ACF COMPOSER SERIES
Disconcerting Perfection:
Georg Friedrich Haas
by Bernhard Guenther
"Music's tragedy is that it begins with perfection." Of course, when Morton Feldman made this remark in 1967, Georg Friedrich Haas was only a young boy. And technically, if American composers were mentioned in the context of one of today's most prominent figures in contemporary music from Austria, it would probably be James Tenney, Harry Partch, or La Monte Young (alongside European composers like Ivan Wyschnegradsky, Alois Hába, Giacinto Scelsi, and Tristan Murail) much more than Feldman. But the truth is that Haas's music, both in its disconcerting perfection and in its surprising awareness of music's tragedy, seems to be responding to Feldman's remark more than any other music that is being composed today.
First, of course, it should be mentioned that Georg Friedrich Haas's compositions in fact sound quite different than probably any other music that is being composed today. From his String quartet No. 1 (1997), which doesn't contain any beat, melody, polyphony, normal chords, harmonies, or intervals, to his REMIX for chamber ensemble (2007), which (even more unusual for Haas) doesn't use any microtonality or quotations of tonal music, he has always been drawing upon innovative compositional techniques to create sounds that are as beautiful as they are unorthodox. Most remarkable is his virtuoso handling of microtones. An example is his fourth opera, Melancholia (2004-2007, libretto: Jon Fosse, world premiere in 2008 at Opéra National de Paris). Here, very different atmospheres arise from the subtle differences between "soft, emotional" quartertones, sixth tones, and the quite harsh microtonality inherent in the higher partials of the natural overtone series. Elsewhere, Haas takes a transcription of Josquin Desprez as starting point for his sextet tria ex uno (2001), and in his transcription/composition Torso for orchestra (1999/2000) he sets out to unveil the sound potential of Schubert's unfinished Piano Sonata No. 15 D 840 by using the whole orchestral palette ranging from Mussorgsky to contemporary Spectral music. Or he creates "endless" downward spirals by layering multiple glissandos, inspired by Roger Shepard's research on auditory illusions, for instance in his ensemble piece in vain (2000).
But it is not only the sound that makes Georg Friedrich Haas's music so particular. None of his perfectly handled, select instrumentations or harmonies are chosen for the sake of their musical qualities alone. His music represents a unique balance between contemporary music and the world around it. In vain, a touching, spectacular still life about futility, is a good example not only because of its strongly expressive qualities, but also because in it (as in quite a few other works) Haas incorporates more than "just" music as means of expression. Parts of this 70-minute composition are played (and heard) in complete darkness - which affects not only the interaction between the 24 musicians and the conductor, but also the perception of the listeners. In Hyperion, concert for light and orchestra (2006), the score is replaced by a huge "light sculpture" in multiple, changing colors. But even in less spectacular settings, Haas's music always aims at expression and communication. The title de terrae fine (2001) not only points to the fact that this violin solo was written on the west coast of Ireland, but also indicates the composition's inherent reflection on extreme states of mind. Nach-Ruf-ent-gleitend for sextet (1999) sets the musicians (and the listeners) free in a subtle auditory environment where music "does not respond to an architectural master plan, but develops itself like a living creature" (Haas) - a study on (musical) freedom.
Maybe it's good to recall, at this point, why Morton Feldman was right when he stated that "Music's tragedy is that it begins with perfection." Music, especially composition, is arguably the most complicated of all arts: complex signs are put to paper by composers after years of studies and during a meticulous process (sometimes taking months for a few minutes of music), and are then read and played by highly specialized interpreters. No wonder many composers don't escape perfection, forgetting about what's most important for many of their fellow painters, poets, playwrights, and film directors: that contemporary art is about life, communication (or the impossibility of it), and the issues of the contemporary world.
Georg Friedrich Haas, one of today's most distinguished European composers, has found a music of his own, wide open to the world, and close to those delicate, multi-layered pictures that Morton Feldman, without question, would have liked very much.
TUESDAY FEB 10, 7:30 PM
CONCERT | DIALOGUE
With Georg Friedrich Haas
ACF
