Contemporary Music
Requiem for a Friend
Famous conductor and composer Bruno Maderna died in 1973. His friend Pierre Boulez wrote Rituel in momariam Bruno Maderna in 1974-75 in his memory.
Elliott Carter (pictured) in turn wrote Penthode in 1985, dedicating it to Boulez, to whom he owed a great deal.
And in 2002, Heinz Holliger paid tribute to Elliott Carter with the fiendishly difficult string quartet ‘To Elliott Carter’. The final movement alone is a tour the force: eache of the four musician plays double stops, while all four also add a third, hummed part, creating a twelve-part chorale.
Playlist
Elliott Carter – Penthode (Ensemble InterContemporain, conducted by Boulez)
Heinz Holliger – String Quartet No. 2 ‘To Elliott Carter’ (Zehetmair Quartet)
Pierre Boulez – Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna (SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, conducted by Michael Gielen)
