Into Eternity
‘To say that von Tilzer has created a recording of poetic depth and musical beauty only begins to capture it. As grounded in her compositions as it is, however, Into Eternity derives a huge measure of its impact from the exceptional playing by her partners, Fridman first and foremost.’
Click here for the entire review by Ron Scheppers
‘…Out of the Dark is the opening track on the disc, and demonstrates right off that von Tlizer has a uniquely concentrated musical imagination. The piece begins with the string quartet playing spiky-sounding motifs that gradually shift into themes of movement, overlaid with anxiety and longing. Finally the composer injects elements of syncopation causing the theme to break apart before culminating into a sense of calm…’
Read the entire review from Mike Parr here
‘Harrowing, in a word. It (the music) gave me goosebumps. And just goes to show that music continues where words end and evokes emotions.’
— Audiotijdschrift Music Emotion
‘‘Behept’ met een setje traditionele oren en smaak, moet ik nieuwe muziek soms vaak draaien om er vertrouwd mee te raken. Voordeel daarbij is dat ik, niet zoals bij mij bekende klassieke muziek verval in de vergelijkings modus. Het zal jou ook overkomen dat verschillen in het tempo als eerste opvallen en pas in een later stadium andere eigenschappen zoals frasering en dergelijke. Wat zeker ook helpt bij de acceptatie is het ‘verhaal-er-achter’ en daartoe is de informatie uit het booklet onontbeerlijk, zo ook in onderhavige opname van het label TRTPK.
Inspiratiebron voor Marion van Tilzer was een brief van een zekere Vilma Grunwald die afscheid nam van haar man kort voor ze samen met haar zoon John vermoord werden in de gaskamers van Auschwitz. Van Tilzers compositie bestaat uit drie delen die de kern vormen en begeleid worden door nog eens vijf stukken en zo een contrast vormen tussen donker en licht. Schrijnend, in één woord. Ik kreeg er kippenvel van. En zo is maar eens aangetoond dat muziek doorgaat waar woorden ophouden en emoties oproept.’
‘I’d been watching the social media posts about this coming album of music by Marion von Tilzer and was intrigued. That the album included among it’s performers the ever-wonderful cellist Maya Fridman just heightened by interest to hear it. And I am more than pleased to finally hear the album. It is delightfully beautiful and thought-provoking. In listening to this album, I encourage you to find your quiet, dark, happy space and distance yourself from all distractions. When I did this, the music simply drew me in, enveloped me, and totally engaged my mind and spirit. I don’t often say this of recordings, but this is one that fully rewards the effort. All of the works are compositions of Marion von Tilzer, a musical triptych inspired by a letter written by Vilma Grunwald saying goodbye to her husband just moments before she and her son John were killed in the Auschwitz gas chamber. These are sad, sweet, haunting songs for the most part, beautifully sung by contralto Bella Adamova or vocalized by cellist Maya Fridman. Several are instrumental only. The instrumental accompaniment is diverse, with Von Tilzer on piano, Fridman on cello, and a string quartet, clarinet, and percussion joining on various tracks. An incredibly excellent-sounding combination of talents to pull this off so successfully.
Most highly recommended! ***** ’
Click here for the entire review
‘Marion von Tilzer succeeds where most musicians have failed in managing to harmonise eastern and western music without betraying either tradition’ — Michael Nyman, composer and music critic (UK)
‘… the repetitive ‘Wheel of Fortune’ is one of the highlights of this CD.’ — Kris Baetens, Kwadratuur about CD ‘Amstel Raga’ by the Amstel Saxophone Quartet
‘A successful fusion…’ — Armand Serpenti, about Kirvani Revisited,‘MIXED’, (Holland)
‘…An outstanding album…’ — Opzij about Kirvani Revisited (Holland)
‘…An album of selfevident beauty…’ — Luister about Kirvani Revisited (Holland)
‘And not only was the choreography surprising and beautiful, but the original music, composed by the Austrian, Marion von Tilzer, was absolutely stunning.’ — Oeral Krant about the Dancetheater piece “Sirenade by Elshout&Händeler (Holland)
‘… The results is an ongoing interaction that allow for individual expressions as well as a spirit of togetherness…’ — NCPA, Bombay about the collaboration with Hindustani singer Neela Bhagwat. (India)
‘… Marion von Tilzer creates dancing lines before she explodes in a flurry of activity only to settle in a sea of calm…’ — Coda Magazine, Jerry de Souza (Canada)
‘… Rob Armus and Marion von Tilzer give each other lessons in both their vocabulary, which results in a group, that one can call unique…’ — Volkskrant, Koen Schouten about ‘Aros’ (Holland)
‘… Von Tilzer’s “Fugatisme” was another highlight and its serried arpeggios gave the classical trained pianist a chance to show off some power of her own…’ — Vancouver Sun, Alexander Varty (Canada)
‘From the very first moment Marion von Tilzer convinced me with her compositions, especially her personal musical language, that I want to call timeless and fascinating. One doesn’t often hear modern classical music which is also accessible for a broad audience.’ — Ben Verbong, Film Director (Germany)