Chapter Seven

Pression Revised
Anatomy of Sound,
Notated Energy, and Performance
Practice

Tanja Orning
Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo

Pression1 for solo cello by Helmut Lachenmann was a ground-breaking work

when it appeared in 1969. The title Pression (pressure) reflects the variety of
pressure applied to the bow and with the left hand when executing the actions
prescribed. Introducing Lachenmann’s instrumental musique-concrète,2 with a rad-
ical approach to instrumental sound production, the piece explores a primarily
non-pitched sound world—extremely rich, beautiful, and violent. Pression has
become a modern classic, with regular performances worldwide and several
recordings.3 The notation is highly experimental, predominantly symbolising
the actions and energy prescribed to produce the sound rather than traditional
parameters like pitch and rhythm. A revision of the piece appeared in 2010.
Certain notational elements in the 1972 edition, which included elements of
freedom for the interpreter, have been standardised in the new version, reveal-
ing certain conventional or even conservative tendencies not present in the
original version. In this article, I will examine the revision and compare it with
the original, reflecting upon the development of performance practice in the
course of Pression’s forty-three years of existence. I will use data from my inter-

1 Lachenmann’s Pression for solo cello was composed in 1969 but first published in 1972. The work was
revised in 2010 and republished twice, first in Lachenmann’s manuscript hand in 2010 and then in a com-
puter-engraved version based on this edition in 2012. The copyright date is the same for all three editions
(1972). In this article I refer to the first published version as the 1972 edition and the computer-engraved
version as the 2010 edition because it contains the 2010 date in the score, despite the actual publication
date of 2012. When I need to distinguish it from the 2010 handwritten edition, I make that clear.
2 A term introduced by Helmut Lachenmann in his brief account of Pression, “Pression für einen Cellisten
(1969/70),” published in 1972. See Lachenmann 1996, 381.
3 There exist to my knowledge ten commercial recordings of Pression: Michael Bach, CD cpo 999 102-2
and LP ABE ERZ 1003; Lucas Fels, CD Montaigne Auvidis MO 782075; Walter Grimmer, CD col legno
WWE 31863; Taco Kooistra, CD Attacca Babel 9369-1; Pierre Strauch (1993), CD Accord 202082; Werner
Taube, LP ABE ERZ 1003; Wolfgang Lessing, CD WER 6682 2; Michael M. Kasper, CD “rounds per
minute“, Ensemble Modern Medien, EMCD-006; Martin Devoto, Blue Art, De Bach al ruido; Benjamin
Carat, GRAME: CB0890.

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