Search - Thomas Zehetmair, Ruth Killius :: Manto & Madrigals

In their first recording as a duo, Thomas Zehetmair and Ruth Killius take us on a stunning tour of modern music, playing works by Bartók, Holliger, Scelsi, Maxwell Davies, Martinu, Skalkottas, Killius and Nied. The husband and wife team who comprise half of the multi-award winning Zehetmair Quartet have been playing this material as part of their recital program for several years already, with great success. On this recording, the relationships between the pieces and between the instruments are explored in compositions that range from Scelsi's dissonant and microtonal journey toward the mystic core of music making, with Killius as singer as well as viola soloist to duo pieces that incorporate elements, archaic or playful, from regional folk music. There is very early Bartók here, and music of Schoenberg's sole Greek pupil Skalkottas. There are three sketches by Heinz Holliger, written especially for Zehetmair and Killius, playful madrigals by Martinu, and an encore provided by the performers' friend Johannes Nied.