On June 16, 2015 Vladimir Jurowski – one of the most renowned and interesting conductors of his generation – and Vladimir Spivakov (violin) performed Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s “Concerto funebre” with the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia “Evgeny Svetlanov” at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow.
On October 26, 2013 the renowned Henze researcher Prof. Dr. Peter Petersen gave a lecture for the PROJEKTINSEL HARTMANN-HENZE as part of the “Karl Amadeus Hartmann Year 2013” (2012–2014) entitled “Henze und Hartmann.
Anmerkungen zu einer asymmetrischen Künstlerfreundschaft” [“Notes on an asymmetrical artistic friendship”], in which he traced their personal and artistic friendship with reference to the extensive correspondence between the two composers.
We would like to make the lecture accessible to the public. You can find it under the menu item “Musicological publications” here in the Archival holdings!
Under the title “Sounds of Peace” the internationally renowned peace, conflict and development researcher Prof. em. Dr. Dr. Dieter Senghaas (University of Bremen) worked out a a capital, trend-setting presentation for the PROJEKTINSEL HARTMANN-NONO as part of the “Karl Amadeus Hartmann Year 2013” (2012–2014).
The question will be explored to what extent art as a so-called “soft indicator” can contribute to de-escalation or, as an early warning, draw attention to impending undesirable developments in a society’s mental budget.
Especially composers like Hartmann, who are sensitive to socio-political grievances, who use seismographic antennas to perceive developments that are not yet obvious, to detect their potentially fatal dynamics and to deal with them in their art, are particularly suited to this task. Research speaks of the ability of “early warning”.
Years before 1933, Hartmann had already warned in every possible way of the danger of National Socialism for society, humanity and humanism. In each work he dealt with this in a different way, invoking resistance in alliances between cultures, religions and peoples; he pointed out alternatives, drew a different world view. It is also astonishing that in his last work, the “Gesangsszene” for baritone and orchestra, he once again demonstrated the ability of “early warning”: assimilating texts by Jean Giraudoux, he conveys an apocalyptic vision of the end of a civilization drawn into a spiral of death.
The initial dynamic of progress does not only turn into regression, but into decline, into the “evil of the great empires, the deadly evil”. Downfall of the banking world, social structures, nuclear disaster, war and the most deadly evil: that even the “treasure of souls” is lost. The lecture was held on March 20, 2013 in the Munich Stadtmuseum.
Read the complete lecture under the menu item “Musicological publications” here in the Archival holdings!
The deserving Dutch label Challenge Classics has ensured that the Hartmann discography has been enriched by some significant contributions.
A new complete recording of Hartmann’s eight symphonies with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic was released in early 2014. These are live recordings under the direction of conductors Ingo Metzmacher, Christoph Poppen, Michael Schönwandt, Markus Stenz, Osmo Vänskä and James Gaffigan – on three SACDs. The FONO FORUM spoke of a “new reference” in view of the consistently outstanding artistic and tonal quality of the recordings.
A new recording of Hartmann’s opera “Simplicius Simplicissimus” (in the revised version of 1957) was also made with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic. The title role is sung by Juliane Banse, Markus Stenz stands at the podium of the orchestra. This recording is based on a live performance on November 24, 2012 at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.
Finally, violinist Linus Roth presents his interpretation of the “Concerto funebre” on Challenge Classics – coupled with works by Mieczyslaw Weinberg as well as the first recording of an unfinished violin sonata by Dmitri Shostakovich.
In April 2015, Christian Gerhaher and Kirill Petrenko performed Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s “Gesangsszene” with the Bavarian State Orchestra in Munich, Budapest and Vienna.
Here is an overview of the echo in the press landscape:
Abendzeitung München, April 15
Andreas H. Baumgartner with the outgoing Management Board members Bernhard Pfau, Kurt Scharl and Dr. Raphael Woebs (from left to right) on December 12, 2014.
PRESS RELEASE (originally in German)
Munich (February 6, 2015)
The General Assembly of the Karl-Amadeus-Hartmann-Gesellschaft e. V. elected a new Board of Directors on December 16, 2014. Under the chairmanship of the confirmed managing director Andreas Hérm Baumgartner (conductor, artistic director), the conductor Christoph Poppen was elected president. Appointed to the board were the musicologist Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Rathert (LMU-Munich) as deputy managing director, the lawyer Andreas Ammersbach as treasurer and the musicologist Thomas Schulz as secretary/media director.
The members of the Karl Amadeus Hartmann Society include not only music lovers and scholars, but above all personalities from national and international cultural life, including Helmut Lachenmann, Wolfgang Rihm, Jörg Widmann, Udo Zimmermann, Friedrich Cerha, Fabio Luisi, Ingo Metzmacher, Marek Janowski, Kurt Masur, Thomas Zehetmair, Ingolf Turban, Siegfried Mauser and Reinhold Kreile.
Contact:
Karl-Amadeus-Hartmann-Gesellschaft e.V.
Franz-Joseph-Straße 20
D-80801 Munich
Tel.: +49 (0)89 34 79 67
Fax: +49 (0) 3212 1357 315
E-mail: info@hartmann-gesellschaft.de
Agenda:
Ordinary General Meeting 2011
On December 9, 2011, 4:30 p.m.
The Managment Board reserves the right to make any changes or additions.
Andreas Hérm Baumgartner
Managing Director of the Karl Amadeus Hartmann Society
We have succeeded in winning Minister of State Dr. Wolfgang Heubisch as patron of the Karl Amadeus Hartmann Year 2013!
We would also like to express our sincere thanks through this medium. This is a very important signal from the Free State of Bavaria, which also expresses the importance of the composer in Bavaria.
With the support of the State Ministry of Science, Research and Art, the Karl Amadeus Hartmann-Gesellschaft e.V. tries to initiate and coordinate a wide variety of events, concerts, exhibitions etc. Furthermore, for the first time, scientific papers on specific themes from Hartmann’s work are to be awarded.
2013 marks the 50th anniversary of Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s death and the music world will pay tribute to this grand composer.
The Bavarian State Ministry for Science, Research and Art has therefore decided to proclaim a “Karl Amadeus Hartmann Year 2013”.
Minister of State Dr. Wolfgang Heubisch will assume the patronage.
The Karl-Amadeus-Hartmann-Gesellschaft e.V. acts as initiator, intermediary, source of inspiration and organizer.
The artistic director of the festival is the conductor Andreas Hérm Baumgartner.