This issue of Tempo is dedicated to the works of Robin Holloway, and this article focuses on his chamber works. Scenes from Schumann involves paraphrases of six Schumann songs: two from Myrthen, one from Dichterliebe, and three from the Opus 39 Liederkreis. Holloway has "re-composed" them, delving into the songs and presenting them in enriched and intensified versions. Holloway's treatment of "Mondnacht" serves as an example. Along with harmonic changes, he adds borrowings from Wagner's Ring cycle and Tristan und Isolde, Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire, and Debussy's Rondes de printemps. Holloway's Fantasy-Pieces for wind quintet offer a more subtle borrowing technique, in this case drawing on the Opus 24 Liederkreis. Several other brief examples demonstrate Holloway's basically romantic style of borrowing, which creates a feeling of separation or removal from the older material.

Works: Holloway: Scenes from Schumann (21-2), Fantasy-Pieces (22-3), Evening with Angels (23), Concertino No. 3 (23).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Jessica Sternfeld