Diagonal Music

Featuring

Christopher Parkes
Malin Broman
Simon Crawford-Phillips
Britta Byström
Johannes Brahms

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Performer Biography

Malin Broman, the violinist on this album, was appointed concertmaster of the Swedish Radio Orchestra in 2008 and plays a 1709 Stradivarius violin.

Composer Biography

Johannes Brahms' Horn Trio, Op. 40, was written in 1865 shortly after the death of his mother Christiane, making it a deeply personal reaction to his loss.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Britta Byström's 'Diagonal musik' is inspired by the geometric paintings of Swedish modernist painter Olle Bærtling, who used 'open form' to create the illusion of infinite pictures.

Composition History

Britta Byström's 'A Walk to Brahms' is part of a series of about 20 works, each intended as a musical journey towards a specific composition by another composer.

Performer Biography

Christopher Parkes, the horn player, is the solo horn of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and also principal horn of the John Wilson Orchestra and Sinfonia of London.

Compositional Technique

Brahms' Horn Trio features the natural 'Waldhorn' (forest-horn), an instrument Brahms loved and played as a child, contributing to the piece's special timbral qualities.

Compositional Technique

In 'Diagonal musik', Britta Byström translates Olle Bærtling's 'open form' concept into music, creating 'musical unfinished geometry' where lines approach but do not meet until after a movement ends.