# Beat Furrer



## science

Thus saith Wikipedia, the Great and Powerful: "Beat Furrer (born 6 December 1954) is an Austrian composer and conductor of Swiss birth."

He's got quite a few recordings on the Kairos label. I don't know his music at all. Hopefully some knowledgeable people will show up and contribute to this thread!


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## neoshredder

I've heard his name before. Yeah Modern Composers are quite unknown to the world. You gotta do your research to find them.


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## quack

Rather a lot of sparse music with people disclaiming odd things in his oeuvre for my liking. Many of his other works are intriguing though, as a place to start I would suggest this solo piano disc.









From that disc:






The acceptable face of disclaiming:


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## science

One of his works, "Face de la chaleur" is available on Abbado's "Wien Modern II" disk, "Hommage à Andrei Tarkovsky."

View attachment 43282


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## dgee

Furrer is awesome! Too lazy to be fancy with youtube etc but:

Fama - opera/monodrama
Piano Concerto
Nuun - 2 pianos and orchestra
Phasma - solo piano
Apon - narrator and orchestra

Are all highlights of contemporary music for me. Also founded Klangforum Wien - wow!


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## science

Nuun is one that I really want to hear.


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## Torkelburger

I only heard of this magnificent composer because we've both had the same ensemble play our music. (It's odd I've not come across it sooner especially since there is quite a bit of it on the WelleszTheatre channel.) But having that in common in no way means I am on equal footing as this gentleman. This brilliant composer is well beyond my league.

I am not deep into the avante garde, but this man uses the techniques in a very nuanced way that is very unique. It speaks to my intellect as well as touches deep inside me.

I hope others here will find his music just as compelling. There's a lot of his stuff out there on the internet so if you find something you like please post it here. Thanks. Some starters:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_furrer


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## aleazk

Yes, one of my favorite living composers. The Piano Concerto is perhaps my favorite, I love the timbral effects and details in this piece.

Another Austrian, I guess friend of Furrer, is the perhaps more well known Georg Friedrich Haas.


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## Torkelburger

aleazk said:


> Yes, one of my favorite living composers. The Piano Concerto is perhaps my favorite, I love the timbral effects and details in this piece.
> 
> Another Austrian, I guess friend of Furrer, is the perhaps more well known Georg Friedrich Haas.


Thanks for the lead! I'll check him out!


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## Torkelburger

...and yes, if I were to be asked right now my favorite living composer, I might have to say Beat Furrer. Definitely on the list.


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## aleazk

Aer (for Cello, Clarinet and Piano):


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## aleazk

Face de la chaleur:


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## ptr

I can only agree, both Furrer and Haas are favourites!

/ptr


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Furrer is great. Favourite piece would definitely be "Spur" which, as far as I know, has been tragically removed from YouTube


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## aleazk

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Furrer is great. Favourite piece would definitely be "Spur" which, as far as I know, has been tragically removed from YouTube


Spur was the piece for piano and string quartet?, because I was looking for that one yesterday and I could not find it.


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## starthrower

Cool! I'll put that Peter Rundel CD on my list!


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## Torkelburger

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Furrer is great. Favourite piece would definitely be "Spur" which, as far as I know, has been tragically removed from YouTube


Ah, yes! I remember now! I knew there was one I heard awhile ago I was looking for but couldn't find. That was it! I hope it gets posted again.


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## Torkelburger

Hadn't heard Aer before til now. Quite inspiring.


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## starthrower

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Furrer is great. Favourite piece would definitely be "Spur" which, as far as I know, has been tragically removed from YouTube


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## neofite

neoshredder said:


> I've heard his name before. Yeah Modern Composers are quite unknown to the world. You gotta do your research to find them.


I tried. With all of these very positive reviews I was expecting something really outstanding, or at least moderately interesting or enjoyable.

However, with absolutely no disrespect intended to the composer, please allow me to have a divergent opinion. After attempting to listen to all of his works that I could find on You-Tube, I found them to be not only _not at all_ interesting, but also generally annoying. Major disappointment! Although I am no great fan of music written during the past several decades, there are many recent things that I would much rather listen to.

"Yeah Modern Composers are quite unknown to the world." Could there be a reason?


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## flamencosketches

neofite said:


> I tried. With all of these very positive reviews I was expecting something really outstanding, or at least moderately interesting or enjoyable.
> 
> However, with absolutely no disrespect intended to the composer, please allow me to have a divergent opinion. After attempting to listen to all of his works that I could find on You-Tube, I found them to be not only _not at all_ interesting, but also generally annoying. Major disappointment! Although I am no great fan of music written during the past several decades, there are many recent things that I would much rather listen to.
> 
> "Yeah Modern Composers are quite unknown to the world." Could there be a reason?


Why bump a composer's thread to post about your indifference? Believe you me, we weren't all waiting patiently for your opinion.


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## Mandryka

neofite said:


> However, with absolutely no disrespect intended to the composer, please allow me to have a divergent opinion. After attempting to listen to all of his works that I could find on You-Tube, I found them to be not only _not at all_ interesting, but also generally annoying.


Did you hear this one, which I rather like?


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## flamencosketches

Mandryka said:


> Did you hear this one, which I rather like?


Wow, I dig it. Somehow I was expecting something more abrasive.


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## Mandryka

I knew you’d like it!


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## Enthusiast

The only works I know of Furrer's are these:









I enjoy them a lot and this is a record that I do play fairly often,


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## Mandryka

Enthusiast said:


> The only works I know of Furrer's are these:
> 
> View attachment 142326
> 
> 
> I enjoy them a lot and this is a record that I do play fairly often,


One problem I have with Furrer is that so much of what he does is large scale, concertos and stuff, and I don't do that. That being said he has a long string quartet, the 3rd, which has been commercially recorded. I have never managed to get past the first 10 minutes, and that's not without trying, but one day maybe.


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## Mandryka

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## Enthusiast

Many of the works on the disc I pictured the back of are small scale (/chamber) works. What stops you in the quartet?


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## Mandryka

Enthusiast said:


> Many of the works on the disc I pictured the back of are small scale (/chamber) works. What stops you in the quartet?


It feels like one of those early serial pieces by Boulez or Stockhausen -- one of the first four of Stockhausen's klaviersticke for example -- where I can't hear the structure, I can't hear the compositional process. It's just a dense and complex mass of sounds with no relief, no handles to grip on to. (A lot of his music strikes me like that -- I've also tried Begeheren, for example, with the same response.)

But the quartet is much longer than the Stockhausen pieces or Boulez's Notations 1, and if the booklet essay is to be believed, I should try harder to stay with it longer.

https://www.kairos-music.com/sites/default/files/downloads/0013132KAI.pdf

Of course in a concert you're prisoner. That's what's needed maybe.


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