Heiner Goebbels - Walden (Ensemble Modern)

Information

Composer: Heiner Goebbels

1. Walden: I. Where I Lived, and What I Lived For (Simplify, Simplify!)
2. Walden: II. The House
3. Walden: III. The Ponds
4. Walden: IV. Reading
5. Walden: V. The Ice List
6. Walden: VI. Spring
7. Walden: VII. Wintzer Visitors
8. Walden: VIII. The Beanfield
9. Walden: IX. The White Pond

Bob Rutman, speaker

Ensemble Modern

Péter Eötvös, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: ECM New Series

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Released on the ECM New Series label, this album features Heiner Goebbels’s 1998 avant-garde composition Walden, inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s classic novel. Conducted by Peter Eötvös, the piece is written for an expanded orchestra and features artist Bob Rutman as both the narrator and a multi-instrumentalist. Goebbels masterfully blends diverse musical styles—ranging from trip-hop pastiches and ambient soundscapes to powerful orchestral surges—while integrating unconventional instruments like Rutman's custom steel cello and bow chimes. Enhanced by dynamic narration and traditional khoomei throat singing, Walden stands as a visionary, highly innovative testament to Goebbels’s mid-career artistry.

Heiner Goebbels (born 1952) is a distinguished German composer and director renowned for pioneering multi-disciplinary music theater that seamlessly bridges the avant-garde and popular art. Educated in music and sociology, his distinctive conceptual composing method synthesizes diverse literary texts, experimental soundscapes, and unconventional orchestration. His influential catalog features acclaimed works such as Surrogate Cities, the installation piece Stifters Dinge, and the literary adaptation Walden. Throughout his illustrious career, Goebbels has directed the prestigious Ruhrtriennale festival and received international accolades, including the International Ibsen Award, cementing his legacy as a transformative figure in contemporary performance.