Wolfgang Rihm
Chiffre I
Short instrumentation: cl, bsn, tpt, tbn, vc(2), cb(1)
Duration: 8'
Solos:
piano
Instrumentation details:
clarinet in Bb (+bass cl(Bb))
bassoon
trumpet in C
trombone
1st violoncello
2nd violoncello
contrabass
Rihm - Chiffre I for piano and 7 instruments
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Wolfgang Rihm
Rihm: Chiffre IOrchestration: für Klavier und 7 Instrumente
Type: Studienpartitur (Sonderanfertigung)
Sample pages
Audio preview
Work introduction
These eight minutes are fully
charged with musical events. In the first half, the piano takes the main role
by far, performing as a kind of piano
furioso, driving the music breathlessly onward, the part replete with sforzatissimo and fortissimo marcato, barely allowing the other instruments to have a
say.
A short section follows, in
which the piano seems exhausted, but the rapid triple forte, sempre marcatissimo drive soon returns. Then the mood and
tempo change again, as the roles are newly distributed; the ensemble takes the
lead – quick, restless, loud and abounding with sforzatissimi, the piano adding commentary. A dialogue between the
solo instrument and the ensemble fuels the music’s impulse anew until, just
before the end, the ensemble instruments begin to pulse. The piece ends with a
quadruple forte in the piano.
Translation: Grant
Chorley