Nomination Longlist 1/2020 Category Crossover Productions of the German Record Critics´Award

Ruth Rohse piano solo

J. S. Bach Präludien R. Rohse Freie Improvisationen / Free Improvisations

Live recording of the concert on 15 September, 2018 in the Alte Kirche in Flüelen on Lake Lucerne (CH)

The concert that took place as part of the “wennwärts” exhibition at the Alte Kirche in Flüelen in 2018 ranks among the most unconventional artistic experiments in the classical concert business.

Ruth Rohse combines her own improvisations with Bach’s Preludes from the Well-Tempered Clavier, which she does not regard merely as functional preludes, but as independent compositions in their own right. She was inspired to create a new sequence by the musicologist Reinhard Böß’s research on the WTC, according to which related keys are played together in a series rather than in the printed chromatic sequence. To experiment with the effect of timbres, Ruth Rohse plays the preludes a second time in reverse order to the first sequence, thus inviting listeners to hear the seemingly familiar in a new and different way. This can be compared to strolling through an art exhibition and seeing how the various perspectives and impressions of neighboring artworks can lead the viewer to repeatedly perceive the same painting differently.

In her way of improvising, the pianist follows her intuition and her devotion to inner listening, thus allowing the music to emerge from the presence of the moment.

Translation Howard Fine

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Cover picture graphics Karin Mairitsch https://karinmairitsch.com