What happens when an instrumentalist takes a masterpiece from the past and plays it? A performance of course, an interpretation of what the composer wrote centuries ago. What if this same masterpiece was interpreted by a composer instead? In this episode we’ll find out how the German composer Hans Zender picked some well known and beloved compositions from the past and reinterpreted them in a new, contemporary language.
We’ll first hear the original, a song from Schubert’s cycle Winterreise for instance and then we’ll listen to the new interpretation written by Hans Zender. A “composed interpretation” as he used to call it. Welcome to the first episode of a series of shows dedicated to contemporary composers, who loved to create time bridges, reinterpreting the past. Enjoy!