One of the continuing appeals of Hans Werner Henze's music is his ability to use the formidable arsenal of twentieth century musical innovations in works that have immediate aural appeal, while probing ambiguous or disturbing layers of meaning lurking beneath the surface. The complexity of his music is generally not so much apparent on its surface as in its psychology. While Henze has written in virtually every genre of music in his long and remarkably productive career, he is essentially a dramatic composer, and it's for ...
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One of the continuing appeals of Hans Werner Henze's music is his ability to use the formidable arsenal of twentieth century musical innovations in works that have immediate aural appeal, while probing ambiguous or disturbing layers of meaning lurking beneath the surface. The complexity of his music is generally not so much apparent on its surface as in its psychology. While Henze has written in virtually every genre of music in his long and remarkably productive career, he is essentially a dramatic composer, and it's for his operas, ballets, music theater pieces, vocal music, and film music that he will be most remembered. Four of the five of the works gathered on this recording reflect that emphasis; Neue Volkslieder und Hirtengesänge; Der Junge Törless; Carillon, Récitatif, Masque; and Selbst- und Zweigespräche each had their origins in pieces written for theater, film, or television. Even in the wind quintet L'autunno, the only work that began its life as "absolute" music, the instruments are...
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