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Der nächtliche Wanderer | Abschied
Reinbert de Leeuw

Reinbert de Leeuw | Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra | Edo de Waart

Der nächtliche Wanderer | Abschied

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917295726
Catnr: CC 72957
Release date: 02 June 2023
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917295726
Catalogue number
CC 72957
Release date
02 June 2023

"Suffice it to say that I am convinced by these performances that these two works deserve to be heard and reheard, and that is good enough for me."

Fanfare Magazine, 01-3-2024
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Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

De Leeuw may have started out as a composer, but that aspect receded into the background in the 1970s. He became more and more a performer of music of the major composers our own era. In 1974, he seemed to give up composing altogether: the title of his compact, stormy orchestral work Abschied, from that year, says what needs to be said on that front.

After four decades, Der nächtliche Wanderer was the first orchestral work by De Leeuw since Abschied. The stormy, compact nature of his first orchestral work gave way here to an enormous, dramatic structure, suffused with resonant memories. Der nächtliche Wanderer is named after the short poem of the same title by Friedrich Hölderlin. It crosses every boundary of pretention: over 50 minutes of music in a single movement, for large orchestra with another orchestra off-stage plus played and spoken fragments on tape. Der nächtliche Wanderer is an extreme work in every respect. Its structure and language are complex, but so is its orchestration: with musicians who play in the wings (in a fernorchester, à la Mahler) and with recordings that sound like shreds of recollection over the orchestra.

Het overlijden van de componist, dirigent en pianist Reinbert de Leeuw op vrijdag 14 februari 2020 heeft ook de ZaterdagMatinee diep geraakt. De Leeuw trad sinds 1966 op als pianist in de ZaterdagMatinee concerten en dirigeerde er tientallen. Hij ontwikkelde programma’s van onterecht vergeten componisten of programma's die waren gewijd aan muziek van hedendaagse componisten die hij had ontdekt en aan een breder publiek wilde presenteren.

Het componeren raakte in de jaren zeventig naar de achtergrond en de Leeuw legde zich steeds meer toe op het uitvoeren van muziek van de grote componisten van onze tijd. In 1974 leek hij het componeren helemaal op te geven. De titel van zijn (toen voorlopig) laatste werk is dan ook typerend: ‘Abschied’, een stormachtig orkestwerk dat hij in 1973 voltooide en waar hij drie jaar aan werkte.

Veel mensen, ook de Leeuw zelf, vonden dat dit stuk niet alleen zijn afscheid was van de romantiek, maar ook van het componeren in het geheel. In 2003 verraste hij echter iedereen met zijn door Schubert en Schumann geïnspireerde cyclus ‘Im wunderschönen Monat Mai’ en tien jaar later componeerde hij het orkestwerk ‘Der nächtliche Wanderer’ voor de NTR ZaterdagMatinee-serie, voortbordurend op de thema's van ‘Abschied’.

'Der nächtliche Wanderer' is genoemd naar het gelijknamige korte gedicht van Friedrich Hölderlin. Het is in alle opzichten een extreem werk; ruim 50 minuten muziek in één deel, voor een groot orkest en gespeelde en gesproken fragmenten op tape. De structuur en de taal zijn complex, maar de orkestratie ook: met musici die in de coulissen spelen (in een fernorchester, à la Mahler) en met opnames die als flarden van herinnering boven het orkest klinken.

'Der nächtliche Wanderer', dat in 2013 in de Londense Proms in première ging, dirigeerde de Leeuw zelf voor de Matinee van 1 februari 2014 en werd een triomf die in binnen- en buitenland lovend werd geprezen.

Drie jaar later, op 21 januari 2017, dirigeerde Edo de Waart het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest in ‘Abschied’. Voorafgaand aan dat matineeconcert zag Reinbert de Leeuw er zwak en niet bijzonder gezond uit. Maar wat een verandering in hem daarna! Spraakzaam en als herboren benadrukte hij meer dan eens dat er eigenlijk geen beter orkest voor nieuwe muziek was dan het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest. Tot groot genoegen van Edo de Waart.
De Leeuw mag als Komponist begonnen haben, aber dieser Aspekt trat in den 1970er Jahren in den Hintergrund. Er wurde mehr und mehr zu einem Interpreten von Musik der großen Komponisten unserer Zeit. 1974 schien er das Komponieren ganz aufzugeben: Der Titel seines kompakten, stürmischen Orchesterwerks Abschied aus jenem Jahr sagt alles, was es dazu zu sagen gibt.

Nach vier Jahrzehnten ist Der nächtliche Wanderer das erste Orchesterwerk von De Leeuw seit Abschied. Die stürmische, kompakte Natur seines ersten Orchesterwerks wich hier einer gewaltigen, dramatischen Struktur, die von nachklingenden Erinnerungen durchdrungen ist. Der nächtliche Wanderer ist nach dem gleichnamigen Kurzgedicht von Friedrich Hölderlin benannt. Es überschreitet alle Grenzen des Anspruchs: über 50 Minuten Musik in einem einzigen Satz, für großes Orchester mit einem weiteren Orchester im Off, dazu gespielte und gesprochene Fragmente vom Band. Der nächtliche Wanderer ist in jeder Hinsicht ein extremes Werk. Seine Struktur und Sprache sind komplex, aber auch seine Orchestrierung: mit Musikern, die in den Kulissen spielen (in einem Fernorchester, à la Mahler) und mit Aufnahmen, die wie Erinnerungsfetzen über dem Orchester klingen.

Artist(s)

Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra

The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra gave its first concert on 7 October 1945, led by its founder and ‘first conductor‘ Albert van Raalte, on Radio “Herrijzend Nederland”. Initially the orchestra spent most of its time in studios working on a large number of recordings for the public broadcasting system. The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic featured prominently in the Saturday Matinee as soon as the series started in 1961, and has continued to give frequent live performances ever since. The celebrated Saturday Matinee has hosted many legendary concerts. Illustrious soloists such as Kathleen Ferrier, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Clara Haskil and Jean-Pierre Rampal have shared the stage with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2004, the three classical orchestral formations of the broadcasting 15 system...
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The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra gave its first concert on 7 October 1945, led by its founder and ‘first conductor‘ Albert van Raalte, on Radio “Herrijzend Nederland”. Initially the orchestra spent most of its time in studios working on a large number of recordings for the public broadcasting system. The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic featured prominently in the Saturday Matinee as soon as the series started in 1961, and has continued to give frequent live performances ever since. The celebrated Saturday Matinee has hosted many legendary concerts. Illustrious soloists such as Kathleen Ferrier, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Clara Haskil and Jean-Pierre Rampal have shared the stage with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2004, the three classical orchestral formations of the broadcasting 15 system were transformed into two: the present Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic. In 2006, these two orchestras, the Netherlands Radio Choir and the Metropole Orchestra joined the Dutch public broadcasting organisation NPO.
The Radio Philharmonic Orchestra has been conducted by great names such as Bernard Haitink, Jean Fournet, Hans Vonk, Sergiu Comissiona and Edo de Waart. Jaap van Zweden was named its chief conductor in September 2005. The orchestra has also worked with numerous famed guest conductors such as Leopold Stokowski, Kirill Kondrashin, Antál Dorati, Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur and Valery Gergiev. Soon after its founding, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic found itself foremost in Dutch musical life in the number of performances and the diversity of its repertoire, with a predilection for Dutch and contemporary works in its programming. It has honed another facet of its striking profile with a great many opera concertante performances. The orchestra has an extensive discography, ranging from legendary LPs recorded in the 1970s under such conductors as Leopold Stokowski and Antal Doráti to Jean Fournet’s much-lauded renderings of French repertoire. Under Edo de Waart, not only did it release its legendary Wagner interpretations, but also the complete orchestral works of Rachmaninov. CDs with work by contemporary composers such as Jonathan Harvey, Klas Torstensson, Jan van Vlijmen and Stravinsky have garnered prizes and much acclaim.

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Reinbert de Leeuw (conductor)

Reinbert de Leeuw is a well-known conductor and pianist performing mainly contemporary music. He also taught at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague and founded the  “Dutch Charles Ives Society”. In 1974 he founded the Schönberg Ensemble. They focus on performing works by the Second Viennese School. For the strings of the ensemble he composed the piece Etude. Reinbert de Leeuw regularly conducts the Netherlands' major orchestras and ensembles, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra The Hague, the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the ASKO ensemble. He is a regular guest in most European countries and the United States, Japan and Australia. Reinbert de Leeuw has been involved in various opera productions at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as well as with the Nederlandse Reisopera. Productions include works by Strawinsky, Andriessen, Ligeti and Vivier. In 2011, he conducted Schoenberg's monumental Gurre-Lieder, which...
more

Reinbert de Leeuw is a well-known conductor and pianist performing mainly contemporary music. He also taught at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague and founded the “Dutch Charles Ives Society”.

In 1974 he founded the Schönberg Ensemble. They focus on performing works by the Second Viennese School. For the strings of the ensemble he composed the piece Etude.

Reinbert de Leeuw regularly conducts the Netherlands' major orchestras and ensembles, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra The Hague, the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the ASKO ensemble. He is a regular guest in most European countries and the United States, Japan and Australia. Reinbert de Leeuw has been involved in various opera productions at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as well as with the Nederlandse Reisopera. Productions include works by Strawinsky, Andriessen, Ligeti and Vivier. In 2011, he conducted Schoenberg's monumental Gurre-Lieder, which was the realisation of an old ambition of his.

De Leeuw was in 1992 guest artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival and from 1994–1998 artistic director of Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music. He was artistic advisor for contemporary music with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and from 2001 to 2010 he served as artistic leader at the Nederlandse Orkest- en Ensemble-Academie (NJO; Dutch Orchestra and Ensemble Academy).


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Edo de Waart (conductor)

Edo de Waart established a notable conducting career in the last third of the 20th century, becoming known for clear, exciting performances in a wide range of repertory. He came from a musical family, being the son of a choral singer. He studied oboe with Haakon Stotijn and also conducting at the Music Lyceum in Amsterdam. He became co-principal oboe of the Amsterdam Philharmonic in 1961 and associate principal of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1963. Meanwhile, he studied conducting, including a course with Franco Ferrara at Hilversum in 1964. This led to a debut with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic in 1964. That same year he won the prestigious Dimitri Mitropoulos Conductors' Competition in New York, which resulted in a year-long appointment as an assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic (1965-66). He became assistant...
more
Edo de Waart established a notable conducting career in the last third of the 20th century, becoming known for clear, exciting performances in a wide range of repertory. He came from a musical family, being the son of a choral singer. He studied oboe with Haakon Stotijn and also conducting at the Music Lyceum in Amsterdam. He became co-principal oboe of the Amsterdam Philharmonic in 1961 and associate principal of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1963. Meanwhile, he studied conducting, including a course with Franco Ferrara at Hilversum in 1964. This led to a debut with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic in 1964. That same year he won the prestigious Dimitri Mitropoulos Conductors' Competition in New York, which resulted in a year-long appointment as an assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic (1965-66). He became assistant conductor of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw under Bernard Haitink in 1966. He made an impressive recorded debut with the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, which he founded in 1967, including classic recordings of Mozart wind music. He was also appointed co-music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic with Jean Fournet, becoming sole music director when Fournet vacated his appointment in 1973. His association with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, which lasted until 1979, became noted for firm, exciting orchestral performances and intriguing choices of repertory. In 1975 he became principal guest conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and was elevated to music director in 1977. Although the orchestra was often capable of fine performances, it was variable and had weaknesses. De Waart lifted its standards, turning it into a consistently fine orchestra. In 1985 he conducted an acclaimed series of the complete Wagner Ring operas in San Francisco.
Over the years he has made many appearances as an opera conductor, including Bayreuth, Covent Garden, the Santa Fe Opera, Paris' Bastille Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. He conducted the first recording of Adams' Nixon in China, which won a Grammy Award in 1988. In 1996 he debuted at the Salzburg Festival with Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.
In 1993 he was appointed chief conductor and artistic director of the Sydney (Australia) Symphony Orchestra, and in August 1995 led it on its first European tour in 20 years. In 1996 he took it on its first tours of Japan and Taiwan, and in 1998, on an American tour. He was appointed artistic director of the Netherlands Dutch Radio and Television Organization, and chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic. At the beginning of the 1999-2000 season he began his tenure as chief conductor of the Netherlands Opera. In that year de Waart became music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, with his contract extended until 2012. He assumed responsibilities as musical director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 2009. An advocate of modern and contemporary music, he has conducted the work of Reich, Torke, Wuorinen, and Britten.

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Composer(s)

Reinbert de Leeuw

Reinbert de Leeuw is a well-known conductor and pianist performing mainly contemporary music. He also taught at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague and founded the  “Dutch Charles Ives Society”. In 1974 he founded the Schönberg Ensemble. They focus on performing works by the Second Viennese School. For the strings of the ensemble he composed the piece Etude. Reinbert de Leeuw regularly conducts the Netherlands' major orchestras and ensembles, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra The Hague, the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the ASKO ensemble. He is a regular guest in most European countries and the United States, Japan and Australia. Reinbert de Leeuw has been involved in various opera productions at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as well as with the Nederlandse Reisopera. Productions include works by Strawinsky, Andriessen, Ligeti and Vivier. In 2011, he conducted Schoenberg's monumental Gurre-Lieder, which...
more

Reinbert de Leeuw is a well-known conductor and pianist performing mainly contemporary music. He also taught at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague and founded the “Dutch Charles Ives Society”.

In 1974 he founded the Schönberg Ensemble. They focus on performing works by the Second Viennese School. For the strings of the ensemble he composed the piece Etude.

Reinbert de Leeuw regularly conducts the Netherlands' major orchestras and ensembles, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra The Hague, the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the ASKO ensemble. He is a regular guest in most European countries and the United States, Japan and Australia. Reinbert de Leeuw has been involved in various opera productions at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as well as with the Nederlandse Reisopera. Productions include works by Strawinsky, Andriessen, Ligeti and Vivier. In 2011, he conducted Schoenberg's monumental Gurre-Lieder, which was the realisation of an old ambition of his.

De Leeuw was in 1992 guest artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival and from 1994–1998 artistic director of Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music. He was artistic advisor for contemporary music with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and from 2001 to 2010 he served as artistic leader at the Nederlandse Orkest- en Ensemble-Academie (NJO; Dutch Orchestra and Ensemble Academy).


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Press

Suffice it to say that I am convinced by these performances that these two works deserve to be heard and reheard, and that is good enough for me.
Fanfare Magazine, 01-3-2024

He could not find himself a better expert than himself to carry out the balance required by such writing with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic.
Diapason, 01-2-2024

The music of composer/conductor/pianist Reinbert de Leeuw (1938 - 2020) is as astounding as anything i've heard. His final two orchestral works, both recorded live, may have been composed 40 years apart, but both are complex, layered, and filled with dark, aggressive and soul-shakingly violent energy. Thanks to extraordinary digital restoration by Bert van der Wolf and Oude Avenhuis of Northstar Recording Services, the 2017 live recording, conducted by Edo de Waart, is guaranteed to blow you away, assuming your system can handle it.
Stereophile, 01-2-2024

For listeners who are drawn to the modern tendencies of the 1970s and beyond, this CD can hardly fail to please, and I give it a firm recommendation in every parameter.
Fanfare Magazine, 01-1-2024

Reinbert de Leeuw is also a regular in the album list, but this is probably the last time. De Leeuw passed away in 2020, and this is an album that, in our opinion, should have been released much earlier. He had not written another piece for years, until he came up with the orchestral work Der nächtliche Wanderer in 2013, which he conducted himself with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Important Dutch music history.
De Volkskrant, 20-12-2023

Yet his own compositions are also worthwhile and it is therefore right that Challenge Records recently released recordings of 'Der nächtliche Wanderer' and 'Abschied', recorded during the NTR ZaterdagMatinee.
Nieuwe Noten, 27-9-2023

Both pieces by De Leeuw also refute the belief of the Notenkrakers that the orchestra is a thing of the past for the really interesting composers, partly due to the excellent 2017 performance of the work by Edo de Waart.
Luister, 01-9-2023

+ fitting tribute to composer Reinbert de Leeuw + good performances + outstanding recordings
Nederlands Dagblad, 07-7-2023

Der nächtliche Wanderer, spoken text by Hölderlin, also seems to be a farewell to life. Even if the composer still had seven years to go, it is death music. Bells strike a ritual H-Hour, on tape a lone dog barks, the viola weeps Schubertian weary minor thirds; Winterreise 3.0. Softly but surely, the litany of a crystal clear mind unfolds in a battered body, Reinbert in short. All movement is spiritual. The thoughts form small, puffing sound clouds. But then it gets loud and here and there Stravinskian again, as in Abschied already.
De Groene Amsterdammer, 28-6-2023

The performances by the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by De Leeuw himself (Der nächtliche Wanderer) and by Edo de Waart (Abschied), are excellent. It is right that the small orchestral oeuvre of the great admirer De Leeuw is honored in this way.
NRC, 23-6-2023

The intensity of the swelling orchestra is almost unbearable. No orchestra could have played this better.
De Volkskrant, 15-6-2023

A very special album this one, released by Challenge Classics. With the RPO in top form. Testimonies of the late romantic who De Leeuw was in heart and soul.
Trouw, 06-6-2023

A music that really aims to be a kind of highly impressive swan song and resonates in the memory as a kind of eternal farewell. The members of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra play nail the performance and continuously serve De Leeuw at all his beck and call.
Opus Klassiek, 01-6-2023

Both pieces are performed at a high level and the recording is excellent.
Pizzicato, 31-5-2023

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