Wolfgang Fortner: 'Lied' for piano

Описание: I recorded this today because the piano has just been tuned. Thank you, Fiona!

Lied is the German word for song, and this is a song in a 'choral' style. It is taken from a suite for piano called 'Kammermusik für Klavier' published by Schott in 1951. Two movements ('Lied' and 'Serenata') are included in Schott's 'New Piano Book' (volume 1, edited by Drahts and Zehm), and this is the version I played from here. It's a deeply expressive piece, composed in a tonal/modal idiom - a kind of extended D minor - and is relatively easy listening, compared with some of Fortner's other music. For those interested in hearing more, I would recommend his 'Sieben Elegien', published around the same time, but composed in a much thornier idiom. There is an excellent recording of this work by Moritz Eggert.

Wolfgang Fortner was an important figure in twentieth century music in Germany. He was a gifted composer, but also an influential figure in many other aspects of German musical life, not least as the teacher of many post-war composers of importance (including Henze). His reputation is controversial as he remained in Germany during the period the Nazis were in power, this in spite of his stylistic experimentation being frowned upon (and the fact that he was homosexual). The musicologist Michael Haas has written insightfully about him and I recommend his blog (on YouTube).