Frederic Rzewski - A Mensch (Daan Vandewalle)

Information

Composer: Frederic Rzewski

CD1

• De Profundis
• Michael Bakunin,Rentier
• Three Piano Pieces
• Dear Diary
• Worried

CD2

• Dreams

CD3

• Saints and Sinners
• Tabakrauch
• A Life
• Humanitas

CD4

• Chain of Thought
• Rubinstein in Berlin
• Mayn Yingele

Daan Vandewalle, piano

Date: 2026

Label: Passacaille

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This album title draws on the Yiddish concept of Mensch, referring to an individual of integrity, awareness, and critical thought, to frame the enduring ethos of Frederic Rzewski's music. Spanning over six decades, from the early 1950s through his final years, the selected works trace a clear timeline of his evolving yet consistent artistic vision. Rzewski directly confronts political, historical, and personal crises, continuously questioning how individuals maintain their humanity within overwhelming societal systems. Ultimately, this collection highlights a composer who firmly believed in art's capacity to convey profound meaning and challenge what it means to live responsibly.

American composer and virtuoso pianist Frederic Rzewski (1938–2021) was a pivotal figure in contemporary classical music. After studying at Harvard, Princeton, and under Luigi Dallapiccola in Florence, he co-founded the influential avant-garde ensemble Musica Electronica Viva in 1966, pioneering live electronic improvisation. His works, most famously The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, frequently merged rigorous structures, serialism, and improvisation with explicit social and political themes. A long-time professor at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, Rzewski produced an expansive catalog spanning graphic notation, serialism, and politically charged vocal works, leaving an enduring legacy of deeply engaged, communicative music.

Flemish pianist Daan Vandewalle, born in 1968, is an internationally acclaimed champion of 20th- and 21st-century music. Educated at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent and Mills College, he boasts an expansive repertoire encompassing complete cycles of masters like Ives and Messiaen, alongside premieres forged through close collaborations with contemporary composers. Renowned for mastering monumental, highly complex scores such as Sorabji’s Opus Clavicembalisticum, Vandewalle maintains a prolific recording and performance schedule worldwide, from intimate experimental venues to Carnegie Hall. In addition to active chamber partnerships and cross-disciplinary collaborations, he has taught piano at the Conservatory of Ghent since 2001.