Filz collects three works by Enno Poppe written especially for Ensemble Resonanz of Hamburg, with Tabea Zimmermann as soloist in the viola concerto that gives the album its name. Poppe has always been drawn to string instruments for their almost infinite possibilities of pitch, technique and sound, and these first recordings in studio quality show it at length.
Poppe, born in 1969, conducts. Ensemble Resonanz is known for its precise intonation, its fresh readings of contemporary and traditional works, and its openness to unusual formats. Zimmermann, winner of the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 2020, combines technical virtuosity with a willingness to take on unusual challenges. The album is a co-production with Deutschlandfunk Kultur, with the support of the Kunststiftung NRW.
Filz (Felt), written in 2013/14 for viola, four clarinets and strings, was first performed on 11 April 2015 in the Mozartsaal in Vienna by Zimmermann and Ensemble Resonanz under Poppe. The soloist plays an endless, constantly shifting curve of intonation within an amorphous atmosphere of third-tone intervals, and the result sounds like music from another world; the inspiration came from Poppe's experience of traditional Korean music. Wald (Woods) for four string quartets (2009/10) has been a fixture of the ensemble's touring repertoire for years. It sets up fractal relationships between four strings of four instruments in four quartet groups, and the listener seems to follow the composer's thinking as it happens. Stoff was first written in 2015 for Ensemble Musikfabrik with strings, woodwinds and brass (heard on WER 7395 2); in 2018 Poppe made the more homogeneous version for nine string instruments recorded here.
The disc was placed on the German Record Critics' list of best recordings 3/2021, in the contemporary music category. In the jury statement, Marco Frei pointed to its complex glissando structures and microtonal friction, and wrote that in this premiere recording "a web of tonal sensuality is woven." He also noted that with Stoff and Wald Poppe shows himself a true expert in writing for strings.
CD, Wergo WER 7399 2, released in 2021 in the Edition Enno Poppe series, first recordings, total time 71'22".
