Death of a bifocal Swiss composer, 84
mainThe composer and journalist Rolf Urs Ringger died in Zurich on June 26.
He supplemented a considerable compositional output with work as a reviewer and journalist for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and others.
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A pleasant piece – wouldn’t mind hearing some more from him
He was not above writing critiques of concerts that he did not attend. He was once very critical of a performance of mine, describing my performance of Don Juan as sounding like (a better) youth orchestra. But Don Juan was not on the programme that night. And he was not in attendance. I did, several years later, get my revenge, though.
Such things happen more often. Sometimes it seems that the presence of a critic does not make any difference as to the quality of the review. I know of a music critic who, because of entering the auditorium quite late, had missed the announcement that the OOMP was to be replaced. So, in the review next day the helpless chap bitterly complained about the fake style imitation he was exposed to, forcibly criticizing the bad writing and nonsensical rhetoric of Beethoven’s Leonore III ouverture.
(OOMP: the Obligatory Opening Modern Piece.)
This might just be a language barrier thing, but how the hell can a person be bifocal; what is it supposed to mean?
‘Nachhall’ is a truly interesting and romantic piece, and quite courageous for 1986.