Here we curate works of Universal Edition's new composers

New UE composers and works

Les Mains Nues by David Chaillou played by Moises Fernandez Via

Georg Streuber-Chraniuk, baritone
Markus Syperek, piano

The 'Kaddish' prayer is one of the central and best-known texts within Judaism. It is considered as a Jewish Prayer for the Dead and for Mourners and is recited at Jewish funerals as well as at the anniversaries of a death or at memorial events. Death and Mourning do not as such appear in the text; the Aramaic and Hebrew words speak more of a glorification of God and God's forthcoming Kingdom - words which should traditionally provide comfort for the mourners and strengthen them for their continuing lives.

The Kaddish has however also  a further function and is recited more frequently in traditional Jewish services; here it serves always as a division between different sections of the service text, as the conclusion of a reflection or meditation, and also as a form of transition and division between different themes. Special about the Kaddish is that it may only be used in a liturgical context when there is a 'Minyan' present, a quorum of at least ten Jewish adult males. 

Max Doehleman has now set this multi-layered traditional mourning song with the methodology of a Lied. The basic mood is melancholy, as is appropriate to the main theme - the setting should however not illustrate total hopelessness; the listener should instead experience a communication direct to the soul despite all the sense of loss and sorrow. A Kaddish that (as the prayer text itself indicates) reflects also the continuity of life and the cycle of arrival and departure. As well as the moment of grief the music can also beas an expression of transition or change.

Max Doehlemann: Kaddisch

Radmila Bocev, violina / violin
Božo Banović, klavir / piano

Recorded in 2007

Sheet music available at https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/Robots/P0213639

Roboti / Robots

Some of my earliest memories are of intricate boxes. My father, a furniture maker, often restores antique pieces, and I remember being fascinated by wardrobes and desks that had secret drawers and spaces. These are often only accessible by putting one’s hands in the right spot with the right pressure, a type of haptic code. In writing Puzzle Box, I wanted to create a work that pays homage to these beautifully compact pieces, where one has to explore around an object and test it in various ways until a hidden passageway opens. Puzzle Box was written for the Cabrillo Festival as part of the 2024 Conductors /Composers Workshop and is dedicated to my father.
Cabrillo Festival Orchestra - Omar El-Jamali, conductor

Puzzle Box [EXCERPT]

For Flute, Clarinet in Bb, piano, violin, cello

Unknown album (7/4/2016 2:41:3

Reverie(2014) Op.7  Mohammadreza Azin

Composed by Juan Arroyo and played by Omar Nicho.
Live at Quipu 2019, Paris

1. Evil Man

Composer originally from Charleston, SC - Currently based in Rhode Island.

Puzzle Box [EXCERPT]

Nick Bentz