Sound UbuWeb

Tibor Szemző (b. 1955) Tractatus (1995) A work by Tibor Szemző took six months of hard work in the studio to produce, yet it is only 30 minutes and 30 seconds long. Anything else next to this composition inspired by the writings of one of the greatest minds on this planet ("Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus" by Ludwig Wittgenstein) would be counter productive. * Artwork By [Handwriting] – Márton Balogh B. * Artwork By [Painting] – Minóψó Szert * Composed By, Other [Played By] – Tibor Szemző * Lyrics By – Ludwig Wittgenstein * Narrator – Ayako Harada, Caroline Bodóczky, Francisco Gózon, Harald Quendler, Harald Quendler, J. A. Tillmann, Josef Bruckner, Rozalia K. Szemző * Producer – Attila Bognár, Tibor Szemző * Recorded By – István Horváth * Recorded By [Voice] – Alexandr Krestovský, Ivan Bierhanzl, Tibor Szemző Notes Originally composed for the video work Wittgenstein Tractatus (1992) by Péter Forgács and Tibor Szemző. Recorded at Hungarian Radio, Electroacoustic Music Studio. Text and piano taken from Tractatus logico-philosophicus and and Vermischte Bemerkungen by Ludwig Wittgenstein. Texts read by Ayako Harada – Japanese (recorded in Tokyo, 14.11.1994), Francisco Gózon – Spanish (recorded in Budapest, 12.01.1995), Rozalia K. Szemző – Slovak (recorded in Bratislava, 15.01.1995), Harald Quendler – German (recorded in Vienna, 16.01.1995), J. A. Tillmann – Hungarian (recorded in Budapest, 31.01.1995), Josef Bruckner – Czech (recorded in Prague, 31.01.1995), Caroline Bodóczky – English (recorded in Budapest, 27.03.1995). Tibor Szemző (born 1955, Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian composer and flutist. He was a founding member of the Hungarian new music ensemble Group 180 (1978-1990) and writes primarily in the minimal style. His current group, The Gordian Knot, was formed in 1998. Szemző is also known for creating the musical soundtrack for a documentary on Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. The musical piece, in its entirety, is entitled Tractatus. Recordings of Szemző's music have been released on the HPS, Hungaroton, and Leo labels. Hungarian composer TIBOR SZEMZŐ was born in Budapest in 1955, beginning his musical studies at the Kodály method school at the age of six, graduated at the Hungarian Academy of Music. Szemzö formed his own trio (later a quartet), and in 1979 he founded the minimalist ensemble Group 180. It was a profoundly influential ensemble, renowned for its performances of Hungarian minimalism; it also performed works by John Cage and Steve Reich. Embarking on a solo career in 1983, Szemzö began integrating spoken word and visual elements into projects otherwise dominated by flute and live electronics, and in 1987 he issued his first solo recording, Snapshot from the Island. The downfall of Hungary's communist rule allowed him to began collaborating with various artists throughout Europe and beyond, and in 1998 Szemzö also formed a new chamber ensemble, the Gordian Knot. Other notable works include Ain't Nothing But a Little Bit of Music for Moving Pictures (the score to a collection of black-and-white home movies compiled by friend Péter Forgács), The Conscience (a trilogy of narrative-based chamber compositions) and Tractatus (a half-hour piece inspired by the Austrian philosopher Wittgenstein). In recent years Szemzo's interest has increasingly turned to film as well. His award winning feature A Guest of Life (intermixing documentary footage, animation, and Super 8mm film stock) was shot in Tibet. -- Wiki RELATED RESOURCES: Group 180 in UbuWeb Sound