Electronic Experimental and Microtonal 1953-1999

This is the fifth Henri Pousseur CD in Sub Rosa's Early Electronics series, exploring the work of this Belgian theoretician and experimental/avant garde composer. Along with previous releases in this series, Electronic Experimental and Microtonal (1953-1999) is comprised of 5 rare pieces that span over 45 years of microtonal and electronic work. Performed by Rohan de Saram (Quatuor Arditti), Evert van Tright (who played mainly Stockhausen), Brigitte Foccroulle, Danielle Dubosch, Isabelle Schmit (three great Belgian pianists) Sumila Goto, Mikoto Jakahata, Shuzan Morita (from the Japanese Yonin No Kai Trio) and for the first and only time, Henri Pousseur himself. These recordings are a continuation of Sub Rosa's earlier releases, namely: Musique Mixte, Liège à Paris, 8 Études Paraboliques and 4 Parabolic Mixes. Henri Pousseur studied at the Academies of Music in Liège and in Brussels from 1947 to 1953, and was closely associated with Pierre Froidebise and André Souris. He encountered Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luciano Berio, and thereafter devoted himself to avant-garde research. As Posseur describes of his music: "When I first met Pierre Boulez in 1951, we both agreed that the materials of the young serial music had to be renewed, both on a purely acoustic basis (electronic music) and in the relationships between it's components." Generally regarded as a member of the Darmstadt School in the 1950s, Pousseur's music employs serialism, mobile forms, and aleatory, often mediating between or among seemingly irreconcilable styles, such as those of Schubert and Webern, or Pousseur's own serial style. From 1970 until his retirement in 1988, he taught at the University and Conservatory of Liège where he also founded the Centre de Recherches et de Formation Musicales de Wallonie.