Friedrich Goldmann: „De profundis“

Collegium Novum Zürich, Ensemble Contrechamps Geneva, Switzerland
Österreichisches Ensemble für Neue Musik, Austria 

2009 saw the death of composer Friedrich Goldmann in Berlin. Found in his estate is a manuscript of a work he composed in 1975 as a conscript in the GDR army: “De profundis”. The composition can be seen as an artistic reaction to the experience of repression and the lack of freedom under the post-Stalinist dictatorship. Back then performance would have been inconceivable and still to this day “De profundis” remains unperformed – indeed also primarily due to its unusual line-up which takes the title literally, heavily stressing the lower registers. Those familiar with the work’s manuscript – including musicologist and long-term director of the Berlin Concert House Frank Schneider, conductor Johannes Kalitzke and Goldmann pupil and composer Enno Poppe – believe “De profundis” to be one of Goldmann’s strongest creations and a work that really must be performed. To bring about this premiere 39 years in the making the partners have joined forces with Collegium Novum Zürich, the Österreichisches Ensemble für Neue Musik and the Ensemble Contrechamps from Geneva, which all pursue a similar approach in terms of content. With the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation “De profundis” will be performed in a suitable programmatic context under the baton of Johannes Kalitzke in Salzburg, Zürich and Geneva: for instance, Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s piece “Antiphonen” tallies with Goldmann’s work both in line-up and in arrangement as a kind of “ecclesiastic concert”. This content thread is also reflected in his own way by Martin Jaggi in his new work – likewise works by Klaus Lang and Brian Ferneyhough will also tie in with the content and sound of the program. While the three ensembles will jointly perform Goldmann’s and Zimmermann’s works for large line-ups, for other works they will perform as separate bodies of musicians. 

January 10, 2014
Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria 

January 11, 2014
Tonhalle Zürich, Switzerland 

January 12, 2014
Studio Ernest Ansermet, Geneva, Switzerland 

Further Information: 
www.cnz.ch
www.contrechamps.ch
www.oenm.at