Wolfgang Rihm's Recent Music

Abstract

Following Ian Pace's excellent introduction to the music of Helmut Lachenmann, hopes were entertained that similar articles might appear introducing the work of other contemporary German composers, in particular Wolfgang Rihm. The problem is that any article on Rihm is out of date before it is published, even with respect to general trends that have emerged in his recent output. Unlike most composers, Rihm has avoided a mid-life creative crisis, not least by devoting groups of works to particular issues: thus an initial impression may well encourage the belief that his creative personality has several distinct manifestations. This fact alone indicates that Rihm has little in common with Lachenmann. While Lachenmann's music is underpinned by the principles of dialectic, and his rich fantasy tends to be contained within the intellectual framework governing his compositional processes, Rihm's spontaneous approach suggests an uninhibited absorption of influences from every quarter, past and present. We need look no further than some of the items in the recently published two-volume collection of Rihm's lectures, discussions, and introductions to various works, which include reflections on composers as unlikely as Louis Spohr.