Hieroglyphen der Nacht Anja Lechner & Agnes Vesterman

• Valentin Silvestrov (1937- ):
• 1Drei Stücke: 1. Hieroglyphen der Nacht01:51
• 2Drei Stücke: 2. Nachhall eines Walzers02:38
• 3Drei Stücke: 3. Nachhall einer Sarabande03:50
• 4Elegie: I02:02
• 5Elegie: II03:12
• 6Elegie: III11:11
• 78.VI.1810 ... zum Geburtstag R.A.Schumann: 1. Elegie03:54
• 88.VI.1810 ... zum Geburtstag R.A.Schumann: 2. Serenade01:52
• 98.VI.1810 ... zum Geburtstag R.A.Schumann: 3. Menuett02:27
• 10Augenblicke der Stille und Traurigkeit07:56
• 11Abendserenade03:12
• 12Augenblicke einer Serenade02:29
• 13Lacrimosa03:42
• 1425.X.1893 ... zum Andenken an P.I.Tschaikowskij: 1. Präludium "Geburt der Melodie"02:51
• 1525.X.1893 ... zum Andenken an P.I.Tschaikowskij: 2. Wiegenlied04:39
• 1625.X.1893 ... zum Andenken an P.I.Tschaikowskij: 3. Serenade03:47
• 17Walzer der Alpenglöckchen04:05
• Total Runtime01:05:38

Info for Hieroglyphen der Nacht

Released in time for the great Ukrainian composers 80th birthday on September 30, Hieroglyphen der Nacht features Valentin Silvestrovs music for solo violoncello and for two cellos. German cellist Anja Lechner has had a long association with Silvestrov, first documented on the Grammy-nominated leggiero, pesante in 2001. Lechner plays alone on several pieces and is joined by French cellist Agnès Vestermann, a frequent duo partner, to play the remaining works. Two of the works are dedicated to the performers. As so often with Silvestrov, the compositions often take the form of metaphorical conversations with composers of the past and the present. Tchaikovsky and Schumann are amongst the composers referenced here, while Lacrimosa is a reaction to music of his friend Tigran Mansurian. My own music is a response to and an echo of what already exists, says Silvestrov, viewing his oeuvre as a series of codas to music history. Hieroglyphen der Nacht was recorded at Luganos Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Anja Lechner, violoncello
Agnès Vesterman, violoncello

Anja Lechners
“Anja Lechner's cello is an open window welcoming all pure sounds of music coming from all corners of the world.” Tigran Mansurian

The broad spectrum of cellist Anja Lechner’s work embraces performances as soloist with orchestras, classical and contemporary chamber music as well as projects referencing diverse improvisational traditions.

She has premiered works by composers including Tigran Mansurian, Valentin Silvestrov, Annette Focks, Alexandra Filonenko and, recently, Zad Moultaka’s “Mystery of Mysteries” with Pablo Márquez. In the 2012 season, Anja Lechner performs Mansurian’s double concerto for violin and violoncello in Amsterdam together with Patricia Kopatchinskaja, and gives the first performance of a new piece by Mansurian for cello and chamber orchestra, concerts by ECM, the label for which she has recorded since 1996.

Other highlights this season include, with Reto Bieri and the Camerata Zürich, the performance of Mansurian’s Postludium for Clarinet, Cello and Strings in a programme incorporating solo performance of Silvestrov’s Elegie for Solo Cello and Two Tam-Tams. Lechner’s affinity for Silvestrov’s music has previously led to participation in recordings including the Grammy-nominated “leggiero, pesante.”

Márquez , Bieri and Kopatschinskaja are amongst her frequent chamber partners: others have included pianists Alexei Lubimov, Silke Avenhaus and Kirill Gerstein, cellist Agnès Vesterman, and violist Tatjana Masurenko.

Anja Lechner’s long-running artistic collaboration with Argentine bandoneonist-composer Dino Saluzzi is the subject of “El Encuentro”, a new film by Norbert Wiedmer and Enrique Ros. She can be heard on recordings with Saluzzi including “Navidad de los Andes”, “Ojos negros” and, with the Rosamunde Quartet, “Kultrum”. From 1992 until its disbanding 18 years later, Lechner was the cellist of the Munich-based Rosamunde Quartet, whose internationally-acclaimed ECM New Series recordings include music of Mansurian, Schoeck, Larcher, Webern, Shostakovich, Burian, Haydn, Yoffe, and more.

Projects in preparation for 2013 include the premiere of Vladimir Godar’s cello concerto with the Slovak Philharmonic.

In 2004, Lechner and Greek pianist Vassilis Tsabropoulos topped the US classical charts with “Chants, Hymns and Dances", featuring music of composer-philosopher G.I. Gurdjieff. A new duo, with French pianist François Couturier, continues to reference Gurdjieff, as well as Federico Mompou and Anouar Brahem, and adds Couturier’s own compositions to the stylistic mix, with repertoire situated at the crossroads of East and West. Lechner also performs in the Couturier’s Tarkovsky Quartet, which plays music inspired by the films of its namesake, sometimes accompanied in concert by the video projections of Andrey Tarkovsky Jr.

Born in Kassel, Germany, Anja Lechner studied with Heinrich Schiff in Cologne and Basle and, with a scholarship from the Deutsche Studienstiftung, with Janos Starker in Bloomington.

“One of the most gifted cellists in the world, often bridging the gap between contemporary and traditional, east and west, and arranged and improvisational music. She brings unimpeachable technical skills, a rich and warm tone and the interpretive soul of a poet to every performance, onstage and on record.” Greg Cahill, Strings, USA

Booklet for Hieroglyphen der Nacht