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News & Current Affairs

"… The concert consisted exclusivly of works of the german avantgarde. The Sonata for Violoncello solo by York Höller and the following very demanding Sonata by Bernd Alois Zimmermann were followed by a short and most concentrated miniature , the work “opus breve” by Klaus K. Hübler as well as the Cello-version of the composition ” In Friedship” by K.Stockhausen, a work which initially had been composed for clarinet. The astute mastering of new technics of Cello-playing is indeed not the only and most important device of Gauwerky. The consistency of his aesthetical concept includes the ability for imagination and immediacy of expression. The result for the listeners is a very coherent interpretation of highly demanding musical structures… "(Robert Kolar in “Hudobny Zivot” in Slovakia, December 2011)

„Rapturous applause for soprano Manuela Kriscak and Cellist Friedrich Gauwerky … The recital of german cellist Friedrich Gauwerky started with a bow for the founder and artistic director of the Festival,the deceased Giampaolo Coral. “Paesaggio con la caduta di Icaro” is the titel of a composition , which Gauwerky premiered earlier this year in Stuttgart, a composition , which - as many of Corals works - was inspired by works of the visual arts: Pieter Breugel and – in later works – Matisse and Chagall show tragical scenes, which Coral transposed in music, in this work at the beginning with dark tones of the cello in low register, which later in the process of the composition are embadded in a dense canvas of polyphonic structures , all of this masterly performed by Gauwerky….” (Katja Kralj in Primorski, Italia, 10.12.2011)

world-premiere: 24.11.2011, WAIBLINGEN, Germany, Galerie Stihl, Giampaolo Coral, "Paesaggio con la caduta di Icaro" for Violoncello solo

CD - release "John Cage: Etudes Boreales Harmonies 10'40.3''" (WERGO WER 6178 2):

"...Understanding of postmodern music-philosophy here meets great virtuosic mastery of the instruments - and this is a demand in particlar for the cellist.The piece looks back at a history, in which performances have been cancelled by the most highly profiléd cellists , as they declared the Etudes as unplayable. Cage - or the celestial chart - demands shifts accross several octaves aside from the diatonic system without the help of vibrato.Gauwerky shines in his interpretation with stunning technique and magnificant precision... "(Vera Salm. "Das Orchester", April 2011)

"The German cellist and new music specialist Friedrich Gauwerky succeeds here in bringing coherance and structure to two of the most challenging works of 20th-century cello literature, John Cage's Etudes Boreales (1978) and 26'1.1499'' (1953-5) (of which he plays a shortened version, called 10'40.3'' after its duration).Despite the two works' huge technical difficulties, which Gauwerky overcomes with aplomb, the challenges are not purly of execution. The two pieces are both chance-based - Etudes Boreales drawing on star maps of the northern sky, 26'1.1499'' using imperfections in the paper it was written on - and so run the risk of sounding like a ramdom sequence of unrelated pitches, effects and noises from the cello's wooden body. It's hugely impressive that Gauwerky brings a truly musical coherance to the works, imposing a sense of order on the bewilding range of sounds and a sense of forward movement that grips he listener from start to finish. There's lightness of touch to his playing in 10'40.3" that brings what could almost be called a sense of fun to the piece, and his pinpoint intonation amid multi-octave jumps in the Etudes Boreales is breathtaking...(David Kettle in "The Strad", August 2010)

"...This demonstrates in particular: in both cases Gauwerky set a high standard for future recordings with his Cage-interpretations and as such made an important contribution to a seroius involverment with this music" (Stefan Drees in "Neue Zeitschrift für Musik", July/August 2010)

"...This disc is an excellent introduction to both John Cage's thechniques and the best possible rendition of the aural experience.The performances are top notch and the recording is sensitive to the very subtle nature of these works; consistantly soft but present throughout...(Daniel Coombs in "Audiophile Audition", August 2010)

"...This CD reflects a principal problem of New Music within the area of conflict between freedom and determination, a conflict which however does not cause any distress for the excellent performers" (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, 27.5.2010)

"The Suite for Violoncello solo by Johann Sebastian Bach is music related to physical movement.Accordingly it consists of the baroque movement-titles Allemande , Courante, Sarabande and so forth. If this rhytmically complex music , which was performed by Gauwerky with such lightness and virtuosity, can be danced to today, this was a question for the audience to think about"("Elbmarschpost", 6.5.2010)

"Gauwerky revealed hinmself as a sensitiv sound-timbre-virtuoso also in "Fluente" by norwegian Ruben Sverre Gjertsen..." (Neue Musik Zeitung, December 2009)

"Cellist Friedrich Gauwerky's task was to transform formations entering the screen from the side into sounds, the result of which revealed itself as happening partly at the limit of audibility, a task, which he mastered with sovereinty and credibility" (Elisabeth Risch, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 26.11.2009)

"In addition Friedrich Gauwerky exibited in his performance of '10. 1.640" for a string-player'his outstanding vituosic skills on his instrument..."(Siegener Zeitung 29.4.2009)

"musicians like Gauwerky are just desirable: an unbelievable beauty of tone despite all sound-distortion, great wisdom of expression, an organic unity between performer and instrument, as one can experiance very rarely" (Achim Stricker in "Schwäbisches Tagblatt", 23.10.2008)

"- the atteniv musical approach, with which Friedrich Gauwerky brought accross the work by Höller in his concert in the "AusSichten" - series in Tolstefanz last Thursday exibitet in a very lively way the mixture of subtlety and tension, which determines the work by Höller." ("Elbe-Jeetzel-Zeitung", 25.10.2008)

"John Cage: Etudes Boreales Harmonies 10'40.3''" (WERGO WER 6718 2) has been released !

World premiere of Schoenberg cadenza
On 18th Jan. 2000 happened a performance of the Cello-concerto g-minor by M.G.Monn in Frankfurt /Oder/Germany(Staatsorchester Frankfurt /Oder, cond. Nikos Athinäos, soloist Friedrich Gauwerky). Included in the performance was the world premiere of a cadenza for this concerto by Arnold Schoenberg, written in or before 1913.The cadenza is from Schoenbergs estate and has been published for the first time 1977 in the Schoenberg Complete Edition. Written statements about the lack of any documentation of or information about any previous performance of these cadenzas have been received from: Prof.Dr. Reinhold Brinkmann, Harvard University, Ms. Iris Pfeiffer, Arnold Schoenberg Center , Vienna, Mr. Ulrich Scheideler/Mr. Nikos Kokkinis, Schoenberg Gesamtausgabe Forschungsstelle Berlin and Ms. Elisabeth Knessl, Universal Edition Vienna #

Major concert-tours

3.11.-11.11.2011
Concert-tour through South-East Asia

ANNIVERSARY - CONCERTS in 2011
Gottfried Michael Koenig, "60 Blätter" as well as "Segmente 92-98"

WORLD - PREMIERES

7.5.2010
HANNOVER, Kulturzentrum Faust, Eduardo Flores Abad, "LAMINAS NOTICIAS" for Violoncello and Electronics

24.11.2011
WAIBLINGEN, Germany, Galerie Stihl, Giampaolo Coral, "Paesaggio con la Caduta di Icaro" for Violoncello solo

Masterclasses

6.5.2010
HANNOVER, Germany, masterclass for the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hannover

2.5.2011
LINZ, Austria, Anton-Bruckner-University, masterclass in Violoncello

25.10.2011
BRATISLAVA, Slowakia, Academy of Music, masterclass

3.11.2011
HONG KONG, China, Chinese University of Hong Kong, masterclass in chamber-music

Radio - broadcast

19.1.2010
Hessischer Rundfunk, HR 2, 20.05h, Johannes S.Sistermanns, "Blinman" for Violoncello solo and Electronics

"John Cage Solo for 'Cello" has been released (WERGO WER 6693 2)
"Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Chambermusic" with "Vier kurze Studien","Intercomunicazione","Presence" etc. has been released (Albedo, Oslo, AlbCD 022)
"...This of course was a credit also to the mainly very attentive audience, which experienced with Friedrich Gauwerky a serious Cellist , who exibitet in the Sonata for Cello solo by Bernd Alois Zimmermann such a superior playing technic in servive of the composition, that it was simply firing with enthusiasm..." Rolf Bernhard Essig in "Fränkischer Tag", June 2007
Michael Pitz-Grewenig in "Bremer Nachrichten:"...The interpretations achieved its very special standard due to the quite uncramoed , concentrated art of the 2 performers, Friedrich Gauwerky, Violoncello and Stefan Hussong, Accordion. Both performers cooperate since years with the composer (i.e. Adriana Hoelszky,Anm.)and form an outstanding pair of soloists, what also was proved in Klaus Hubers "Ein Hauch von Unzeit",the performance of which became a faszinating event in this version for Accordion and Violoncello by the two performers due to the intelligently crafted interpretation..."

Marianne Kierspel in "Kölner Stadtanzeiger" : "...One hardly could have found better musicians for the theme of the evening than Friedrich Gauwerky (Cello) and Stefan Hussong (Accordion)..."

B.Hagerup in "Morgenbladet", Norway, about the recently released CD "Friedrich Gauwerky cello solo" (ALBCD 013): "Opus breve is an almost unpleasantly persuasive piece of music in which the musical vocabulary has been reduced to its basics: the conjunction of instrument and body. It is this conjunction that Gauwerky demonstrates with more discipline, intensity and expressivity than most. He is without doubt one of our time's most fascinating instrumentalists".

Lutz Lesle in "Neue Zeitschrift für Musik" about the recently released CD "From Johann Sebastian Bach to Bernd Alois Zimmermann: "...business-card of a virtuoso with far-sightedness, good taste, amazing technique, and a captivating instrument"