Two Great Composers From Decades Apart

Although the Another Timbre label was originally set up in 2007 to release recordings of improvised music—its very first release was The Contest of Pleasures by John Butcher, Axel Dorner and Xavier Charles—it did not take long for it to be releasing recordings of modern compositions... The label's tenth release, Lost Daylight, was played by John Tilbury on piano and comprised five compositions by Terry Jennings and one by the late John Cage. It was not long until the label released a six CD set of compositions by Wandelweiser members entitled Wandelweiser und so weiter, soon followed by ten CDs entitled Canadian Composers Series, then a five disc set of Morton Feldman Piano played by Philip Thomas and a four disc set of John Cage Number Pieces performed by Apartment House. Altogether, these all served to establish Another Timbre as a label that releases performances of compositions rather than of improvised music, a reputation which persists, as illustrated by the discs below...

Magnus Granberg
The Willow Bends and So Do I
Another Timbre
2025
Magnus Granberg was born in Umea in northern Sweden in 1974. He studied saxophone and improvisation at the University of Gothenberg and in New York in his late teens and early twenties. He was self-taught as a composer. In 2005, he formed his ensemble Skogen which on November 12th 2010 recorded his composition "Ist gefellen in den Schnee" at Atlantis,, Stockholm. The nine members of Skogen included Granberg himself on piano, an instrument he had taught himself. The album was released on Another Timbre in February 2012. As with many of Granberg's compositions, he used other music as inspiration for his own, without copying other composers' work. As sources of inspiration for "Ist gefellen in den Schnee" he said he had referred to two different songs from Schubert's song cycle Die Winterreise and to a jazz song that he had forgotten, although those sources are not at all obvious.
Fast forward to The Willlow Bends and So Do I Granberg's twelfth album on Another Timbre. The piece, which was written in spring 2024 consists of four large pools of material, each consisting of individual sounds; the tonal materials were derived from a few bars of a song by American jazz and film music composer Johnny Mandel. No further information is necessary to know that this album will provide many hours of listening pleasure.

Morton Feldman
Intermission 6
Another Timbre
2025
Morton Feldman's composition "Intermission 6" dates from 1953, two decades before Magnus Granberg was born . Feldman's composition is considered to be one of his most open, indeterminate piano works. Its score comprises a single page on which there are fifteen events—single notes or chords—which can be played in any order by one pianist or two. According to Feldman's writing, "The pianist or pianists begin with any sound on the page, will hold until barely audible, then proceed to whichever other sound he/she/they may choose. Sounds may be repeated." The music on this version of "Intermission 6" was all played by Finnish pianist Antti Tolvi and was recorded in Westers, Kiila, Finland, on 21st October 2024.
Feldman's writing and music for "Intermission 6" are reminiscent of various other issues. Firstly, his comment that the pianist will hold until barely audible is reminiscent of Wandelweiser's practice of holding notes and letting them fade away to silence. Secondly, in some compositions of Magnus Granberg's (and others such as John Cage) he specifies music to be played by individual players but not when they should be played, leaving that to the musician's judgement. Lastly, this album has a running time of 72' 34" which is far longer than past versions of "Intermission 6" such as John Tilbury's 3' 21" version on Morton Feldman all piano (LoHALL, ) or Philip Thomas' 7' 51" and 4'42" versions on Morton Feldman Piano (Another Timbre, 2019). Time will tell whether Tolvi has played the definitive version of "Intermission 6."

Tracks and Personnel

The Willow Bends and So Do I

Tracks: The Willow Bends and So Do I (2024).

Personnel: Anna Lindal: violin; Eva Lindal: violin; Leo Svensson Sander: cello; Finn Loxbo: acoustic steel string guitar; Stina Hellberg Agback: harp; Magnus Granberg: prepared piano: Erik Carlsson: percussion; Henrik Olsson: objects, contact microphones, thumb piano: Petter Wastberg: contact microphone, mixing board; loudspeaker.

Intermission 6

Tracks: Intermission 6 (1953).

Personnel: Antti Tolvi: piano.

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