Federico Mompou and His Music of Silence

Description

Musical Salon If there is such a thing as a "Music of Silence" or a "Music of Quiet," then the Franco-phile and shy Catalan Federico Mompou (1893-1987) laid the foundation for it with his ultra-slow, fascinating piano pieces – late impressionist haikus, static aperçus, city scenes, dances, floating sound fantasies – and his impressive song work – folk songs, elegies, literary settings. Following Erik Satie, thus decelerated, reduced to the extreme, unadorned and anti-virtuoso, he created extremely short, harmonically fragile and surprisingly subtle individual movements, which he refined for decades and assembled into complex cycles. Mompou, who was based in Barcelona, was inspired by the French aesthetic of the fin de siècle and also spent a long time in Paris, transferring the sound world of the guitar, folk influences, and the entire palette of Iberian musical language to the piano: flageolet effects, spherical bell tones, open intervals. In his "Mélodies," he engaged with the Spanish vocal tradition as well as the poetry of Valéry, Bécquer, and Janés, presenting a "contest of dreams" and simply taking an infinite amount of time. Jens Rosteck, a PhD cultural historian, biographer, musicologist, pianist, and specialist in French modernism, takes us on a literary promenade through Mompou's homeland Barcelona and adopted Paris, during which he performs several solo piano works and miniatures of the enigmatic loner, hermit, and sound tinkerer live.
The internationally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano Marisa Martins – a recognized specialist in Spanish song repertoire and Mompou interpreter – and the versatile Freiburg pianist, conductor, and song accompanist Johannes Tolle complete the Mompou panorama with a series of atmospheric, compelling, and seductive piano songs. Jens Rosteck, piano and recitation
Marisa Martins, mezzo-soprano
Johannes Tolle, piano

Highlights

• Musical salon about Federico Mompou
• Presentation of piano pieces and song works
• Literary promenade through Barcelona

General Information

The musical salon is dedicated to the work of Catalan Federico Mompou, known for his quiet and subtle music. Jens Rosteck guides through the fascinating sounds and cultural influences that shaped Mompou's work.

Location

Humboldtstraße 2, 79098 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

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