DOROTHEE EBERHARDT (b.1952): Piano Trio No. 4, Terra Nea for Violin and Piano, Orion for Cello and Piano (SatoriEnsemble), Táxis for Flute and Piano, Solar for Flute (Alto Flute), Cello and Piano (Elisabeth Weinzierl [flutes]), Phlipp von Morgen [cello], Eva Schieferstein [piano]).

Description: Eberhardt's compositional methods are especially concerned with rhythmic structures; the works prior to 2009 employ additive rhythms, in which small note-values are incrementally added to produce complex meters, while those of the past few years are based on rhythmic ostinati, layered to result in complex cross-rhythms between parts. The trio and Táxis represent the new style, while the other works contain sections (in Solar, separate movements) using the two methods. Pitch material in the ostinato style pieces is far more tonal, and although the relationships between parts can be complex, the chordal harmony and clearly defined pulse produce a lively, instantly accessible result, like a particular type of minimalism. The earlier style lends itself to more rhapsodic, linear writing, with a greater sense of metrical freedom (though organised according to precise rules). The combination of the two is especially effective, supplying timbrally diverse 'preludes' full of additive rhythms and shifting harmonies, which resolve into satisfyingly harmonically cohesive finales in exhilaratingly propulsive motion.