Jürg Frey
Jürg Frey (b. 1953 in Aarau, Switzerland) studied in Zurich and Geneva where he graduated with a concert diploma in clarinet under Thomas Friedli. He was co-founder of the Lenzburg Music Forum, and has been artistic director of the Aarau concert series 'Moments Musicaux' for more than ten years. In 1991 he was prize winner at the Boswil International Composition Seminar. He was awarded a sabbatical year (1986 and 1996) and received financial assistance for his stay in Berlin by the Canton of Aargau. Since 1993 he's been associated with the Wandelweiser group, a collective of composer/performers dedicated to the performance, recording and publication of their own music.
Jürg Frey (b. 1953 in Aarau, Switzerland) studied in Zurich and Geneva where he graduated with a concert diploma in clarinet under Thomas Friedli. He was co-founder of the Lenzburg Music Forum, and has been artistic director of the Aarau concert series 'Moments Musicaux' for more than ten years. In 1991 he was prize winner at the Boswil International Composition Seminar. He was awarded a sabbatical year (1986 and 1996) and received financial assistance for his stay in Berlin by the Canton of Aargau. Since 1993 he's been associated with the Wandelweiser group, a collective of composer/performers dedicated to the performance, recording and publication of their own music.
String Quartet No. 3 / Unhörbare Zeit
2015 release **
"Two works, Frey's third string quartet (2010-2014) and a piece for string quartet and two percussionists (2004-2006), with Quatuor Bozzini on each, assisted by Lee Ferguson and Christian Smith on the latter. I get the impression that…
Another Timbre Bundle
Another Timbre presents five essential releases exploring the furthest reaches of contemporary composition and electroacoustic investigation. This special bundle brings together works that exist beyond conventional categories - music demanding patien…
Je Laisse à la Nuit son Poids D'Ombre
How does music inhabit the space between two worlds? Jürg Frey confronts this question directly in Je laisse à la nuit son poids d'ombre, a composition for ten musicians that exists in deliberate suspension, refusing the security of solid ground. Com…
Composer, alone
Composer, alone by Jürg Frey (performed by Reinier van Houdt) is a luminous retrospective stretching across three discs and 35 years. Twelve solo piano pieces—fragile yet substantial—trace Frey's evolution, distilling time and silence into crystallin…
On Foot
2011 release **
"Shepard, in 2005, set himself the task of hiking 250 miles across Switzerland, composing a new piece each day (performing it as well, in some public setting). Six of these works are collected here, performed by various Wandelweiser-i…
Duos
2009 release **
"Two sets of pieces written for the duo Contour (Stephen Altoff-trumpet, Lee Forrest Ferguson-percussion), a potentially unwieldy combination. Frey's "22 sächelchen" (small things) is rather just that, 22 miniatures lasting 32 1/2 min…
Earth Interval + Extended Circular Music (2LP Bundle)
This bundle includes the latest Blume releases, two groundbreaking archival discoveries that illuminate the hidden connections between American experimental music's founding generation and contemporary European avant-garde. Doris Dennison's Earth Int…
Extended Circular Music
** 200 copies. Color Vinyl. 140gr Audiophile pressing. Including printed inner sleeve housing a Nagaoka anti-static record sleeve, plus an original insert that functions as Obi. Comes with exact replicas of the original postcard graphic scores. ** Si…
Longing Landscape
Jürg Frey, the Swiss composer, clarinetist, and central figure in the Wandelweiser collective, presents three recent chamber works—all written for and performed by the Prague Quiet Music Collective, with one piece featuring the Norwegian new music gr…
Outermost Melodies
Ian Antonio discovered Jürg Frey via algorithm. About 15 years ago, SoundCloud kept leading him to the same piece, maybe Circular Music No. 2. "I wouldn't notice the piece starting but then realize I was in fact listening to it closely," he recalls. …
String Quartet No. 4
Swiss composer Jürg Frey writes masterful soundscapes, calm and vast. With his sensitive ear for colour, sound and precision, he composes music of great serenity and lyricism; a poetic weightlessness in search of silence in sound. “My music is slow, …
Fame di Vento
Huge Tip! Fame di Vento is Manuel Zurria's latest work. A triple CD to evoke the many suggestions and projects that have taken place in recent years, full of collaborations, of the Sicilian flautist. Fame Di Vento is also an idealized homage to Aligh…
Circular Music (Ext. N° 1 / N° 2 / Ext. N° 2)
Circular Music and Extended Circular Music are two collections of compositions written by Jürg Frey between 2011/2016 and 2014/2015 respectively. The first cycle is composed of seven distinct compositions while the second is divided into nine parts b…
String Trio
A 51-minute journey through sound that Swiss composer Jürg Frey describes as "a (maybe even perfect) balance between anonymity and personality." Originally commissioned by Concertgebouw Brugge and premiered at the 2019 SLOW Festival, this String Trio…
Les Signes Passagers
'Les signes passagers' is an album of seven pieces for solo fortepiano written by Jürg Frey in 2021, commissioned by the Amsterdam-based pianist Keiko Shichijo. It was premiered by Shichijo on February 5, 2022 at the Concertgebouw Brugge during the S…
Continuité, fragilité, résonance
'Continuité, fragilité, résonance' is a 51-minute piece written by Jürg Frey in 2020-2021 for octet: string and saxophone quartets. The Montréal-based Quatuor Bozzini and the Bern-based Konus Quartett premiered the piece in September 2021, and later …
Lieues D'Ombres
Swiss composer Jürg Frey and Dutch pianist/composer Reinier van Houdt are reunited on this triple CD, 'lieues d'ombres', after their successful collaboration on 'l'air, l'instant - deux pianos' (elsewhere 014), during which the two built a close rapp…
Borderland Melodies
Borderland Melodies, composed by Jürg Frey and interpreted by Apartment House, features three chamber works that exemplify Frey's subtle balance of melody, structure, and quiet innovation. The music explores gradual transformation, intertwining voice…
Wind and Light
Greek composer Anastassis Philippakopoulos has been a member of the Wandelweiser composers collective since 2003. He pursues his own compositional style to create a new kind of tonal music, deeply associated with his individuality and the surrounding…
L'Air, L'Instant - Deux Pianos
Jürg Frey’s unique compositional approach places him at the cutting edge of contemporary classical music. Since the late 90's, Frey started to work with 'lists' as a basis of his compositions, sometimes words, sometimes chords, from which he develope…