Gülru Ensari / Herbert Schuch DIALOGUES

Bernd Alois Zimmermann (1918-1970) is quoting Mozart and Debussy and others in his Monologues. This project album is trying to follow the ruts of Zimmermann, celebrating his 100th birthday.

“As students we had already been allowed to take a peek inside the Monologues, but we only had access to a couple of photocopied pages. When the 100-year-celebration of Zimmermann’s birth came around, we remembered the impression they had made upon us. When we finally got to see the entire score, however, we took a deep breath: it demands the most incredible acrobatic feats!

From the very beginning, we were particularly charmed by the way Zimmermann cites other composers: the quoted passages rise up in the midst of an agitated storm, like islands of tranquility and beauty. The works quoted by Zimmermann are not for piano duo, but we find that they have certain parallels with the other pieces on this recording.

The cocky, unpredictable, whimsical aspect of Mozart’s C Major Sonata is also present in Zimmermann. It is fascinating to note how he quotes Debussy’s prelude Feux d’artifice (Fireworks) in the 4th and 5th Monologues, thereby transplanting that shimmering French flair into his own musical environment.

Debussy, for Zimmermann, is more than just a source for quotes. The frothy, pastel sonorities in the Monologues are so untypically German, so much more beautifully poetical than anywhere else, except in Debussy. Etc.” (excerpt from an interview printed in the booklet)

Gülru Ensari / Herbert Schuch GO EAST!

„Everything began with Paul Hindemith’s Waltzes, op. 6. One morning, before practicing, Gülru Ensari and Herbert Schuch sight-read those eight miniatures for four hands, and were astounded to find that they featured a number of similarities with the Brahms Waltzes. Why not intermingle the two cycles? The Turkish-German duo – who are partners in real life, not just at the piano – decided to record the Brahms and Hindemith cycles for this CD release, along with two Turkish dances by Özkan Manav and the four-hand version of Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring”.
........................ And then it turned out that the “Hungarian” element often gave us the chance to create smooth transitions between one composer and the other. It ends up sounding incredibly natural to us. The two composers are directing their gaze toward the same horizon: to the East......

Where did you get the idea of commissioning Özkan Manav to compose a work for your duo?

Composing in Vienna and Frankfurt respectively, Brahms and Hindemith found their inspiration in Hungarian folk tunes. Özkan Manav arranged an Armenian folk dance; in Paris, Stravinsky revisited the folk music of his Russian homeland to write ‘Sacre’. To what extent do those gazes towards the East and the variety of musical cultures represented on your CD bear autobiographical traits?

Ensari Each one of us emigrated from the “East” to Germany.................

Schuch ... Furthermore, Brahms was able to appropriate the Hungarian style until it became his own musical language, thereby revealing a more down-to-earth, uncomplicated side of his nature. It’s truly moving to see how someone can adopt a foreign element that ends up enriching his own personality. ......... And we didn’t choose the subject of dance by mere chance: we just love to dance.” (excerpts from the Booklet interview).