is a

song cycle A song cycle () is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a combinat ...

for tenor and large orchestra by

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (; 13 March 1952 – 27 July 2024) was a German composer of contemporary classical music and an academic teacher based in Karlsruhe. He was an influential post-war European composer, as "one of the most original and independent mus ...

composed in 2016 for the opening of the

Elbphilharmonie The Elbphilharmonie (; "Elbe Philharmonic Hall"), popularly nicknamed Elphi, is a concert hall in the HafenCity quarter of Hamburg, Germany, on the Grasbrook peninsula of the Elbe River. The new construction resembles a hoisted sail, water wave ...

in Hamburg. It is subtitled , setting poems by Hans Henny Jahnn, Peter Huchel and Walter Muschg. It was premiered on 11 January 2017.

History

received a commission from the NDR broadcaster to compose a work for of the

in Hamburg. It was the only world premiere for this occasion. He created a song cycle for tenor and large orchestra in 2016, based on four poems by Hans Henny Jahnn, a playwright, author and organ builder from Hamburg, Peter Huchel, a German poet, and , a Swiss author. It is subtitled , in memory of Jahnn. The duration is given as 15 minutes. The song cycle premiered at the

on 11 January 201, performed by tenor and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock. A reviewer from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' noted that the texts were bleak and the music "characteristically eclectic". A reviewer from the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the music as "rangy, difficult", "broody" and "arresting".

References

Cited sources

* * * * * * * * {{authority control Classical song cycles in German Compositions by Wolfgang Rihm 2016 compositions