Christian Löffler: Parallels (Beethoven): Shellac Reworks
Deutsche Grammophon

While well-intentioned, makeovers by electronic producers of classical works often miss the mark for any number of reasons. The integrity of the original can suffer, for example, if the interpreter goes so far that the essence of the composer's work gets lost in the process. Christian Löffler (b. 1985), on the other hand, achieves a smart balance on this EP (now available digitally and as a physical release in February) by handling Beethoven's material respectfully but not so reverentially that creativity's stifled. Stated otherwise, the composer's voice remains clearly in place, even in those moments where Löffler's contributions are extensive. Connecting with the humanity of the material, he collapses with seeming ease the temporal gap between then and now and in doing so reveals that the titular parallels have more to do with emotion than musical style.

The release originated when Deutsche Grammophon invited Löffler, who's become known for his melodic take on deep house, to create four tracks by using original 1920s recordings of Beethoven pieces as the starting point. The release, part of the label's Shellac Project series, appears in tandem with the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. The choice of Löffler as interpreter was an informed one, given that the German producer's own productions encompass a broad emotional spectrum, from euphoria to melancholia. His penchant for incorporating non-electronic sounds such as field recordings and acoustic instruments into his tracks also made him a good fit.

After being granted access to the Shellac Project—digitized material restored from early twentieth-century 78s—by the label, he decamped to his log-cabin studio on Germany's Darss peninsula and began working with performances from the 1920s and 1930 by Staatskapelle Berlin and Berliner Philharmoniker. “Pastoral” natural draws from the sixth symphony for its base material, with the Berlin Staatskapelle's hushed lilt helping to induce a swoon-like entrancement at the outset; eighty-some years have passed, but time hasn't diminished the silken allure of the ensemble's strings. Löffler then intensifies the dream-like aura of the opening episode by adding synth atmospheres until the track achieves a near-perfect balance between originator and interpreter. Instead of the familiar opening theme of the fifth for “Fate,” he uses a tender passage that paves the way for a bass-heavy pulse that teleports the material from a centuries-ago concert hall to a modern-day Berlin club.

Arguably the EP's most audacious production is “Funebre,” a fourteen-minute excursion that uses a recording by the Berliner Philharmoniker of the third symphony (the “Eroica”) as a springboard. It's the one track that's more Löffler than Beethoven, simply because its length lends itself to a slow-burning techno treatment; yet while that is so, the composer nevertheless remains present throughout in one form or another. Enhancing the track's appeal, the beats drop out halfway through to allow the orchestral playing to fully blossom before the club elements re-emerge to carry the piece home. One could easily picture club attendees swaying hypnotically to the production without ever realizing that part of what they're hearing is Beethoven. At EP's end, “Freiyheit” plays like a three-minute coda of sorts when loops of material from the overture to Egmont become a lullaby-like exercise in slow dazzle.

November 2020