The Austrian Georg Friedrich Haas is Composer in Residence at this year’s Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.
Known internationally for his fondness for microtonal writing, Haas has only relatively recently established a reputation in this country, writes Spencer Allman.
The concert at St Paul’s Hall began at the somewhat daunting hour of 10pm on Saturday and was devoted to works by this very thoughtful and original composer.
First up was Hyena for narrator and large ensemble. A kind of update on Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, the nightmarish scenario this time was the trials of recovery from alcoholism.
However, it was hard to focus on the spoken text, partly because the accompanying music was of such high quality that it almost interfered with the storytelling. One was constantly switching one’s attention between story and music, so that in the end (it lasted some 50 minutes) the experience fell flat.
Not the case, however, with the second work of the evening, the stunning String Quartet No 10. Ligeti is an acknowledged influence on Haas, but Haas seems to take the static, microtonal textures and soaring glissandi that the Hungarian composer is famous for to a higher level, producing a soundscape of incredible beauty.
All this enhanced, surely, by the fact that the celebrated Arditti Quartet actually played the piece in total darkness (the Radio 3 contingent recording the event had issued a health and safety warning).
Propelled into the Huddersfield night, I looked for a taxi amid the hubbub of the queues outside pubs and discos, with its own noises and throb.
Once again I am amazed by this wonderful music festival and its bizarre juxtaposition with the outside world.
