In November 2020, Bavarian radio’s musica viva festival presents the world premiere of Bernhard Lang’s violin concerto Monadologie XXXIX.2 Redux. Featuring soloist Ilya Gringolts and members of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the performance will be led by Johannes Kalitzke, standing in for Brad Lubman who is unable to enter Europe due to ongoing travel restrictions. To make the event possible in light of the current social distancing guidelines, Bernhard Lang kindly agreed to arrange a reduced version of the finished concerto at short notice. Following the November lockdown, musica viva announced a streamed premiere of the work.

Monadologie XXXIX.2 Redux

for violin and ensemble
I – II – III
World premiere: 06.11.2020, Munich
Duration: 35’

The premiere will be streamed by BR-KLASSIK on Tuesday, November 17, 2020, at 8:05 pm and is now available in the media library. Tune in here.

Performance

06.11.20
Herkulessaal, musica viva, Munich
Ilya Gringolts (vl.), Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Kalitzke (cond.)

About the work

The present piece continues the Monadologie series, and once again attempts to illuminate historical material through cellular processes. This means that small motif “cells” or bar sections are focused through loops in which a series of violin concertos from Bach to Ligeti are used as source material. 

It is a journey through the developmental history of virtuoso violin playing, in which the concertare is staged quite differently: the climax in the cadenza ultimately leads back to free improvisation. The piece’s harmony continues the difference-tone harmony of the previous concertos, whereby inherent microtonality is supported by a quarter-tone organ in the orchestra. 

Out of the situation in 2020 comes “Redux,” a reduced chamber music version of the larger piece. 

With this concert, I was able to work for the first time with a great interpreter of classical repertoire, Ilya Gringolts.