Pintscher-Premiere

A new work by one of new music's new stars

He'll probably hate us for calling him that, but Matthias Pintscher is a star. Pintscher, born in 1971 in the small town of Marl, Germany, is one of the very few modern composers who has made it from awards to commissions and to a life away from the fringes. His violin concerto was written for Frank Peter Zimmermann, the renowned "Alte Oper" in Frankfurt played his works for a whole month in 2003. Critics have discovered similarities to Mahler in his oeuvre, which might find its reason in the fact that Pintscher likes to dabble in conducting as well. The basis for his success is probably his realistic estimation of what music can and should do today. Matthias admits that we have entered a phase of "blunting", in which there is nothing to be gained from schocking (because people are not shocked any more). Rather, he aims at mirroring "the hectic pace, the fear and the impossibility of our time".

Aforementioned Frank Peter Zimmermann is involved with another premiere of his works on June 21st. Together with Heinrich Schiff on Cello, the duo will embark on a performance of "Study I for Treatise on the Veil" at the Konzerthaus in Berlin. The piece has been comissioned by the Philharmonie Essen and was written for Cy Twombly, an artist from the circle around Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.

Homepage: Matthias Pintscher
Source: 3 Sat: Article on Matthias Pintscher
Homepage: Konzerthaus Berlin
Source: Cy Twombly Gallery