Euforia

The works of violinist and composer Nicolaus Richter de Vroe (*1955) are regularly performed by the most renowned organizers and festivals of contemporary music. The musician began his studies at the Speciale Muziekschool in Dresden, now the Saxon State School of Music Carl Maria von Weber. After his violin studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, he was active in various chamber music, improvisation and experimental ensembles. In 1980 he became a member of the Staatskapelle Berlin and completed his composition studies with Friedrich Goldmann and Georg Katzer at the Art Academy of the GDR. In 1982 he founded the Ensemble für Neue Musik Berlin (Ost), which soon grew into an important forum for advanced music in the GDR. Since the mid-1980s, Richter de Vroe has been present with performances of his works and as a performer on all ARD radio stations and at international festivals. In 1988 he became a member of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; a year later he founded XSEMBLE München - an ensemble characterized by experimental programming and stylistic openness. In 1996 he was co-founder of the Münchener Gesellschaft für Neue Musik, which is committed to promoting contemporary music. In addition to his work as a composer and performer, Richter de Vroe has been a regular guest at Goethe Institutes around the world since 1994, where he gives lectures, portrait concerts and presentations of his work. In 2008 he was admitted to the Saxon Academy of Arts. Richter de Vroe's composition TETRAДb IV for four soloists and orchestra was written in 2002 on commission from musica viva of the Bayerischer Rundfunk. The world premiere on this CD by Isao Nakamura (percussion), Irvine Arditti (violin), Mike Svoboda (trombone) and Isabeella Beumer (voice) and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peter Rundel took place on November 15, 2002 in the Herkulessaal of the Residenz in Munich. - Although the large orchestra is assisted by four soloists, the work is not a concerto or concerto grosso. The solo parts are so different that they can hardly compete with each other during a concert. They also appear one after another; each characterizes a longer section of the work with its specific diction and only towards the end are they heard together. The vocalist's solo is based on a poem by experimental Russian poet Daniil Charms. Richter de Vroe's artistic affinity with Charms' thinking is expressed in the title TETRAДb IV - the Russian word "Tetra", of which only the last letter is written in Cyrillic, means "booklet" - and in the experimental approach to his text. Shibuya Movements for orchestra was also a commission from musica viva of the Bayerischer Rundfunk in 1991/92. This CD offers a recording of the world premiere on May 15, 1992 by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Cristóbal Halffter in the Herkulessaal of the Residenz in Munich. Euforia for orchestra was composed in 2009; the world premiere on October 31, 2009 by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons also took place in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz.