In vain (Haas) - Wikiwand

Composition by Georg Friedrich Haas

Composed2000

Durationc. 70 minutes

in vain
by Georg Friedrich Haas
Georg Friedrich Haas in 2014
Period	Contemporary
Composed	2000
Duration	c. 70 minutes
Scoring	Orchestra
Premiere
Date	October 29, 2000 (2000-10-29)
Location	Funkhaus Wallrafplatz, Cologne
Conductor	Sylvain Cambreling
Performers	Klangforum Wien

in vain is a 2000 composition for 24 instruments by Austrian composer Georg Friedrich Haas. It was premiered on October 29, 2000, by Sylvain Cambreling and the Klangforum Wien and lasts approximately 70 minutes.^[1] The piece is one of Haas' best-known works.^[2]

Instrumentation

in vain was commissioned by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk for Sylvain Cambreling (to whom the work is dedicated) and Klangforum Wien.^[1]^[3] Haas wrote the piece in response to the rise of the far-right in Austria.^[4]^[5]

The piece deals extensively with microtonality.^[1] The light levels in the hall are specified in the score; some sections of the piece are played in very bright light, and about twenty minutes are played in complete darkness.^[1]^[5]

The piece is scored for the following ensemble:^[1]^[3]

Woodwinds

2 Flutes (1st doubling piccolo, 2nd doubling piccolo and bass flute)

Oboe

2 Clarinets in B♭ (2nd doubling bass clarinet)

Soprano saxophone (doubling tenor saxophone)

Bassoon

Brass

2 Horns in F

2 Trombones

Keyboards

Accordion

Piano

Percussion

Percussion 1:

Plate bell (E)

Percussion 2:

Plate bell (B♭)

Tam-tam

Strings

Harp

3 Violins

2 Violas

2 Cellos

Double bass (five string)

Reception

Simon Rattle has hailed in vain as "one of the first masterpieces of the 21st century",^[4]^[5] and the Austrian newspaper Die Presse has called it a "classic".^[6] The piece was named the greatest work of art music since 2000 in a Classic Voice poll.^[7]

In his 2007 book The Rest Is Noise, Alex Ross wrote that the piece "may mark a new departure in Austro-German music, joining spectral harmony to a vast Brucknerian structure".^[8]

References

1 2 3 4 5 "Haas - in vain for 24 instruments". Universal Edition. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
↑ Fairman, Richard (2019-12-06). "What does a Bridget Riley painting sound like?". Financial Times. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
1 2 Haas, Georg Friedrich. in vain. 2000. Vienna: Universal Edition, 2000.
1 2 Clark, Philip (March 16, 2017). "Contemporary composer: Georg Friedrich Haas". Gramophone. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
1 2 3 "Interview: Sir Simon Rattle talks about "in vain" by Georg Friedrich Haas". Digital Concert Hall. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
↑ Weidringer, 04 08 2020 um 15:15 von Walter (2020-08-04). ""in vain": Klangtreppen ohne Ausweg". Die Presse (in German). Retrieved 2020-08-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ "A music referendum". Ricordi. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
↑ Ross, Alex (2007). The Rest is Noise. New York, N.Y.: Picador. p. 590. ISBN 978-0-312-42771-9.

v t e Spectral music
Notable works	Voyage into the Golden Screen (1968) Stimmung (1968) Clang (1972) Partiels (1975) Gondwana (1980) Lonely Child (1980) Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco (1980) Trois airs pour un opéra imaginaire (1982) Vortex Temporum (1996) in vain (2000)
Composers	Clarence Barlow Hugues Dufourt Iancu Dumitrescu Péter Eötvös Johannes Fritsch Gérard Grisey Georg Friedrich Haas Jonathan Harvey Michaël Lévinas Mesías Maiguashca Tristan Murail Per Nørgård Horațiu Rădulescu Karlheinz Stockhausen James Tenney Anatol Vieru Claude Vivier La Monte Young
Techniques	Harmonic series Colors of noise Spectral envelope Fundamental frequency Microtonality Combination tones Just intonation
Category Portal

Related Articles