Berg, Schönberg, Zimmermann & Liszt Cathy Krier

• Alban Berg (1885-1935)
• 1 Sonata for piano, Op. 1: Mäßig bewegt 10:46
• Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951)
• 2 Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11: I. Mäßige 04:19
• 3 Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11: II. Sehr langsam 08:49
• 4 Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11: III. Bewegte 03:24
• Bernd Alois Zimmermann (1918-1971)
• 5 I. Introduktion. Andante rappresentativo 02:02
• 6 II. Ekloge. Larghetto, con espressione 03:11
• 7 III. Rondino. Allegro giocoso 00:52
• 8 IV. Bourée. Allegro moderato 00:50
• 9 V. Meditation. Adagio molto 03:38
• 10 VI. Aria. Andante molto cantabile 01:27
• 11 VII. Estampida. Allegro 01:11
• 12 VIII. Toccata. Allegro feroce 01:31
• 13 I. Vigil. Larghetto molto 02:24
• 14 II. Hora. Moderato 01:34
• 15 III. Ostinato. Presto 01:10
• 16 IV. Matutin. Cantabile molto 02:23
• 17 V. Imagination. Sostenuto 01:54
• 18 Intermezzo: Andante con moto 01:27
• 19 L'après-midi d'un Puck: Allegro giocoso 00:50
• 20 Hommage à Johann Strauss: Tempo di valse 00:43
• Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951)
• 21 Klavierstück, Op. 33a: Mäßig 02:40
• 22 Klavierstück, Op. 33b: Mäßig langsam 03:34
• Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
• 23 Trübe Wolken, S.199 03:56
• 24 Unstern, S.208 06:43
• Total Runtime 01:11:18

Info for Berg, Schönberg, Zimmermann & Liszt

The early 20th century is a period that fascinates me. The prevalent musical aesthetic was disrupted by a new generation of composers who maintained their roots in tradition, but felt a great desire to expand music’s horizons: they formed a multitude of currents and embarked on a number of different paths, all driven by the idea of transfiguring everything they had previously known.

For this album I have chosen to retrace the path originally taken by Arnold Schoenberg. Born in Vienna in 1874, Schoenberg had an atypical career. Upon his father’s death, he had to leave school as the eldest sibling at the age of sixteen to take up a profession. As an autodidact he learned the essentials of com- position by sight-reading great repertoire and by playing chamber music on the cello and the violin. Married to the sister of Alexander Zemlinsky, Schoenberg took some counterpoint lessons from that composer and soon started teaching harmony and counterpoint himself, from 1903 on. His teaching activity remained central throughout his life, both in Europe and after having immigrated to the US. Profoundly aware of the continual evolution of Art as a historical necessity, Schoenberg introduced an important change into composition at the beginning of the 20th century. He took it over the brink into the unknown by dissolving the classical functions of harmony, then by eliminating all familiar points of melodic and thematic reference.

Schoenberg’s Op. 11 is the first truly atonal work for piano ever written. He composed it in 1909 and revised it in 1924, applying total freedom in terms of structure and avoiding any sort of functional harmony, resorting to intervals containing the utmost tension and deploying the greatest contrasts in terms of dynamics and by alternating melodious, tranquil sections with spirited, fiery passages. …

Cathy Krier, piano

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Cathy Krier
Born in Luxembourg in 1985, Cathy began taking piano lessons at the Luxembourg Conservatoire at the age of five. In 1999 she was admitted to Professor Pavel Gililov´s masterclass at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne. In 2000 she recorded Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in G major with the Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra conducted by Carlo Jans. Her first solo recording was released in 2008 and features pieces by Scarlatti, Haydn, Chopin, Dutilleux and Müllenbach.

Cathy Krier is the laureate of a number of prizes and scholarships including the Prix Norbert Stelmes, awarded to her by the Jeunesses Musicales du Luxembourg in 2003 and, in the following year, the IKB International Foundation Prize.

In 2005 Cathy joined Cyprien Katsaris for a four-hand performance at the inauguration of the Luxembourg Philharmonie. In 2006 she played at the Ruhr Piano Festival following an invitation by Professor Robert Levin to join his masterclass. Further stepping stones in Cathy’s training as a professional pianist were an invitation to the Académie musicale de Villecroze and her participation in masterclasses with Dominique Merlet, Homero Francesch and Andrea Lucchesini under whom she undertook further study at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole.

In 2007 Cathy performed at the Luxembourg European Capital of Culture opening ceremony. She also makes regular appearances at the Bourglinster, Echternach International and Musek am Syrdall Festivals in Luxembourg.

Cathy’s concert engagements included performances in the United States (Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Washington, D.C.) and the Netherlands where she played at Rolduc Abbey in response to an invitation by the Euriade Foundation. She also performed at venues across Austria, Spain, Germany, Latvia, Andorra, Italy, France and Belgium and was subsequently invited to play at the Summerclassics Festival and at Pianoplus Bonn, and to perform recitals at the K20/K21 Museum in Düsseldorf, the Nordrhein Medical Association, the Bagno Concert Gallery, the CAPe Ettelbrück, the Luxembourg House in Berlin and the Grand Théâtre and the Philharmonie in Luxembourg-City. In 2012, Cathy performed at the Liepaja Piano Stars Festival, the Falkenhof in Rheine (D), the Midi-Minimes Fesival in Brussels and the Sint-Peter Festival in Louvain, the Spaziomusica Festival in Cagliari (I), the Philharmonie in Luxembourg and at Schoß Elmau (D) among others. Further, she has been invited to be Artist in Residence at the Biermans-Lapôtre Foundation in Paris. In 2013, more concerts including the Leipziger Klaviersommer and the Mendelssohn-Haus are planned.

In addition to her work as a recitalist, Cathy has performed as a soloist with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Solistes Européens du Luxembourg, the Luxembourg-based chamber orchestras Les Musiciens and L’Estro Armonico, the Liepaja symphony amber sound orchestra and the Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra under various conductors including Jack Martin Händler, Bramwell Tovey, Garry Walker, Pierre Cao, Yoon K. Lee and Atvars Laktsigala.

Booklet for Berg, Schönberg, Zimmermann & Liszt