By Ann Santen
It was a study in contrast: cutting edge contemporary music played in a rococo setting. The awarding of prizes by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation last night (May 5) took place in Munich’s Cuvillies Theater, a lavish confection of gilded wood and marble, built when Mozart was a boy. The Foundation awards over two million Euros a year to foster contemporary music. The highest prize for 2010 went to Michael Gielen for his “genuine and consistent commitment to contemporary music.” While music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 1980 to 1986, Gielen introduced Cincinnati audiences to major 20th century works.
The awards ceremony included the premieres of chamber works by three composers who had won composers’ prizes: Pierluigi Billone, Arnulf Herrman and Oliver Schneller. The composers were interviewed on stage, which helped the invited, elegantly dressed audience grasp some very modern music.
Helmut Lachenmann, perhaps Germany’s best known composer and a previous winner of the Siemens Prize, gave the “Laudatio,” an eloquent and heartfelt tribute to Gielen. In accepting the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, which carries a 200,000 Euro ($350,000) award, Gielen spoke of the importance of music to the human spirit. He cited Theodore Adorno and referred to the impact of music on people in Auschwitz. While he is known best for conducting performances of contemporary music, Gielen placed equal weight on his exploration of the full orchestral repertory from Bach to Mahler. In more direct and down-to-earth language than had been used by earlier speakers, Gielen thanked several people who had supported him in his efforts as both conductor and composer.
The ceremony concluded with a fine performance by the Minguet Quartet of two movements from Gielen’s string quartet “Un Vieux Souvenir,” which was commissioned by WGUC-FM in Cincinnati in 1985. Next to the latest music performed earlier in the evening, it sounded still fresh with an emotional core somehow lacking in the newer pieces.
Ann Santen