Heiner Goebbels, Ensemble Modern & Joseph Bierbichler - Eislermaterial

Heiner Goebbels pays homage to a formative influence, German composer Hanns Eisler (1898-1962), in an album of great charm. Eislermaterial is one of Goebbels most popular works. It has delighted audiences around Europe and received much positive press since it was premiered in 1998.

In Eislermaterial Goebbels presents a multi-faceted portrait of Hanns Eisler. At the centre of the work are the touching songs of exile, which Eisler wrote together with Brecht, persuasively sung by German actor Josef Bierbichler. There are also montages from an original documentation with Eisler's voice, newly arranged excerpts from Eisler's chamber music, fragments from an unpublished string quartet, a newly discovered composition for solo clarinet, and Eisler-inspired improvisations.