Orchestral Works (2000)

"There is nothing ordinary in Kagel's music: the selection of orchestral pieces assembled on this collage CD ranges from Les idées fixes, his rondo for orchestra that appears so harmless at first sight, to the wonderfully bustling Opus 1.991. (...) "The deliberate break, the joining of the incommensurable, irritation through ambiguity, are Kagel's true vocation, one which he pursues with great delight in disguises and multihued iridescent role-play." (Ulrich Dibelius) Les idées fixes (1988-89) recalls traditional forms: five rondos meet one another while thematically encompassing the whole world, from ragtime to suggestions of waltzes and Eastern folk music. No less than four pianos are needed for Kagel's Musik für Tasteninstrumente und Orchester (1987-88), whereas Opus 1.991 (1990) works with philosophical references and evokes cinematographic reminiscences. And the master of tricky rhythms himself handles the baton to perfection!"