The music of Contemporary composer Jean-Paul Holstein this weekend. A name probably not familiar to most, but he has over 200 compositions in his catalog. And at 79, it hardly seems likely he will stop.
A little more information on him via his Wikipedia page:
Jean-Paul Holstein has composed nearly 200 works for all formations: orchestras, vocal or instrumental ensembles, voices and solo instruments.
He attaches as much importance to melody and polyphony as to harmony, intending to place himself at the conjunction of vertical and horizontal audition. He explains his taste for counterpoint.
He defines himself as a French composer, attaching himself to clarity in musical expression, but also feels close to German music, whose symphonic breathing he appreciates.
Among the composers whose teaching he has followed, he claims to be mainly André Jolivet, for melodic invention and rhythmic dynamism, and Olivier Messiaen for harmony and modality.
In his work, he strives to apply the following principles:
– always remain expressive,
– to be able to use all the techniques, according to the expressive objective pursued and the instrumentation,
– to forget the technique: he quotes André Jolivet on this subject, which said “You composers, you are the ‘cooks’, you are the masters of the recipe and you must succeed but the listener, it makes fun of the recipe and he’s not going to the kitchens to find out how you did it. ” [ Euterpe magazine , September 2015]
This recording of the Concertino for Piano and Strings was made for the ORTF Overseas division shortly after its premier in 1968. It features the ORTF Chamber orchestra under André Girard and features Jean-Claude Peltier at the piano.
Okay – this is not easy music to digest, I will tell you that straight-up. If you aren’t familiar with music of the last half of the 20th Century; the more experimental, atonal kind, this will drive you up the wall. Admittedly, it’s not for everyone. But it’s my firm belief that its better to know about and become familiar with, even if it’s at an arms distance, than to reject it outright and maybe miss some amazing things in the process.
Fair deal? Hit Play and go exploring.
