Entitled Resounding Dünser has assembled compositions by Schönberg, Webern and Berg, which he, with his “entire instrumental virtuosity at his disposal (…) translated into the acoustic possibilities of a colourful ensemble” – according to Rainer Lepuschitz in the accompanying text to this new release. Dünser's very own ensemble piece Entreacte bursts forth "into a new freedom of formal and tonal concepts without entirely severing the link with what has historically come before". It simultaneously serves as his very personal commentary on the soul of the Second Viennese School.
"Richard Dünser is a savant, an expert, in addition to his prowess as a composer. On the one hand, he skillfully approaches the works of other composers as an arranger with humility and to offer readings that would very likely astonish even the original creators. On the other hand, he draws essential inspiration for his own compositions from a very profound examination of the sound architectures and timbres. A composition virtuoso in the best sense of the word. Thanks to Dünser's ingenious arrangements, the Second Viennese School finds resonance in contexts to which these masterpieces would otherwise remain inaccessible."
– Peter Paul Kainrath
Available from 25 October 2024.
Richard Dünser
Richard Dünser was born on 1 May 1959 in Bregenz. After high school and studies at the Vorarlberg Conservatory, he enrolled at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, where he studied composition with Francis Burt. Following his diploma, he continued post-graduate studies with Hans Werner Henze in Cologne and participated as fellow in a summer course at Tanglewood/USA (where he encountered Leonard Bernstein). Richard Dünser’s works and adaptations are performed worldwide by renowned artists, orchestras and ensembles for important music promoters and at major institutions in Europe and in the USA. Many of his works are documented on CD, including his Violin Concerto, the orchestral piece “Der Wanderer”, the opera “Radek” and the “Radek Symphony”, the Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, his (so far) three String Quartets, the ensemble and chamber music works “Opheliamusik”, “Night-Triptych”, “Synopsis”, “Entreacte”, “Tage- und Nachtbücher”, “The Return of the Hunters” and “Fantasy Intermezzo and Night Music”. There also exist a number of CD recordings of his numerous adaptations, for instance of his completed version of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony in E major, of the Concerto for Piano Four Hands and String Orchestra – an adaptation of Brahms's Piano Quartet in G minor – and of the completed version of Schubert’s opera “Der Graf von Gleichen”.
Dünser’s compositions can be seen in the context of the ongoing continuum of western music and art in general. He emerges from an Austrian lineage that starts with Schubert and leads via Bruckner, Mahler and Zemlinsky, all the way to Schoenberg, Berg, Webern and Cerha – offering provenance, impact and influence. He is able to empathise with this period of music history, which lasted for more than 200 years – even to such a degree that it is possible for him to adapt works by some of these composers for other, meaningful instrumentations, rethinking and recreating them anew; or even to complete the composition of fragments by Schubert. (Rainer Lepuschitz)
Resounding - Track List
Richard Dünser
01 Entreacte for Ensemble (2014)
Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951) / Richard Dünser
15 poems from "Das Buch der hängenden Gärten"
by Stefan George op. 15 (1909)
Arrangement for one voice and large Ensemble (2010)
02 Unterm Schutz von dichten Blättergründen
03 Hain in diesen Paradiesen
04 Als Neuling trat ich ein in dein Gehege
05 Da meine Lippen reglos sind und brennen
06 Saget mir, auf welchem Pfade
07 Jedem Werke bin ich fürder tot
08 Angst und Hoffen wechselnd mich beklemmen
09 Wenn ich heut nicht deinen Leib berühre
10 Streng ist uns das Glück und spröde
11 Das schöne Beet betracht ich mir im Harren
12 Als wir hinter dem beblümten Tore
13 Wenn sich bei heiligeår Ruh in tiefen Matten
14 Du lehnest wider eine Silberweide am Ufer
15 Sprich nicht immer von dem Laub
16 Wir bevölkerten die abend-düstern Lauben
Three pieces op. 11 (1909), arrangement for Ensemble (2008)
17 I Mäßige Viertel
18 II Mäßige Achtel
19 III Bewegte Achtel
Anton Webern (1883-1945) / Richard Dünser
Four pieces op. 7 (1910; rev. 1914)
Arrangement for solo violin and ensemble (2016)
20 I Sehr langsam
21 II Rasch
22 III Sehr langsam
23 IV Bewegt
Alban Berg (1885-1935) / Richard Dünser
Piano Sonata op. 1 (1908; rev. 1920/25)
Arrangement for Ensemble (2009)
24 Mäßig bewegt
Recording Artists
Klangforum Wien
Magdalena Anna Hofmann, soprano
Gunde Jäch-Micko, violin
Katharina Wincor, conductor
Release date: 25 October 2024
Label: Zappel Music
