Even if Erik Satie had never claimed the mantle of “Velvet Gentleman,” there would still be Kurt Schwertsik. Schwertsik, impish and dandified on the one occasion I met him (pictured, right), was born in Vienna on this date, 90 years ago.
A pupil of both Joseph Marx – a self-professed romantic of rather conservative bent – and avant-garde icon Karlheinz Stockhausen, Schwertsik was a founding member of the so-called Third Viennese School. He also co-founded the ensembles die reihe (the series), with Friedrich Cerha, the composer who completed Alban Berg’s “Lulu,” and MOB art and Tone ART, with his friend HK Gruber. (All uses of upper and lower case are Schwertsik’s. Clearly, he is rather loose in his application of the shift key!)
In addition, he played horn with the Vienna Symphony, and taught at the Vienna Conservatory and Vienna Musikhochschule.
Schwertsik’s music is frequently characterized by irony and humor, and invariably rooted in melody and tonality.
I had the privilege to interview him during a concert held at Austrian Cultural Forum New York in March 2012. The Aron Quartett performed his “skizzen und entwürfe” (“sketches and drawings”), from 1974, and a Schwertsik world premiere, “Lammersammlung” (“Song Collection”), which had been commissioned for the occasion. Also on the program were works by Erich Zeisl and Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Schwertsik, sporting Freudian beard and spectacles, was all smiles, and rather dapper, in cravat and red velvet jacket. He exuded much charm and held the audience in the palm of his hand.
By the time of our meeting, his “Dracula’s House-and-Court Music” had already become a staple of my Halloween programming, just as I try to include his Strauss tribute, “Vienna Chronicles 1848,” in my playlists around New Year’s. Neither piece is posted on YouTube.
Here’s one that’s new to me, “Adieu Satie,” for bandoneon and string quartet:
“Conversation Piece” for guitar and marimba:
“Drei späte Liebeslieder” (“Three Late Love Songs”) for cello and piano:
Happy birthday, Kurt Schwertsik!
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