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BYSTRÖM, B.: Ink-Wash on Paper (N. Andersson, Broman, Crawford-Phillips, Macleod, Nylund, Stotijn)
Since the late 19th century, composers have been influenced the visual arts. Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition inspired by the artwork of Victor Hartmann got the ball rolling, but it wasn’t long before other composers followed his example. Recognized as a rising star on the contemporary music scene, composer Britta Byström was born in Sundsvall, Sweden 1977 and began her musical career as a trumpet player. She started composing while still in her teens and studied composition at the Royal University of Music in Stockholm with Pär Lindgren and Bent Sørensen. In an age when most composers can only dream of hearing orchestras perform their works, Byström distinguished herself as a master of orchestral textures even during her student days. Byström’s work can be heard with major orchestras, soloists and concert halls like BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gürzenich Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, NDR Philharmonic, Royal Albert Hall, NDR Elbphilharmonie, John Storgårds, Janine Jansen and Malin Broman. The inspiration for ‘Ink-Wash on Paper” came about following a concert where artist Gunnel Wåhlstrand heard one of Byström’s other art-inspired works. It was decided on the spot that artist and composer should collaborate. Wåhlstrand specializes in the demanding technique of ink wash, creating overwhelming large-scale images photo-realistic images of nature on the west coast of Sweden. The clarity of detail, the quality of light and the reflections in these greyscale works are truly hypnotic and are beautifully complimented by Byström’s soft-focus sonics. This is graceful and elegant music but also somewhat bizarre; rarely rising above a mezzo-forte. As English critic Lynn René Bayley (Art Music Lounge) wrote, “Byström’s world seems to consist of gentle gestures that somehow add up to a listening experience that is transformative. Nothing is quite as it appears to be at first glance/listen, yet she sucks you into her sound world and says, “Why don’t you stay for a cup of galactic star tea?
LEONARD BERNSTEIN AT SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN MUSIK FESTIVAL
A film by Horant H. Hohfeld (Parts I, III, Bonus) and Humphrey Burton (Part II)
DVD 1 - Part I: The Birth of an Orchestra
We witness the arrival of 120 young musicians in Salzau, all of whom have been selected from over 1600 competitors in auditions. Under the guidance of experienced conductors and teachers, they work together in various groups which yield a homogeneous orchestral body in an amazingly short time.
DVD 2 - Part II: Orchestral Work with the Rite of the Spring
In his inimitable manner, Leonard Bernstein works on Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring with a youthful orchestra recruited especially for the International Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, explaining the form and contents of this large orchestral work and enticing astonishing artistic results from his young musicians. “Anybody who wants to be in a good orchestra has to be able to play it. It is also music of the young people, of youth.” (Leonard Bernstein)
DVD 3 - Part III: International Conductor’s Competition and Master Course
Of among the ten conductors selected from throughout the world, four only will be given the chance to work with Leonard Bernstein and “his” orchestra and go on a concert tour with him. The youth are torn between fear and hope, disappointment and triumph before finally submitting for the ultimate challenge of conducting the orchestra under the watchful gaze of the maestro, “What we are looking for is not the beating of the beat, it is the beating of the music.” (Leonard Bernstein)
Recorded at the International Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Salzau, Germany, 1988
Bonus:
- “Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54” with Justus Frantz (piano), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein (conductor)
Picture format: NTSC 4:3
Sound format: PCM Stereo
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Audio language: English, German
Subtitles: English, German, Korean, Japanese
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 180 mins (documentary) + 35 mins (bonus)
No. of DVDs: 3 (DVD 9)
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