For Wolfgang Rihm, his follow-up composition IN-SCHRIFT 2 has garnered a lot of attention and acclaim. Thus, for his astounding work, Rihm has been given the 2015 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition.
Hats off to Rihm as his 15-minute score for orchestra has taken the award for its exploration of musical space. The music was originally composed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Philharmonic's concert hall, the Philharmonie.
And per NPR endorsed-WFPL, IN-SCRIFT 2 "explores [the Philharmonie's] unique space, by placing musicians from the orchestra around and within the audience, creating spatial and surround-sound effects."
It continued: "The work is also noted for not using flutes, violins or violas (standard orchestral instruments), instead focusing on the darker and deeper sounds of the ensemble."
A prolific composer of more than 400 works, Rihm's meteoric rise to prominence in 1974 came after the premiere of his own Morponie. Associated normally with expressionism, with roots tracing back to Mahler and Schoenberg, Rihm has figured 13 string quartets, four operas and an oratorio Deus Passus.
He has been featured at music festivals in Lucerne and Salzburg, and his violin concerto was premiered by Anne-Sophie and the New York Philharmonic in 2010.
For a premiere composer like Rihm, finding time and solitude must be harder than reading his full study score for IN-SCHRIFT 2.
Nonetheless, this is a major feat for the composer and, thus, a congratulations from Classicalite to Rihm is extended for his excellent work.
The 2015 Award in Music is one of five Grawemeyer awards from the University of Louisville, each with a prize of $100,000.
And for now, here is a little of the predecessor, IN-SCHRIFT:
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