Wolfgang Rihm
Nähe fern 1
Short instrumentation: 2 2 2 3 - 4 2 3 1 - timp, str
Duration: 10'
Instrumentation details:
1st flute
2nd flute
oboe
cor anglais
1st clarinet in A
2nd clarinet in A
1st bassoon
2nd bassoon
contrabassoon
1st horn in F
2nd horn in F
3rd horn in F
4th horn in F
1st trumpet in C
2nd trumpet in C
1st trombone
2nd trombone
3rd trombone
bass tuba
timpani
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
contrabass
Rihm - Nähe fern 1 for orchestra
Sample pages
Audio preview
Work introduction
After
Ernster Gesang (1996) and Das Lesen der Schrift (2001/2002), Rihm again demonstrates his affinity
with temporally distant Brahms in Nähe fern 1. The title is from a
poem by Goethe which Brahms also set to music; Rihm was motivated to compose it
at the suggestion of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and the Lucerne Festival,
to write four orchestral works, one of which could be played before each of
Brahms’ symphonies.
Nähe
fern 1 is late Romantic music, the expression of a longing perhaps more
associated with Mahler than with Brahms. It is saturated with melodies
interrupted by passionate outbursts from the horns, bassoon, cor anglais and
strings. Apart from a brief allegretto,
the tempo is adagio, constantly kept in flux by ritentuto and più vivo
passages. At the same time, Nähe fern 1
is the first movement of a four-part symphony.