Rudiments

Content

Works for acoustic instruments, mostly written with the aid of computers composed between 1986 and 1993. Includes 'Entsagung' for flute, bass clarinet, prepared piano, percussion and interactive live electronics, and 'Lexikon-Sonate', played by a computer controlled Bosendorfer.

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	met him pike trousers (1987) for large orchestra United Philharmonic; Dir: Richard Edlinger
	Helix 1.0 (1986) for string quartet Arditti String Quartet (London)
	Rudiments (1989/90) for 4 snare drums Les Guetteurs des Sons; Dir: Heinz Karl Gruber
	Close the Gap (1990) for 3 tenor saxophones Ensemble XASAX (Paris)
	Entsagung (1991-93) for flute, bass clarinet, prepared piano, percussion and live-electronics Klangforum Wien; Dir: Gerd Kühr
	Lexikon-Sonate (1992 ff.) interactive realtime composition for computer-controlled piano Bösendorfer SE Grand Piano (excerpt)

Reviews

"One of the few modern composers who incorporates the sound of electronic musical equipment into his highly unusual and multi dimensional scores is also doing great things for electronic music in general. A native of Austria, Karlheinz Essl is fast making his mark in the classical music world. Capable of producing a myriad of emotive and effective statements without overstatement of the obvious or traditional."

"The music of the Viennese composer Karlheinz Essl is a case study in the disintegration of boundaries between improvisation and composition. On the 1995 compilation Rudiments (TONOS), which includes several examples of his imaginative abstract writing (Met him pike trousers, Helix 1.0), Essl travels easily between two modes, particulary on Close the Gap, a composition for three tenor saxophones. Though it is driven bey an unmistakable logic, the piece nevertheless reveals many hallmarks of the extended technique practiced by improvisers - the percussive pops, the legato arcs, and the staccato unisons."

"Essl è un giovane compositore, nato a Vienna nel '60. Rudiments contiene 6 partiture scritte tra l'86 e il '94. Si passa dalla grande orchestra al quartetto d'archi, dall quartetto di percussioni al trio di sassofoni tenori. Conclude con live electronics e computer. Tutto, come è stato scritto in altri contesti, 'basato sull'estetica di due concetti: imprevedibilità e conseguenza. Queste due supposizioni portano a considerare che una scienza del disordine può ritrovare il disordine reale dietro l'ordine apparente.' E questo rende al meglio l'idea di scrittura Essl."

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Updated: 8 Apr 2009