Andreas Seidel, Steffen Schleiermacher - Rihm: Violin & Piano (2011)

The first two pieces on this CD of works by German composer Wolfgang Rihm (born in 1952), Antlitz for piano and violin and Nachstudie for piano solo, should appeal most to listeners who don't require music to have an easy-to-follow narrative flow to hold their attention. The music is made up largely of discrete sounds -- individual notes and chords -- whose connection is seldom immediately discernible, and there is rarely a steady pulse for more than a few moments. In spite of its spiky austerity, the music does convey a sense of logic and purposefulness. Its isolated gestures hang together coherently and are clearly the work of a composer with a highly developed ability to handle his material in sophisticated, undeniably meaningful way. Phantom und Eskapade for violin and piano, written for Anne-Sophie Mutter, seems positively Romantic in comparison with the other works. Its harmonic language is no less atonal, but its gestures have a lyrical sweep that gives the piece an emotional directness that's hard to ignore. The daunting difficulties of the scores hold no terrors for violinist Andreas Seidel and pianist Steffen Schleiermacher, veterans of new music performances who, besides playing with crisp precision and assurance, expose the expressive content of the music and the sensuality of the sounds themselves. MDG's unprocessed audiophile sound is immaculate and intimate. This beautifully executed CD is not likely to have mass market appeal, but it should be of strong interest to fans of rigorous European modernism.