Available as 180g vinyl (limited edition), CD and digitally
Benedict Klöckner plays "Über die Linie" by Wolfgang Rihm
Wolfgang Rihm - Composition
Benedict Klöckner - Cello
„Über die Linie“ recorded by Benedict Klöckner is the first interpretation of Wolfgang Rihm’s ambitious cello piece. It was recorded on September 25th 2019 at a Bunker under the UFO studios in Berlin.
The composition deals with the crossing of a line, Linie, the mapping of the limits of what is possible on the instrument. Crossing over that line is musically embodied by the extreme dynamics and accentuation, the infinity of the line is
highlighted by beginning and ending in a void, as if had always been there.
It is specifically the complexity of the piece that attracted Benedict Klöckner to it. “’Über die Linie’ is one of the most demanding cello pieces that I know. When I asked the extraordinary cellist Heinrich Schiff for advice on the piece, he told me that he considered the work unplayable. That pushed me even more to dedicate my time to ‘Über die Linie’”, Klöckner explains.
The sound is pure, raw and unaltered. Keeping the natural reverb of the cello in the space, post- production was kept to a minimum. Hardly anyone will get this close to a cellist during a performance than with this recording. You can hear Benedict Klöckner breathe as well as the bow touching the strings. This production is a very personal journey through Rihm’s opus. Klöckner describes it like this: “I love what a tour de force the piece is. The emotions, the adrenalin of pushing your own limits, starting and ending in a void feels like a paraphrase of human existence.”
Klöckner’s interpretation of Rihm’s music lives by its great dynamic range. Effortlessly and with great commitment, Klöckner moves between powerful, loud parts and quiet, whispering sections. The cellist does not just seem to play his instrument but also the performance space itself. He reacts to the reverb, which informs his playing, in real-time. The sound of the room responds to each different touch of the bow on the strings.
The recording has a hyper realistic sound quality, which not only includes overtones and reverb but also presents the sound behind the sound. The quality of the sound is described by the composer Alexander Hawkings as “curiously claustrophobic”. The heavy confinement of the former Nazi bunker surrounds this recording.
The setting had been carefully chosen by the producers Christian Lillinger and Johannes Brecht for its unique acoustics. However, reclaiming the structure with what would have been described by the Nazis as “entartete Kunst”, degenerate art, played a big role too. Benedict Klöckner sees the setting as an important aspect of the recording: “This unusual recording room with its special acoustics created a magically sinister atmosphere. The setting fitted the mood of the piece perfectly, not least because it was a dark, extremely damp cellar of an industrial ruin far away from busy Berlin; a buzzing fly the only sound of life.”
The recording is presented as one track apart from the vinyl version due to obvious physical constraints. This is deliberate and was chosen to counter the fast-moving pop world with a production that deliberately pushes for a confrontation with the listener during the full-length of this piece. This helps to protect the integrity of the work.
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credits
released July 24, 2020
Recording Details:
Recorded 25th of September 2019 at a Bunker under the UFO Studios in Berlin by Johannes Brecht
Mixed and Mastered by Johannes Brecht at Studjo, 2020
Design by Katrin Lillinger, Christian Lillinger
All Compositions by Wolfgang Rihm (GEMA)
Text by Alexander Hawkins
Produced by PLAIST and Christian Lillinger
Co-Produced by Johannes Brecht
Cover Art-Picture by Katrin Lillinger
Special Thanks to Wolfgang Rihm, Hans Luft, Jürgen Wettig
PLAIST
is a label founded by Christian Lillinger.
It represents a genre-free, excellently produced and creatively structured art form – all manifested here as a music label.
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