Recorded by Martin Skamletz
29,00 €
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Miraculously cured of cancer, a young man from a mountain valley in Vorarlberg sets out in search of his own music – a journey that will take him out into the world and, at the same time, deep within himself.
In the late 1980s, composer Herbert Egon Willi embarked on a career that would see his works performed by some of the finest musicians of his time. He became a familiar presence in the world’s great concert halls and in the media, until he withdrew from the music scene and decided that, from then on, his music should speak for itself.
He now emerges from this self-imposed isolation to tell the stories behind the defining moments of his life as a composer. At the heart of these stories are his encounters with the people who accompanied and shaped his journey.
Herbert Egon Willi, born on 7 January 1956, was commissioned by Zurich Opera House to compose the opera Schlafes Bruder for the celebrations marking “1,000 Years of Austria”, and the orchestral work Begegnung for the 150th anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic. His works have been performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Royal Albert Hall in London, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Musikverein, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Salzburg Festival. They have been performed by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic and the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, under conductors including Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Christoph von Dohnányi, Kirill Petrenko, Manfred Honeck, Christian Arming and Gustavo Dudamel.
"Had I not been ill, I would not have begun to listen."
"I have always followed my inner voice."
"My music emerges from silence."
"Composing is about trust."
"For me, art only has meaning if it also gives hope."
