Willy Hess (1906 ‑ 1997)
Three little Notturni, op. 107
Willy Hess studied composition, music theory and piano at the Zurich Conservatory, as well as musicology at the Universities of Zurich and Berlin. From 1931 he lived as a freelance music writer and composer in his hometown of Winterthur. His compositional work is entirely committed to traditional tonality.
“Through my studies of form and as a composer, I became more and more convinced that the shattering of the harmonic tonality must ultimately lead to the dissolution of the music. I found this view confirmed in the writings of Hans Pfitzner and Hans Kayser, but also in Hindemith's succinct statement: We cannot avoid tonal relationships; tonality is a force like the gravity of the earth” (Willy Hess)
CUTS BY UELI HAUSWIRTH
Ueli Hauswirth was born in Saanenmöser and grew up in the Ebnit between Gstaad and Saanen. Four silhouettes from around 1925 hung in the stairwell of the Hauswirth family. Later, three more silhouettes by Christian Schwizgebel adorned the Hauswirth family's house. Ueli particularly liked an Art Nouveau silhouette of a boy playing a flute with a bird.
Music was a popular pastime in the Hauswirth household. Each child played an instrument and thus found access to classical music. Crayons were also important leisure tools for Ueli. An experience as a little boy sparked the idea of cutting scissors.
