KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Morning Concert: A Piano Recital by Klaus Billing (Feb. 3, 1983), 1 of 2

Analog Audio

Event Type

Music

Origin

KPFA

Identifier

MC.1983.02.03.A

Program Series

Morning Concert

Program Length

122 min

Part

1 of 2

Dates

1983-02-03 | broadcast
| 1983-02-03 | created

Description

From a program recorded on Feb. 3, 1983, the noted German pianist Klaus Billing, is Charles Amirkhanian’s guest, performing solo piano works by Hans Werner Henze, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Aribert Reimann. As an orchestral soloist, Billing has played with such conductors as Paul Hindesmith, Hans Rosbaud, and Ernst Bour, and played concerts outside Europe in Egypt, Morocco, Iran, Pakistan, India, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. Billing is also the author of the 500 page treatise “Piano Music Since Debussy” and has taught at the Musikhochschulen of Frankfort and Hanover, where he founded the Ensemble Neue Musik Hannover. Mr. Billing has been active in improvised and avant-garde music, and as staff pianist for German radio he has presented, often for the first time, numerous works of contemporary classical piano music. In this program, Mr. Billing plays a selection of works live in the KPFA studio, as well as presenting a couple of recordings he made in the early 1970s. In addition Amirkhanian and Billing talk abut each piece and provide a number of anecdotes about the composers, most of whom are good friends of the musician. Works heard include Henze’s “Lucy Escott Variations” named after a singer who according to the fanciful dedication, faded from existence due to a broken heart, and Stockhausen’s “Klavierstüke XI’ one of the first aleatoric works aver composed. Also included is an orchestral recording of Aribert Reimann ’s Piano Concerto No. 2” with Billing as the featured soloist, a performance for which he had only two weeks to prepare.

Genres

20th century classical
Avant-garde

Musical Selections

Konzert für Klavier und 19 Spieler (”Piano Concerto No. 2, for piano and 19 players”) [excerpt] (1972) (0:47) / Aribert Reimann -- Variations Op. 13 (1949) (7:55) / Hans Werner Henze -- Lucy Escott Variations (1963) (9:21) / Hans Werner Henze [arr. by Klaus Billing] -- Drei Romanzen (”Three Romances”), Op. 43 (1963-64) (8:38) / Giselher Klebe -- Klavierstüke IX (1954-55, rev. 1961) (8:07) / Karlheinz Stockhausen

Performers

Klaus Billing, piano (all)
Basler Solisten-Ensemble: (Konzert)
Heinz Holliger, oboe and English horn (Konzert)
Hansheinz Schneeberger, violin (Konzert)
Aurèle Nicolet, flutes (Konzert)
Francis Travis, conductor (Konzert)

Subjects

20th century classical
Avant-garde (Music)
Concertos (Piano with instrumental ensemble)
Variations (Piano)
Piano music

Related places

Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)
Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)

Related Entities

Basler Solisten-Ensemble
Amirkhanian, Charles
Reimann, Aribert
Henze, Hans Werner, 1926-
Klebe, Giselher
Stockhausen, Karlheinz, 1928-2007
Billing, Klaus
Holliger, Heinz
Schneeberger, Hansheinz, 1926-
Nicolet, Aurèle
Travis, Francis, 1921-