Wolfgang Rihm
1. Doppelgesang
Short instrumentation: 2 2 2 2 - 2 1 1 0 - timp, perc, hp, vln, vla(3), vc(3), cb(3)
Duration: 15'
Instrumentation details:
flute(2)
oboe(2)
clarinet(2)
bassoon(2)
horn(2)
trumpet
trombone
timpani
percussion
harp
violin(6)
viola(3)
violoncello(3)
contrabass(3)
Rihm - 1. Doppelgesang for viola, violoncello and orchestra
Printed/Digital
Translation, reprints and more
Wolfgang Rihm
Rihm: Erster DoppelgesangOrchestration: for viola, violoncello and orchestra
Type: Partitur
Sample pages
Audio preview
Work introduction
The idea for a double concerto for viola and cello came from Walter Grimmer, cellist of the Berlin String Quartet. Rihm’s music is highly dramatic, driven as if it were a wrestling match in which the two soloists were locked in a struggle for victory over the 30 members of the orchestra. The composer was thinking the while on the friendship of Rimbaud and Verlaine, as well as “the free forms of lyrical prose and musical hybrids – concerto and dance scene, vocal duet and chamber symphony.”
Translation © 2012 by Grant Chorley