Contraforte solo: Lorelei Dowling, Violin solo: Carolin Widmann: Was mir Beethoven erzählt (Haas)

My doctoral project, Developing the Contraforte for Twenty-first-century Ensemble Playing involves the contraforte and the creation of new musical compositions from myself and various composers. The contraforte is a relatively new instrument, developed in 2001 by the instrument maker Guntram Wolf. Like a contrabassoon, the contraforte is designed to have a more powerful, resonant sound and greater range. I collaborated with Liza Lim, Georges Aperghis, Georg Friedrich Haas, Leah Muir and Alberto Posadas, who contributed significantly to contemporary music. The six pieces highlight composers' sonic perceptions and thoughts when working with a new instrument and employ extended techniques and sounds derived from my study. The general goal is to move this instrument towards future explorations of more diverse and homogenous sounds in new music and therefore have a more prominent role in ensemble compositions. Australian bassoonist Lorelei Dowling is a world-renowned contemporary specialist She has been a member of Klangforum Wien, Vienna, Austria for over two decades. Lorelei Dowling has given lecture-recitals all over the world, most notably at the Manhattan School of Music, Moscow Conservatorium, Singapore University, Venice Conservatoire, Paris Conservatoire, Hong Kong bassoon society, Vietnam National Academy of Music, Royal Northern College of Music and for the International Double Reed Society in Ithaca, Wisconsin, Birmingham and Bangkok. In addition to being the first bassoonist to play the Jolivet Bassoon Concerto with a major Australian orchestra, she premiered Berio’s Sequenza XII for solo bassoon in Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia. She has premiered new bassoon solo works from Pierluigi Billone, George Aperghis, Georg Friedrich Haas, Liza Lim, Alberto Posadas, Mark Andre and Johannes Maria Staud and as a soloist has recorded for Kairos, Wergo, ABC Classics, and TYX Art. Haas describes his piece: “I use Beethoven’s tinnitus as the symbol of an apocalyptic threat. Beethoven’s “deafness” was not silent. Quite the opposite; he was constantly tortured by loud sounds produced by his auditory system. Two solo instruments are set against the orchestra: The violin – one of the oldest orchestral instruments—and the contraforte, perhaps one of the youngest, first presented in 2004 as a substantial improvement to the contrabassoon. The two instruments have only a few notes in common—not even an octave. They could not be more opposite.” When listening to the solo parts of each instrument, they are diametrically opposed. When the violin plays in the lowest register, the contraforte plays in the highest register, and vice versa. When the duet is not playing, a cacophony of orchestral music is heard, representing tinnitus. The composition opens with a contraforte playing an F#2 against the violin's 48/49th overtone. A build-up of overtones enhances the atmosphere, leaving the two solo instruments intertwining quarter-tone melodies. The composition concludes softly with contraforte and violin playing a quotation from Symphony # 7 against a carpet of Beethoven quotes from the orchestra, possibly implying the impact of tinnitus on the composer. Highlights in the timestamps are the quarter-tone duet 06:05 and, in contrast, the exquisite parallel 6ths provide comfort to the ear (10:43). TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Title 00:14 Contraforte F#2 and the 48th+49th overtone on violin 03:52 C#4 contraforte + violin, beginning a slow microtonal ascending duel. 04:32 1st duet 05:58 2nd duet starting on C6 for contraforte 06:05 Cfte+Vln expressive melodic melody in semi-and-quarter tone movement. 06:48 3rd duet 08:10 4th duet Cfte high/violin low 09:19 5th duet Cfte low/violin high 09:36 Contraforte multiphonics and roll tones 10:09 Contraofrte+Vln in rhythmic unison 10:43 Contraforte+Vln tonal relief 11:57 Cadenza's ‘between panic/frenzy' vln + 'slow, resigned' cft +quotes from Symphony #6. 14:12 Orchestra: Sonata op 53 “Waldstein” I mvt 17:49 Vln: Romance for Vln and orchestra, op. 50, +F3 pedal note played by contraforte which is circular breathed for 2.08 mins. 20:05 Contraforte+Vlin slow quarter-tone melody: Sonata op 110, IV mvt 21:00 Contraforte+Vln trills from Piano Concerto #4, II mvt 22:54 Vln cadenza + B3 pedal note from contraforte which is circular breathed for 2 mins. 24:08 Contraforte+Vln Sonata Op .109 II mvt, Var. VI 24:29 Contraforte+Vln repeated high note figure 26:30 Contraforte+Vln Symphony #7 theme starts slowly and quietly until the end as the orchestra plays quotes from Beethoven. 27:05 Double Basses: Sonata quasi una fantasia op. 27/2. I mvt 27:33 Brass: Egmont overture 28:09 Vln II: Sonata op 110 29:14 Percussion: Sonata op 81a 29:24 Horns: Sonata op 81a 30:02 Double basses: Vln concerto, op 61, I mvt 30:22 Vln I: Symphony #6 30:31 Contraforte+Vln: Fidelio 30:34 Brass: Symphony#6 30:44 Percussion: Piano Concerto 5 32:09 Contraforte+Vln 'Freedom' quote