Ralf Yusuf Gawlick: Herzliche Grüße Bruno, Op. 21 (Briefe aus Stalingrad)

Featuring

Georg Gädker
Chi-chen Wu
Moritz Ernst
Ralf Yusuf Gawlick

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Recording & Production

The recording of the work took place on August 1, 2018, which would have been Bruno Gawlick's 95th birthday.

Performer Biography

Max van Egmond, a Dutch baritone who reads some of the letters, was interned in a Japanese concentration camp as a child during WWII.

Compositional Technique

The composition uses five 'sonic planes': recorded piano, live stage piano, spoken texts, sung texts, and a 'Soundscape Stalingrad' featuring historical audio.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The composer's architectural planning for the work directly stems from the poetic and structural elements of Bruno Gawlick's letters.

Composer Biography

Composer Ralf Yusuf Gawlick is of Romani-Kurdish descent and his works often explore aspects of his complex international heritage.

Composition History

The work is based on the last letters of composer Ralf Yusuf Gawlick's young uncle, Bruno Gawlick, who went missing in Stalingrad in December 1942.

Historical Context

Bruno Gawlick was enlisted into the Wehrmacht in 1942 at age 18 and sent to Stalingrad, where he was part of the 6th Army under Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus.