or small instrumental staff. The performers, among the best of the best, are at the service of these multiple aesthetics with devotion and attention.
A beautiful set that opens perspectives on the music of our time. Note that unlike more and more publishers, the Amsterdam label offers its lavish booklets in a French translation, it’s always a little more highly appreciated.
Sound: 10 – Booklet: 10 – Repertoire: 9 – Interpretation: 10
Pierre-Jean Tribot