Zwiegesprache (CD Album) – Heinz Holliger

‘Zwiegesprache’ begins with the intensely moving sound of Heinz Holliger’s oboe calling out into the wild, in a piece written for him by his longstanding friend Gyorgy Kurtag. Then comes a response composed by him, played on cor anglais by his pupil Marie-Lise Schupbach. From here the conversation develops, of two composers who, from their solitary positions, strive to make contact with one another – and with us. The many pieces are, as is typical for both composers, short. Six and a half minutes here is an epic, and many of the messages are over in under a minute. Such dimensions invite us to listen closely, to every turning nuance, and our attention is rewarded, by music making that is at once emphatic and fine-grained.