Page 302 - Vinkler, Jonatan, in Jernej Weiss. ur. 2014. Musica et Artes: ob osemdesetletnici Primoža Kureta. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem.
P. 302
musica et artes
the new [das Schaffen vom Neuen] is the future preserved as tradition. The new
in this sense does not need to correspond to the common ideas of the new that circu-
late generally. The constitution of the ability to be critical is also a social responsibili-
ty.
[…]
neue musikzeitung: In your experience, how can the ability to work innovatively
be shared or encouraged?
Wolfgang Rihm: Innovation is not an absolute value. It always has to be un-
derstood in relation to a certain state. A ‘transfer’ [‘Weitergabe’] is possible only
through a commitment to quality that keeps itself free of the daily updated manifes-
tations of what counts as innovative. Artistically, that may be achieved only through
an intuitive self-criticism that can never be secure. [Künstlerisch wäre das nur
über eine intuitive Selbstkritik zu leisten, die nie abgesichert werden kann.]2
In the lines below I would like to address this insecure »intuitive self-crit-
icism« analysing the work of Uroš Rojko: in which sense, to what extent and
how palpably the prevalent »anxiety of influence« allows the composer to
search for novel qualities in his work? Or, more to the point: are these quali-
ties discernible as novel at all?
Musical Poetics
Rojko’s (b. 1954) background is a background of a fool-blooded musician: he
received his first academic degree as clarinettist (1975) and afterwards com-
position (1981), proceeding with his studies rather thoroughly: in 1981 in Po-
land with Krzystof Meyer, Bugoslaw Schaeffer, and Wlodzimierz Kotonski.
Between 1983 and 1986 he moved to Freiburg to study with Klaus Huber, af-
terwards studied three more years (1983-1986) with Ligeti. His period of “ap-
prenticeship” by all means brought him rather wide knowledge on musical
practices (he may be reckoned as one of the most informed composers in Slo-
venia regarding contemporary music), yet the experiences with the new music
movements are not unproblematic.
... Experiences with the New Music Movement
Although the concept of the new music is rather suspicious today, it is still
important as one of the central issues regarding Rojko’s musical poetics. It
should be understood as a certain compass for navigating through the his-
2 Meret Forster, »Wer jetzt Kunst macht, ist die Tradition. Qualitätsvolle Musik und die Quali-
tät des vermittelnden Weges – Ein Interview mit Wolfgang Rihm,« Neue Musikzeitung 56, no. 11
(2007): http://www.nmz.de/artikel/wer-jetzt-kunst-macht-ist-die-tradition (10. 4. 2014).
300
the new [das Schaffen vom Neuen] is the future preserved as tradition. The new
in this sense does not need to correspond to the common ideas of the new that circu-
late generally. The constitution of the ability to be critical is also a social responsibili-
ty.
[…]
neue musikzeitung: In your experience, how can the ability to work innovatively
be shared or encouraged?
Wolfgang Rihm: Innovation is not an absolute value. It always has to be un-
derstood in relation to a certain state. A ‘transfer’ [‘Weitergabe’] is possible only
through a commitment to quality that keeps itself free of the daily updated manifes-
tations of what counts as innovative. Artistically, that may be achieved only through
an intuitive self-criticism that can never be secure. [Künstlerisch wäre das nur
über eine intuitive Selbstkritik zu leisten, die nie abgesichert werden kann.]2
In the lines below I would like to address this insecure »intuitive self-crit-
icism« analysing the work of Uroš Rojko: in which sense, to what extent and
how palpably the prevalent »anxiety of influence« allows the composer to
search for novel qualities in his work? Or, more to the point: are these quali-
ties discernible as novel at all?
Musical Poetics
Rojko’s (b. 1954) background is a background of a fool-blooded musician: he
received his first academic degree as clarinettist (1975) and afterwards com-
position (1981), proceeding with his studies rather thoroughly: in 1981 in Po-
land with Krzystof Meyer, Bugoslaw Schaeffer, and Wlodzimierz Kotonski.
Between 1983 and 1986 he moved to Freiburg to study with Klaus Huber, af-
terwards studied three more years (1983-1986) with Ligeti. His period of “ap-
prenticeship” by all means brought him rather wide knowledge on musical
practices (he may be reckoned as one of the most informed composers in Slo-
venia regarding contemporary music), yet the experiences with the new music
movements are not unproblematic.
... Experiences with the New Music Movement
Although the concept of the new music is rather suspicious today, it is still
important as one of the central issues regarding Rojko’s musical poetics. It
should be understood as a certain compass for navigating through the his-
2 Meret Forster, »Wer jetzt Kunst macht, ist die Tradition. Qualitätsvolle Musik und die Quali-
tät des vermittelnden Weges – Ein Interview mit Wolfgang Rihm,« Neue Musikzeitung 56, no. 11
(2007): http://www.nmz.de/artikel/wer-jetzt-kunst-macht-ist-die-tradition (10. 4. 2014).
300
