Martin Torp

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Martin Torp (born December 9, 1957 in Flensburg ) is a German composer , pianist , organist and painter .

Life

He comes from a music-loving family of theologians of German-Norwegian origin. As a schoolboy he learned to play the piano, organ and cello, made his first attempts at composition and also devoted himself intensively to painting. After high school and community service, he studied Indian rhythm in Varanasi and church music at the University of Church Music in Heidelberg . In 1985 he went to Berlin, where he has lived since then. Despite a guest study with Volker Stelzmann at the Berlin University of the Arts (1988/89), several years of composition lessons as part of his music studies and private consultations with the Eisler student Gerhard Rosenfeld in the years 1997-2001, Torp saw himself as painting and composition Autodidact . In both areas, his work shows a high level of craftsmanship and a clear artistic profile. As a painter he has exhibited many times and as an organist and pianist he has given solo concerts throughout Germany. Two CD s recorded by himself with his own piano works were produced by the Hastedt and primTON labels. In 1998 he received a composition grant from the Fritz Berg Foundation. His symphonic cantata "Psalm 103" was awarded a prize at the international composition competition Göttingen Psalter 2012. From 2002 onwards, some of the CDs he had compiled with music from the 20th century were released by Decca and Deutsche Grammophon . In 2005, Martin Torp, as one of eight commissioned composers, created part of the “Oratorio for Peace” on the 450th anniversary of the Augsburg Religious Peace, the world premiere of which was published on CD. In 2008 the Furore Verlag Torps published the orchestral version of the piano cycle “The Year” by Fanny Hensel . Compositions by Martin Torp have been broadcast by various radio and television stations in Germany and abroad.

Work and style

Torp's compositional work encompasses all musical genres, with the exception of opera. Among other things, he wrote three full-length oratorios, five choral symphonic cantatas, six symphonies for large orchestra, a piano concerto and numerous chamber music and piano works. In terms of numbers, chamber and piano music predominate in his oeuvre. Torp mostly composes in an expanded form of tonality . He is also not afraid of vocal melodies and pulsating rhythms. Some of his compositions deal with influences from non-European musical traditions such as Indonesian and Japanese, some have a jazz influence. Avant-garde design elements (clusters, micro-intervals, noises, etc.) also occasionally appear in Torp, but mostly only very sparingly dosed in his compositions. For experimental purposes he developed the sketchy notation form of the "improvisation concept". This allows the interpreters a maximum of spontaneity and mostly results in highly complex and fresh looking miniatures. As a painter, Martin Torp prefers abstraction, which he considers particularly music-related. Quite a few of his pictures relate to his own music. At times he also devoted himself to portrait and landscape painting.

Catalog of works (selection)

Vocal works

  • See, I'm doing everything new , oratorio for 5 solos, choir and orchestra, 1997–2001
  • Sanctus , choral symphonic cantata for choir, brass ensemble and percussion, 2009/10
  • Johannes Passion , oratorio for 4 solos, choir and orchestra, 2017/2018
  • Christmas oratorio for 4 solos, choir and orchestra, 2018/2019
  • Reformation Symphony (Symphony No. 5) for 4 solos, choir and orchestra, 2016/17
  • Psalm 90 (cantata to Mozart Requiem) for 4 solos, choir and orchestra, 2016
  • Psalm 103 , cantata for baritone, choir and orchestra, 2011
  • Te Deum for 4 solos, choir, orchestra, 2013
  • Four motets (text: Gerhard Tersteegen ) for a cappalla choir, 2004
  • Credo , cantata for choir and, 2013
  • In the light of love. Four sacred chants (text: Angelus Silesius ) for choir and organ, 2004
  • Magnificat for choir and organ (+ 2 trp. And 2 pos. Ad lib.), 2011
  • 3 psalms (Ps. 100, 117, 130) for once. Children's choir, trumpet, organ and percussion, 2014
  • You lead the mind wide. A sacred song based on Hildegard von Bingen for baritone, string quintet and percussion, 2005
  • Spring songs (12 songs based on own texts) for medium voice and piano, 2006
  • The 12 months (12 haiku for mezzo-soprano, violin and piano, based on own texts), 2007
  • Psalm 96 for medium voice and organ, 2007
  • Lust & Liebe (12 songs after personals) for medium voice and piano, 2010

Orchestral works

  • Symphony No. 1 ("Berlin Symphony"), 2002
  • Symphony No. 2, 2002/04
  • Symphony No. 3 ("Symphony of Colors"), 2012/15
  • Symphony No. 4 ("Symphony of Light"), 2016
  • Symphony No. 5 ("Reformation Symphony"), 2016/17
  • Symphony No. 6, 2018
  • Piano concerto, 2006
  • Sinfonia piccola (Sinfonietta, after pictures by Gerhard Richter ), 2003/04
  • Cantico delle creature . String orchestra version of the final movement of String Quartet No. 2, 1995/99
  • Symphonic Prelude , 2008

Chamber music

  • Brassphony. Small Symphony for 10 brass instruments, 2003
  • Quintet for piano and string quartet, 1997/98
  • 3 string quartets (1992, 1995, 2001)
  • Adagio for string quartet , 2001
  • Romanza con Fuga for saxophone quartet or string quartet, 2000
  • Piano trio, 2004
  • Fairy tale pictures (a light piano trio), 2006
  • Triple fugue (scoring variable) 1987
  • String trio, 2009
  • 2 sonatas for violoncello and piano (2000, 2019)
  • Sonata "Orient & Occident" for oboe and piano, 2015
  • Sonata for clarinet and piano, 2019
  • Sonata for violoncello and piano, 2000
  • 4 small pieces for alto saxophone and piano, 2001
  • 4 pieces for violoncello solo (based on own pictures), 1993
  • Cantiques d'amour . 7 miniatures for solo clarinet, 2000
  • Meditation for solo clarinet, 2007
  • Consolations for violin solo, 2005
  • 4 mandalas for dulcimer solo, 2010
  • 7 miniatures for marimba solo, 2014

Piano works

  • 5 piano pieces ( Prelude, Impromptu, Bagatelle, Nocturne, Capriccio ), 1990–95
  • Media vita in morte sumus (to a picture of your own), 1996
  • Resurrexit (to a separate picture), 1996
  • Sonatine , 1999
  • Sun, moon and stars. Memories of my childhood (3 pieces for my own pictures), 1997/98
  • Märchen der Welt (7 fairy tales from 6 continents, each with 9–13 piano pieces) 2000–2009
  • In the moonlight (piano piece to the picture of the same name by Hans Thiemann ), 2001
  • Prelude and Fugue , 2003
  • 5 sonatas (2008, 2019, 2013, 2014, 2014)
  • 2 sonatas (2008 and 2009)
  • Still life . 16 miniatures for piano, 2008
  • Clover leaves . 6 piano pieces for pictures by Paul Klee , 2008
  • Icons . Piano pieces based on Russian icon motifs, 2009
  • Reflections. 64 miniatures, 2009-2012
  • Frescoes. 24 piano pieces for Giotto's life frescoes of Jesus in Padua, 2015/16
  • Orpheus and Eurydice . 5 pieces for piano 4 hands, 1992–94
  • Great vista . 12 small pieces for four hands, 2005
  • 3 pieces for the left hand, 1998
  • Manus dextra . 3 piano pieces for the right hand alone, 2005

organ

  • Apocalypsis . 7 organ pieces for own pictures after the Revelation of St. John, 1992
  • Genesis . 7 organ pieces according to Genesis 1,1 - 2,4, 1995
  • Suite in 7 parts based on scenes from the New Testament for two players on one organ, 1998
  • Toccata, Adagio and Fuge, 2011
  • Morning Glory of Eternity (Fantasy and Fugue), 2013
  • A strong castle is our God (Choral Triptych), 2016
  • Now come the Gentile Savior (Choral Variations), 2017
  • Ludi Organi . 24 free organ pieces, 2017–19

Organ plus 1 melody instrument

  • Triptych. 3 Meditations on Colors for Clarinet and Organ, 1996
  • City-Prayers for alto saxophone and organ, 2008
  • Marian triptych for alto saxophone and organ, 2008
  • Sonata d'amore for oboe d'amore and organ, 2010
  • Sonata for marimba and organ, 2019
  • English Suite (English Suite) for Violin and Organ, 2020

Improvisation Concepts

  • 5 improvisations for 2 pianos (to your own pictures), 1991
  • 7 graphical notations for 2 pianos, 1991
  • Klangfarben (twelve-part cycle of your own pictures) for organ, 1996
  • Modern Art (seven-part piano cycle on modern art) 2008

Edits

  • The year . Piano cycle by Fanny Hensel, for orchestra, 2007/08
  • 14 Persian folk songs , easy arrangements for piano, 2000/05
  • Alla Turca. Sonata movement by WA Mozart, for baglama (Turkish lute) and piano, 2013
  • 3 Bach chorale arrangements. Arr. the "Schübler chorales" (BWV 647, 649 and 650) for saxophone and organ, 1997/2015

literature

  • Carlos W. Lange: Booklet text of the CD Martin Torp. Piano works , label: Hastedt 2009
  • Wolfgang-Andreas Schultz: "See, I make everything new". World premiere of the oratorio by Martin Torp in Nuremberg , Musica Sacra. Journal for Catholic Church Music, Volume 124 / Issue 2, March / April 2004, p. 30
  • Robert Anderson: Spiritual Journey. Martin Torp's oratorio 'Behold, I'm doing everything new' Music & Vision. Classical Music Magazine, January 18, 2004, Robert Anderson, London UK
  • Christoph Schlüren: Picturesque , fervent and "new thrift" - CD by Martin Torp , Neue Musikzeitung (nmz), Regensburg December 13, 2009
  • Martin Torp: Booklet text of the CD Reflections , label primTON 2015
  • Georg Hummler: Martin Torp: Johannes Passion . Forum Church Music, 6/2019, p. 34 f.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Torp, Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer, pianist, organist and painter
DATE OF BIRTH December 9, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Flensburg