Jorg-Peter Mittmann: Inner Worlds

Great art has impact, it can affect change - it not only moves us, but makes us move. Jorg-Peter Mittmann asks: What associations do Georg Trakl's poems trigger? How does Paul Klee make me feel? How do I experience Beethoven? Together with Ensemble Horizonte, the composer sets out to explore "inner worlds" - whereby outer horizons are extended. Georg Trakl's poetry is characterised by imagery which at first seems paradoxical. The piece "spektral" attempts to make sense of "purple laughter" and "blue moments" in eleven stations. Mittmann approaches text excerpts with various instrumentations ranging from solo to large ensemble, interpreted with great sensitivity for timbral nuances by Ensemble Horizonte. "Bilder des Sudens" ("Images of the South") refers to impressions from Paul Klee's travels around the Mediterranean. Mittmann's composition goes far beyond being just a musical equivalent of the paintings. Everyday noises are atmospherically condensed and become art quite organically, and a Mediterranean light-heartedness resounds over everything. "Fragile Harmonie" deals with elemental forces of chords that break through here and there in Beethoven's symphonic works - including an extended, albeit tonally distorted quotation from the iconic Fifth. While "Sieben Strophen Heimat" (Seven Stanzas of Home) turns to great poetry to explore what it means to lose your homeland, "Gesten im Schwung" ("Gestures with Momentum") is inspired by the abstract painting of Art Informel. Great art that is deeply moving in its musical approach.

Jörg-Peter Mittmann (b. 1962)

• Mittmann: Bilder des Südens
• Mittmann: Fragile Harmonie
• Mittmann: Gesten in Schwung
• Mittmann: Sieben Strophen Heimat
• Mittmann: spektral