Theis, Ernst - Edition RadioMusiken, Vol. 3: Plays & Opera for the Radio (2017)

In 1929, six years after the official start of German radio, an exciting atmosphere of new beginnings continued to prevail in the boardrooms where artistic, cultural, and political program editors held their meetings. The number of officially registered radio listeners was higher than ever, and the new medium enjoyed unprecedented popularity ratings. Editors had to produce attractive programs, and the pressure on them to do so had dramatically increased. However, the artistic directors of the music departments wanted to offer more than just concert broadcasts and news reports. They wanted “radiophonic” music proper to the new medium – music made to order for the technical capabilities of the loudspeaker, which at the time was beginning its triumphant march and supplanting the very uncomfortable earphones, music also made to order for the acoustical circumstances in the recently constructed broadcasting halls. And so our third Radio Music release with works from this period once again features the magic of the radio: its sound, the invisible wave, the microphone, and the loudspeaker. This time musical radio plays form the focus – like the radio play Sabinchen by Paul Hindemith, the audio play Mord by Walter Gronostay, and even the radio opera Jorinde und Joringel by Heinrich Sutermeister. A world all of its own with unique, intensive expressive opportunities and possibilities!