''8 Pieces on Paul Klee'' is the debut album of the

Ensemble Sortisatio Ensemble Sortisatio is a quartet (viola, oboe/cor anglais, bassoon and guitar) founded by violist Matthias Sannemüller in 1992 in Leipzig, Germany. Its members are mostly soloists at the MDR Symphony Orchestra. They have specialized in contempo ...

. It was recorded in February and March 2002 in Leipzig, Germany and in August 2002 in Lucerne, Switzerland. It was released in 2003 by

Creative Works Records Creative Works Records is an independent Swiss record label. History The label ''Creative Works Records'' was founded in 1983 by Mike Wider in Root (canton of Lucerne). Wider, who at that time had helped build up a recording studio in Lucerne a ...

Background

All compositions on the CD ''8 Pieces on Paul Klee'', with the exception of Christian Henking's ''Sillis'', were commissioned by the

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR; ''Central German Broadcasting'') is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. Established in January 1991, its headquarters are in Leipzig, with regional studi ...

.Stephen W. Ellis: Booklet-Text, CD ''8 Pieces on Paul Klee'', 2003, CW 1035 The

Groupe Lacroix Die Groupe Lacroix is a Swiss-Austrian composers ensemble. History The formation of Groupe Lacroix goes back to a joint master class visit of the founding members to the Russian avant-garde composer Edison Denisov as part of the Lucerne Festi ...

were the composers and consists of well-known Swiss and Austrian composers of the contemporary music scene. Its members attended master classes with the renowned Russian composer

Edison Denisov Edison Vasilievich Denisov (russian: Эдисо́н Васи́льевич Дени́сов, 6 April 1929 – 24 November 1996) was a Russian composer in the so-called " Underground", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division of Soviet music. ...

as part of the

Lucerne Festival Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the world of classical music and presents a series of classical music festivals based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded in 1938 by Ernest Ansermet and Walter Schulthess, it curren ...

. The group was born at the ''Centre musical de la Fondation Hindemith Chalet de Lacroix'', the last residence of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

Blonay Blonay () is a former municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while ...

. In addition to the chairman of the Swiss section of the International Society for Contemporary Music,

Jean-Luc Darbellay Jean-Luc Darbellay (born 2 July 1946) is a Swiss composer, conductor, clarinetist and physician. He was chairman of the Swiss Society for New Music and board member of the International Society for Contemporary Music. Darbellay is a member of th ...

, the internationally successful musicians

John Wolf Brennan John Wolf Brennan (born 13 February 1954) is an Irish pianist, organist, melodica player, and composer based in Weggis, Switzerland. Career Brennan was born in Dublin, Ireland. His family moved to Switzerland when he was seven years old. He be ...

and

Marianne Schroeder Marianne Schroeder (born 1949 in Reiden) is a Swiss pianist and composer. She studied with Giacinto Scelsi. She played at Carnegie Hall, Lucerne Festival and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. She worked with John Cage and Shigeru Kan-no. She is ...

count themselves among its members. Also the composers Christian Henking, Michael Schneider,

Michael Radanovics Michael Radanovics (born 19 March 1958) is an Austrian violinist (jazz and classic) and composer. Life Born in Steyr, Radanovics passed his school-leaving examination in 1976. He studied violin with Michael Frischenschlager from 1977 to 1985 and ...

and

Alfons Karl Zwicker Alfons Karl Zwicker (born 22 April 1952) is a Swiss composer, pianist and painter. Life Born in St. Gallen, Zwicker began as a painter and designer. He created several paintings, which were exhibited between 1973 and 1980. Zwicker then studied p ...

play on the recording. Except for Henking's ''Sillis'' (DSE), the compositions were premiered in 1999 during the MDR Musiksommer at the

Museum der bildenden Künste The Museum der bildenden Künste (German: "Museum of Fine Arts") is a museum in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It covers artworks from the Late Middle Ages to Modernity. History Museum Foundation and First Museum The museum dates back to the fo ...

in Leipzig and in 2002 at the Hindemith-Musikzentrum in Blonay.

The music

The following creations were inspired by the Swiss painter

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented ...

and his paintings: * Besessenes Mädchen Composer Thuring Bräm concerned himself with Klee's portrait painting. Klee painted both positive and negative faces and he was particularly interested in feminine figures. ''Demonic Lady'' (1937) and the subject of this composition, ''Besessenes Mädchen'' (1924), are examples of a sad or somber character in Klee's work. Bräm became familiar with ''Besessenes Mädchen'' at the

Beyeler Foundation The Beyeler Foundation or Fondation Beyeler with its museum in Riehen, near Basel (Switzerland), owns and oversees the art collection of Hildy and Ernst Beyeler, which features modern and traditional art. The Beyeler Foundation museum includes a s ...

in Basel in 2000 and had thought out the entire quartet by 2001. * Shark Turtle Ray During a stay in Sydney between 1998 and 1999, Michael Schneider was overwhelmed by a creative urge. He composed these three pictorial movements inspired by sharks, turtles, and rays. The piece is scored for oboe, viola and guitar. * Wie der Klee vierblättrig wurde In 1999, Marianne Schroeder was influenced by Klee's watercolors, ''

Hat Kopf, Hand, Fuss und Herz ''Has Head, Hand, Feet and Heart'' is a watercolor by Paul Klee painted in 1930. It is held at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, in Düsseldorf, which acquired this painting in 1960 with the collection of the Pittsburgh entrepreneur G. David ...

'' (1930) and ''Mr. Z'' (1934). The movements are played one after another, and the instruments act interchangeably. The title translates to "How the clover became four-leaved." It is a pun on Klee's name, which means "clover." * N-gl John Wolf Brennan references Klee's '' Angelus Novus'' (1920). The short expression ''N-gl'' (1999) is a reference to three instruments, without guitar. * Sillis Written in 1992, ''Sillis'' is the only work on the album that was not composed for the ensemble. It references one of Klee's most famous paintings, '' Hauptweg und Nebenwege'' (1929), created after the artist traveled through Egypt. Christian Henking composed the work for guitar. * Trauernd ''Trauernd'' refers to the painting of the same name from 1934, in which Klee reveals his deep distress over experiences after his release from Nazi imprisonment. Alfons Karl Zwicker composed this piece in 2002 for the entire ensemble. * Entweihte Sphinx, Die Sphinx geht Michael Radanovics interpreted the sketches ''Entweihte Sphinx'' (1939) and ''Die Sphinx geht'' (1939). Klee became mystical as his art matured. Radanovics tried to capture this mood in 1999. * Sozusagen In 17 miniatures, this piece traces the dots and strokes of Klee's ''Sozusagen'' (1933), painted after his exile to Switzerland. It is Jean-Luc Darbellay's last composition, written in 1997. It has a motivating and forward-looking effect.

Success

The works on the CD have been performed on several tours in numerous cities in Switzerland. The ensemble has given concerts in Bern, Lucerne, Lausanne and Winterthur. In 2004, the works were broadcast at the Dutch Concertzender.Bijdetijds: Paul Klee
In 2008 there were performances with Alexander Klee, Paul Klee's grandson. In addition, other composers felt inspired to compose on the subject of Klee. The Ensemble Sortisatio was invited to the People's Republic of China and is looking forward to further cooperation with international composers.

Reception

Cover

On the cover are Klee pictures of school children from Weggis.

Track list

# ''Besessenes Mädchen'' (ein musikalisches Skizzenblatt für Paul Klee) – 5:15 # ''Shark Turtle Ray'' – 7:00 # ''Wie der Klee vierblättrig wurde'' – 6:49 # ''N-gl'' – 11:13 # ''Sillis'' – 5:46 # ''Trauernd'' – 6:51 # ''Entweihte Sphinx, Die Sphinx geht'' – 7:25 # ''Sozusagen'' – 9:25 All compositions are by the

, except title which was written by the guest composer Thüring Bräm.

References

{{Authority control 2003 albums Paul Klee 2003 classical albums Classical albums by German artists