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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 quartets
Material can be anonymous. Consider, for example, the middle voices in medieval hymn books: unadorned, not artful, a simple handiwork, a leisurely alternation of single notes. It might be a scale, or, beyond music, the stones of a wall, not artfully stacked, but simply and properly, the formal idea being nothing other than that of a wall.   When I was working on the String Quartet (1988), I encountered the painting of Agnes Martin. I saw clear-cut forms, not overgrown with rhetoric and figuratio…
Accordion Music
Fold in; fold out: the breathing of the accordion. On this CD the accordion unfolds in a very special way, unusually close to the instrument. Four works, four worlds that seem to know each other; refer to each other like a greeting from far away. Hearing John Cage's ,,Cheap Imitation" played on accordion gives you the impression of folk music from an unknown, probably non-existent country. This music comes from nowhere, goes nowhere, is forever on its way.....Like ,,Sam Lazaro Bros". The Swiss c…
Grizzana And Other Pieces 2009-2014
The Ensemble Grizzana (Ryoko Akama, Mira Benjamin, Richard Craig, Emma Richards, Philip Thomas and Seth Woods) performs a series of delicate and beautiful chamber pieces by Swiss composer and clarinetist Jurg Frey, who also performs on clarinet.
Songs and piano pieces
music that allows sounds to sound: to die away, completely, into silence sounds thought from their end: not  moving forward, but drawing back.  this creates space, expanse, a delicate serenity: silence - and what it shelters - becomes audible.  this is singing with the ears: barely more than silence.  a singing which not only makes, but becomes space: a space for worlds.  phrases are also sounds: unfolded, laid out as a path. sound paths that come into being first when followed, invariably trail…
24 Worter
JF: The 24 words are the titles of the individual pieces, and they are at the same time the entire text. They are also a list that shows how the piece gets from a beginning to an end. It is, in a sense, a cycle not simply a collection of pieces - a cycle which begins, makes a journey and ends at a different place. TA: If I had to categorize this list of words, it seems to me they are addressed to quite different areas. Herzeleid (Heartbreak) for example, sounds old-fashioned, Einsamkeitsmangel …
Pianist, Alone
Two fascinating pieces by Jurg Frey on this double CD, beautifully realized by Andy Lee, but fascinating for different reasons. "pianist, alone (1)" lasts for almost 90 minutes and consists of a series of discreet episodes. Will Robin's excellent notes on the site below do a far better job of describing things musicologically than I ever could, so I'll give a few other impressions. The opening chord sequence provide one of the most haunting and lovely sets of sounds I've heard in recent years. T…
II
The label doesn't want to do notes anymore about his new releases. So we have to write some with our very good English. With these two names you can imagine that for sure the music will be closer to silence than to wall of noise. First we must say that no credit is written on the CD, like it was not important to know who is playing what and first what is played. CD1 is an instrumental piece signed by Radu Malfatti. CD2 by Jürg Frey where instruments are mixed with field recordings. It was r…
Weites Land, Tiefe Zeit, Raume 1 - 8, Raum 1
Weites Land, Tiefe Zeit: Räume 1–8 is an album by Jürg Frey. It is ranked number 12,910 in the overall greatest album chart with a total rank score of 54 from 1 greatest album chart. Weites Land, Tiefe Zeit: Räume 1–8 is ranked number 430 in the best albums of 2010 and number 1,471 in the best albums of the 2010s.
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