Inventing different worlds

A few virtuosos, scarcely more than one per century, have transcended their instrument and moved the history of music at the same time. Heinz Holliger is one of these. An exceptional interpreter, the composer moves those who are willing to open their ears and hearts to the discovery of one of his works. What immediately strikes you are the frameworks Holliger uses to surround his spontaneity. A very free, very personal music, which seems very emancipated, but which is written with precise constraints.

This recording features pieces for cello, piano and cello and piano. Each work invents a world. A world of poetry and unheard-of timbres. If the technical limits of the instrument are pushed to the limit, it is never for the sake of artificial brilliance. Holliger doesn't show off, and there's always a meaning to this surpassing of limits. It is sometimes said that Holliger's music is intellectual. As if that were a flaw! And isn't sensitivity proof of intelligence?

Romancendres is a tribute to Robert Schumann. Strong as a ritual, these moving pages will leave a lasting mark on the literature for cello and piano, thanks to their depth and the sonic appeal they can exert on the listener.

Feuerwerkleinfireworks for July 14th. The French national holiday comes to mind. In fact, it's a short piece written for piano on the occasion of the birthday of the director of the Schott publishing house. This does not prevent Holliger from mentioning the first notes of the Marseillaise, as he caresses the strings.

Another birthday: that of Paul Sacher. To mark his 70th birthday, several major composers paid tribute to the conductor. Chaconnefor cello is obviously inspired by the letters S-A-C-H-E-R (E-flat, A, C, B, E, D). These notes are the pretext for numerous skilful variations, to which are added the rhythm of Sacher's date of birth, creating a tense sonic space in which the instrument is used to its full sonic and expressive potential.

This magnificent CD concludes with a performance of another powerful and exciting work: Partitafor solo piano. After a prelude that plays on resonances, a fugue unfurls its elegance in distant homage to Bach. Another reference, this time to Liszt, in the "Barcarolle" and the "Petit csárdás obstiné". These two movements surround a first intermezzo that uses only sounds emanating from inside the instrument. Strings struck, plucked, rubbed... Holliger speaks of a sonic encephalogram. Another intermezzo plunges us into a world of sweetness through glissandi produced by fingers directly on the strings. La Partita ends with a colorful, dreamlike "Chaconne".

Cellist Daniel Haefliger and pianist Gilles Vonsattel bring their passion for this repertoire to bear in interpretations of the utmost intensity. They have obviously mastered the formidable technique required for such pieces, and put their heart and soul into every sound to produce a recording of exceptional quality.

Heinz Holliger: Romancendres, Feuerwerklein, Chaconne, Partita. Daniel Haefliger, Violoncello; Gilles Vonsattel, Klavier, Genuin GEN 14330