On 24 November 1948, Theodor W. Adorno wrote to René Leibowitz: "There can be no doubt that your works represent the highest compositional standards that can be found anywhere today - so pure, unerring and uncompromising, and with such a consummate mastery of technical means in all their dimensions that one would like to hold them up as mandatory paradigms for anyone who wants to compose today." But in spite of the impressively positive evaluations of his works by Adorno and other contemporaries, René Leibowitz (1913-1972) became known above all as a conductor, and not as a composer. The fervent Schönberg disciple, who was born in Warsaw, became the chief propagator of the Viennese School in Europe and taught, among others, Hans Werner Henze and Pierre Boulez.

 

In addition to his twelve-tone works, René Leibowitz also produced more than 90 pieces in nearly all musical genres. CDX 29303 - the world’s first recording of works by Leibowitz - also documents the composer’s friendships of many years with Tristan Tzara and Georges Limbour. Germany’s "ensemble aisthesis" offers a cross-section of Leibowitz’s multifaceted chamber-music oeuvre, including songs (with Roland Hermann, baritone) and recitation (with J.M. Fournerau). With its sweeping look at the works of one of this century’s most unjustly neglected composers, this album is a must for everyone who loves the modern classics!

 

The Ensemble Aisthesis for this recording: Susanna Andres, violin | Claudia Sack, viola | Helmut Menzler, violoncello | Johannes Nied, double bass | Brigitte Sauer, flute | Winfrie Rager, clarinet | Tilman Zahn, oboe | Gadi Ledermann, bassoon | Erasmus Kowal, horn | Stefan Geiger, trombone | Gesine Dreyer, harp | Boris Müller, vibraphone | J. Marc Reichow, piano | Salome Kammer, vocal | Jean Michel Fournerau, recitation | Johannes M. Kösters, baritone | Walter Nussbaum, conductor