Elliott Sharp - Die Grˆflte Fugue [CD] (ONLINE ORDER ONLY)

"Die Grˆflte Fuge, an opera by Elliott Sharp, features bass baritone Nicholas Isherwood and the Asasello Quartet.

After 1815, Beethoven was beset with problems: physical, emotional, financial. Retreating into ""fugue"" states, he has visions, celestial and horrific, not hallucinations but visitations from a parallel reality of marvelous inventions, gleaming ships in the air, unheard musics, carnage beyond belief. Emerging, he translates these scenes into a music that stretches the rules to the verge of destruction. The resultant work, Die Grˆfle Fuge, is considered the first 20th century string quartet.

Sharp created a libretto from letters and writings of Beethoven as well as taking elements from Die Grˆfle Fuge as seed materials for extrapolation, randomization, and recombinance. Beethoven is presented as a disturbed and effecting figure, the tortured genius. The performers play Sharps score, both apocalyptic and ecstatic, with incredible intensity."

1. Die Grˆflte Fuge - Overture 2. Dieser Ton 3. Ein unerhˆrter Traum 4. Br¸llen und Sturm 5. Wunder 6. Eine R¸ckgabe 7. Natur 8. Tod Erscheint 9. Die Sendung 10. Die Komedie ist Vorbei 11. Der Durchgang

• Format Detail: 2CD
• Format: CD
• Genre: Classical