On December 9, WDR Symphony Orchestra presents the German premiere of Abyss and Caress by Lucia Dlugoszewski. It will be performed as part of „Musik der Zeit: Schwebezustand“ at the WDR Funkhaus in Cologne with soloist Peter Evans (trumpet), conducted by Ilan Volkov.
Originally written for Pierre Boulez, trumpeter Gerard Schwartz and Dlugoszewski’s father, the work was premiered in December 1975 at New York Philharmonic with trumpeter Gerard Schwartz, conducted by Pierre Boulez. The piece has only been rediscovered recently, 40 years after its premiere.
The WDR writes about the piece: “In "Abyss and Caress" the US-American pulls out all the stops of the art of noise and lets the highly virtuosic trumpet soar above an abyss.”
Lucia Dlugoszewski was a Polish-American composer, poet, choreographer, performer, and inventor. She created over a hundred musical instruments, including the timbre piano, a sort of prepared piano in which the hammers and keys were replaced with bows and plectra. Her creativity and inventions antedated the sonic ideas of George Crumb.
