Hessler & Blomann

"...a postmodern sound, bold, bizarre, with a classic touch (...). Music in-between the styles" (WAZ Gelsenkirchen dated July 30, 1994)

"The team of composers/interpreters Blomann/Hessler has developed (...) a musical aesthetic which reminds of what is at stake with (musical) postmodernism: (...) Lack of system is the agenda, within which everything is allowed once again. (...) an almost hysterical enthusiasm to play enters into an alliance with musical sectors and idioms (...). That is to say, threshold crossings of the third kind: exciting, irritating, at any moment full of surprises" (WAZ Gelsenkirchen dated November 17, 1992).

"...completely consciously, the three members of the ensemble Ulrich Blomann, Joachim Hessler and Gesine van der Grinten cross borders between the sectors (...) At the Krefeld Festival Gang-Art, the jury liked the threshold crossing (...) so much that the newcomers were awarded the second prize" (Hans-Joerg Loskill in the Westfaelische Rundschau dated December 6, 1991).

"That is a constantly changing sound process (...) Irritations are welcome, flashes of wit appear in sound agglomerations, wads are unraveled in a skillful and funny way" (WAZ Gelsenkirchen dated November 12, 1991).

"The master plan is convincing for the reason that it avoids a superficial mix of styles. I hear citations, but no arbitrariness of citation. Instead, it deals in a quite homogenous way with different levels of European solistic-vocal compositions..." (Wolfram Knauer in Jazzpodium dated January 1995).

"The Ab-Art Ensemble wants to play new music, without thereby claiming to be puristic, as many Avantgarde composers do. (...) The piano play of Joachim Hessler appeared sometimes as connective, sometimes in stark opposition to the saxophone and vocal parts. When Hessler was accompanying his two co-players, he provided - through a strongly rhythmic play - a fundament to the free tonal solo-parts; in other pieces, however, the piano sounded completely equal" (Hertener Allgemeine newspaper, dated October 31, 1992).

"Together with the pianist Joachim Hessler and Ulrich Blomann at the saxophone, the mezzo-soprano Gesine van der Grinten went on a delightful musical journey. (...) The entirely self-written pieces formed, with their varied sound patterns and sternly conceived shapes, an interesting contrast to the second concert of the evening" (Mainz Rhein-Ruhr newspaper dated April 12, 1994).

"A visit to the one-hour performance of the Ab-Art Ensemble is worthwhile for two reasons. Firstly, because Gesine van der Grinten, Ulrich Blomann and Joachim Hessler appear, in the compositions from Blomann and Hessler, as musicians with a strong power of expression and figuration as well as as having a sympathetic musical intuition. Secondly, because the performed pieces (...) contained delightful combinations (...) of composed forms. (...) Joachim Hessler's passionate melancholy and trance and the hymnal awakening (...) and his solo-compositions for piano Ballade Nr. 1 - Ritmico was fascinating due to the energetic way it was performed and the high theatrical drama" (Westfalic Volksblatt dated November 7, 1994 - on the occasion of the Days of New Music in Paderborn).

"To break new ground in the field of modern contemporary music, to distance oneself from the rigid dogmatism of style of a self-proclaimed Avant-garde and to dare crossing borders (...) - this was the surely not easy task which the Ab-Art Ensemble tackled in the city Gallery of Paderborn. (...) At their concert in the context of the event series Days of New Music, three musicians set a vivid and well-listenable example of how apparently different musical epochs and genres can be brought together. (...) If one enters new and untrodden paths, there is always a special risk on sides of the composer and performing artist towards the critical audience. The Ab-Art Ensemble masters this venture in its own way. Although it stuck, with an almost satirical strict mimicry and gestures, to the usual classical conventions, the three musicians maneuvered into unfamiliar and surprising sound scenarios. (...) Parallel as well as alternating, Joachim Hessler at the grand piano decomposed the harmonic leftovers into exotic sounding sequences. The audience probably did not expect the music to move from this abstract and disharmonic world of sound back into a sphere full of stirring harmonic beauty. This event opened many possibilities for the listener to reach a new understanding of music. Also, it became clear that the crossing of boundaries needs not loose itself in a huddle" (Neue Westfaelische newspaper, dated November 7, 1994).

"The composers and musicians Ulrich Blomann and Joachim Hessler performed, with the collaboration of the tenors Wolfram Wittekind and Tom Megas, musical versions of texts by Jahnns. The singing voice is conducted in a strongly aria-like way. The piano accompaniments do not avoid the tonal. (...) Apart from the vocals, which partly seems like Palestine intercepted, the martial 'sprechgesang' of Mega resounds" (WAZ newspaper Herne, dated September 14, 1993).

"The delightful combination and the manifold varied commitment of saxophone, piano and voice, also in the pieces 'Awakening' and 'In the abyss' by Joachim Hessler, demonstrated the intuition of the composer for shapes and acoustic colours" (Ruhr-news Bochum, dated October 20, 1992).

"The (...) music of the Ab-Art-Ensemble (...) condensed the already gloomy atmosphere. And then, upon leaving, outside in front of the gates of the Prinz-Regent, it was daylight. However, a clouded one" (Claudia Hantrop in the WAZ newspaper Bochum, dated November 14, 1994).

"During their concert in the castle hall, the Ab-Art Ensemble tore down borders between classical and modern understandings of music. To Gesine van der Grinten, Joachim Hessler and Ulrich Blomann, music means less beauty and harmony, but instead, in the course of their one-hour presentation, they introduced chaos into sound. (...) The three studied musicians let loose sound scenarios, which affected the mind of the audience in a drastic way. Pianist Joachim Hessler ignites archaic allegros on his keys, which are all of a sudden bursted by piercing saxophone-salvos and above which an expressionistic voice thrones, which is given a high power of expression by the mighty mezzo-soprano of Gesine van der Grinten. However, the eardrum-straining passages are followed for instance by harmonic piano soli, which calm the listener like a quietly flowing river" (WAZ newspaper Herten, dated October 31, 1992).

"In diffuse entanglement, obvious parallel guidance or block-like contrasting, the different style elements wear a garment, which in its major parts is weaved with the textile of devotedly-moaning melancholy. Dark, aria-like singing, contra-punctuated by frugal saxophone runs, moves in an elegiac striding way or in few tonal steps, be it sacredly-Gregorian or in the gesture of the Vienna School, above piano sounds, which show flashes of late romanticism and gentle atonalism" (WAZ newspaper Herne, dated October 14, 1992).

Hessler & Kanty

"The [...] presented piece [Kaleidoskop #1] is to a great extent enlivened by the improvisation of the two musicians, who harmonized very well. [...] If one describes Joachim Hessler's means of creating sound as unusual, then the only adjective left to describe Hans-Juergen Kanty's way of playing is 'crazy'. [...] Thereby, his complete dedication - especially with his vocal improvisations or his version of a natural Leslie-effect (an approximately three feet long hose, through which he sang while he whirled the other end in fast circular movements through the air) - had in parts a very amusing effect and the [...] audience could frequently not avoid smiling. Technically speaking, both musicians without doubt showed high quality. Whoever observed the wild [...] high-tempo soli [...], quickly realized that we were here dealing with two excellent musicians" (Dorsten newspaper, dated October 11, 1999).

"Joachim Hessler's ‚Kaleidoskop #1' [...] confronted [...] courageous listeners with sound experiments that occasionally led to the question whether what was being heard had not already left the realm of music. Obviously however, Joachim Hessler believes that, apart from eclectically composed, free citations of other styles, genres, works or compositions, 'postmodern' music can or should combine with components that do not belong to the traditional language of music: especially the 'percussion part' of the composition with 'singing hoses', all kinds of rattling, swinging and clattering equipment [...] raised attention, occasionally even unbelieving smiles. [...] The best remedy against our desire to define art is - this the music of the night [...] showed - apparently art itself: it escapes the known categories, breaks habits over and over again and helps those, who have made themselves all too comfortable on the pillows of their taste, to a new start" (Borken newspaper, dated October 12, 1999).

Hessler & Schubert

»Hessler & Schubert reaped enthusiasm« (Rheinische Post, dated July 7, 2009).

Hessler & Toepp

"Renaissance music and the sounds of machines, coupled with dance performance in an impressive space. [...] Three artists, the dancer Bettina Rutsch, the pianist Hans-Joachim Hessler and the guitar player Thorsten Töpp dared confronting extremes with the sounds of Canción del Emperador. [...] The conclusion of the night: refreshingly different, impressive to all people present, needs to be repeated" (TOP Magazine, October 2009).

"'Music meets work shop' was the name of the inventive performance, which - apart from piano, keyboard, two saxophones, and diverse rhythm instruments - was additionally filled with saws, files, drills, a spraying device for silicone sealing and five rewindable, hectically pecking metal birds. But not enough, the majority of actors were hiding, during their musical play, in more or less small wooden boxes, so that the audience could hear the sounds, which were created inside them, however could only in the least cases connect the sounds up with a certain instrument or carpenter's tool. Only when, during the performance, every now and then the sound of a saw, file or drill stuck out from inside a box, the musical role which had been attributed to the tool became obvious. Apart from that, it thumped, knocked, squeaked, and gurgled inside the boxes in an invisible, however rhythmically coordinate way, while Dr. Hessler [...] had assembled the whole concert from many different musical segments and in the most parts designed it with his piano and keyboard..." (Jutta Langhoff in the Rheinische Post, dated November 10, 2010).

Hessler & Mingus

"With his dissertation Hans-Joachim Hessler makes a scientific contribution to the jazz of the last century, in a refreshing way he sets itself apart from the otherwise abound present narrative representations and he is questioning some paradigms of contemporary jazz research. His contribution is overdue [...] and [... ] his knowledge [can] serve as a basis for more exciting research projects" (Jazz'n'More 05/2013, p. 65).

"...an ambitious study on the personality and music of Charles Mingus" (Dr. Wolfram Knauer, Director of the Darmstadt Jazz Institute).

"...an unusual recipe of music-biographical, philosophical as well as scientific understanding, which asks a lot of the vigilant reader, thereby opening up entirely new dimensions" (Ray Finkenberger-Lewin in the Recording Magazine 4/2011).

"Then again, further contexts fascinate: Hessler analyses a piece by Mingus in comparison with Richard Strauss; Mingus' striving for autonomy appears aside US politics and Adorno, his aggressive rage aside psychoanalysis. And there is another topic, namely: the rising of ostracized "nigger music" to sound art - which the author here describes with a virtuoso's joy of debauchery" (Vienna Newspaper dated July 7, 2011).

"Hessler's great merit is that he demonstrates consistently how Mingus used his music as an expression of social protest. And so, the most impressive passages of this book are those, in which Hessler places key works by Mingus in the historical context of the McCarthy era, the civil rights movement and the fight of the Afro-Americans for equal rights. He values Mingus highly as the free thinker that he was, his civil disobedience, and he describes the bass player as the founder of his own record label, who took control over the conditions of production of his music" (Guenther Huesmann on May 5, 2011 in the NOWJazz Magazine, SWR2).

Hessler "confronts the reader with the depressing racism in the USA and can explain coherently how this racism possibly caused the ruptures in Mingus' music" (Dr. Michael Kuhlmann in the broadcast JazzFacts on Deutschlandfunk dated May 20, 2011).

"Hessler's book shows clearly what Charles Mingus can mean to the ears. What the author reads out of a single piece of music, shows how little substance many a piece of jazz has nowadays [...]. It is worthwhile going to the effort of reading" (Henry Altmann in the broadcast PlayJazz! dated July 21, 2011, NDR-Info).

"Elementary joy of reading: there are books that are full of stories, information and analyses, and turn out to be profound sources of thought-provoking impulses" (Gerd Filtgen in the magazine Fono-Forum 10/2011).

"The present dissertation might well be the most comprehensive scientific work on Charles Mingus, at least in German language. [...] It classifies one of the most important representatives of free music, which is colloquially called 'jazz', into interdisciplinary structures; probably, Mingus has never been considered under this aspect. The piece of work extends far beyond biographical descriptions, [...] but instead develops many questions on the political, societal, sociological and psychological meaning of musical phenomenon" (Bernhard Hefele in IFB 20, 2012).

"[The reader] however learns more about American society and the American citizen and musician Charles Mingus jr. as music biographers usually reveal. Hessler […] retraces the youth of the bass player - and thereby refers back to the prospects of a black boy who, in a racist world, was denied a musical career in the field of classical music, who acquired a black identity and, on the other hand, throughout his entire life was inspired by European, so-called 'classical' music. He draws on biographical facts, refers in an illustrating way to texts of the Beat authors and does what the least jazz biographers do: he analyses the compositions on the basis of sheet music. […] After reading the 589 page analysis, one listens to Mingus' pieces in a different way than before" (RONDO 1/2012, p. 35).

"[The book] offers [...] well-grounded analyses of Mingus' compositional style on the background of an US-American society, in which this creative agitator could find no peace. The music of a free spirit who with his music fought for equal rights and against a still shockingly present racism. The title of the book leans on the fact that Mingus, in early days, called himself "Charles 'Baron' Mingus" - in leaning on his idol Duke Ellington. Ellington, the great jazz composer, who was the first person to lift jazz to an art, was actually called Edward Kennedy Ellington - and because of his fine manners, people called him duke, the prince. Also, there already was a count: William 'Count' Basie. Therefore, there was only the title of baron left for Mingus. The young musician took it in order to bow to his idol Duke Ellington - and also, in order to propagate jazz as an high art. […] In the above mentioned book by Hans-Joachim Hessler, one can read extensive examinations of "Pithecanthropus erectus" and other central pieces by Mingus, not least by means of sheet music examples. This is worth it in any case. Some things become more clear, which one perhaps only sort-of knew beforehand" (Roland Spiegel in the broadcast "Klassik plus" on BR-Klassik with the title "Der Ungezaehmte: Portraet des Jazzmusikers Charles Mingus" [The untamed: portrait of the jazz musician Charles Mingus] on April 22, 2012)

"...with an abundance of interesting information..." (Henning Sieverts in the broadcast "Jazztoday" dated April 23, 2012, Bayerischer Rundfunk).

"Passive resistance, as well as an irrepressible rebellion, run like a thread through the work of this musician, who has experienced what it means to hit rock bottom - and this is to be understood not only in a social, but also in a psychological sense. And of course, the race problematic plays into this, the orientation of a complex character in a complicated social web of relations. Hans-Joachim Hessler throws a light on all of this in a remarkable book which is worthwhile reading […]. In a multi-perspective way, Joachim Hessler describes and analyses Charles Mingus as an artist personality who is grounded in many coordinate systems and therefore works in highly versatile - that is in a discontinual way - in terms of his creativity" (Bert Noglik in the broadcast "Classics" dated June 28, 2012, MDR-Figaro).

"Michel Foucault and Jean François Lyotard stand in the centre [...]. After all, Hessler thoroughly scrutinizes Mingus' descent, life and work, with models taken from various scientific disciplines, sociology, psychology, history, cognitive science" (Henry Altmann in JAZZTHETIK 11+12/2011, p. 66-67).

Hessler & Lyotard

"In the first half of the book, the author clarifies, in an indeed comprehensible way, important basic concepts of Jean François Lyotard's philosophy: his pluralistic understanding of postmodernism as it is distinct from Charles Jenck's eclecticism, his discourse theory which bases on "conflict" as well as his aesthetic of the exalted which ties in with Immanuel Kant and - in recourse to Friedrich Nietzsche - his aesthetic of laughter. In the second half, he describes some selected pieces by John Cage and Mauricio Kagel using the previously discussed philosophical theories. [...] Hessler's book is an introduction to the aesthetic of Lyotard [...]. A courageous counter-scheme to Theodor W. Adorno's philosophy of new music which focuses entirely on the serial postwar-avantgarde..." (Rainer Nonnenmann in the Neue Zeitschrift fuer Musik 6/2002, p. 82).

"However, postmodernism in the manner of Kagel purported to be so method-assiduous, if not to say - pious, that its revolutionary program took place almost unnoticed. [...] And of course, the quickly growing oeuvre of Kagel passed through all current actualities. In this case, the dramatizing of the instrumental act, a good example of which was presented by the trio composition Match, which was recently interpreted by H.-Joachim Hessler, in a philosophically grounded analysis, as an illustration of Lytard's "conflict" of various means of discourse" (Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich in the Frankfurt Rundschau, dated December 24, 2001 on the occasion of the 70th birthday of Mauricio Kagel).

"Hessler rightly states that Theodor W. Adorno's music philosophy no longer reflects many phenomenon of the 20th century in an adequate way. [...] Hessler contrasts the »compulsive« traits of Adorno's material with a flexible understanding of material as it can be found in Jean-Francois Lyotard [...]. For the French philosopher, musical material obviously is nothing more than physically measurable air vibration..." (Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich in Title-Magazin, dated July 27, 2012).

Hessler & Mirror in the mirror

"Hardly anyone knows that Michael Ende, the terrific creator of the Neverending Story, also wrote texts for adults - for example his prose volume The Mirror in the Mirror, a series of absurd and surreal reflections that turn our usual perceptions upside down. The idea of mirroring also fascinated the composer and pianist Joachim Hessler - after all, mirrorings, reversings and canons have been well-known musical techniques ever since the middle ages. Hessler mirrors four narrations of Ende's work with musical refinement and connects coposed and free passages so elaborately that the Berlin tenor Matthias Schubert, who considering his amazing scope belongs to the strongest saxophone players of Germany, can play out his entire emotionality. A dazzling reflex which, illuminated by Ende, surpasses usual expectations" (Traumzeit, July 6, 2009)

The "participants combined composed and free passages in such a way that they created a dream-like world of sound..." (Coolibri 4/2012, p. 28).

"So when a musician undertakes a programmatic improvisation from the cycle [Mirror in the Mirror by Michael Ende], the circle of painting, literature and music is complete. [...] As frontier runner between contemporary composition and free improvisation, Hessler dedicates himself to his concept of "conceptual discontinuity" with creative plenty, musical finesse, high emotional denseness and partly almost unsettling intensity - thereby creating an own labyrinth of mirroring, surreal, poetic, filled with warm light" (Tobias Boecker in Jazzpodium 7-8/2012, p. 84)

"The main thing is that it is good. And it is good. Ende's text »Heavy black cloth« (track 2) deals with a dancer who waits for his performance which will never take place. This dance, as it is written in Ende's text, is supposed to begin »with a mighty drumbeat«. In the text, which artistically marks time, the releasing drumbeat never occurs. The music, however, delivers it after exactly 6:29 minutes, and then the dance begins: wild, frolic. In another text of Ende, the music delineates the traces, which an ice-skater, in a sophisticated way, draws in the sky with his ice-skates (track 4). Here, the beautiful transitions surprise: in the middle of this piece of music, there is a passage which at first sounds like a popular catchy tune from a fully air- conditioned hotel lobby in Las Vegas. However, the way in which the tenor saxophone (Matthias Schubert) then frees itself from the dialogue with the piano (Hessler) and celebrates odd obstinacy in a most profuse way - that is classy" (Jens Sparschuh, newspaper DER TAGESSPIEGEL Nr. 21399, dated July 22, 2012, p. 28).

"Ideologies, in relation to a «contemporary» language of sound, are unknown to the composer Hans Joachim Hessler. His competence in style allows him to engage with alternations between free-tonal and a-tonal music, between composed and improvised passages, between quote and original. The composer documents this again clearly in his four programmatic improvisations «mirror in the mirror». It becomes clear in the programmatic improvisations on Michael Ende's texts that irony and satire are well-known to Hessler. A precursor to Hessler's surreal streak can be seen in the string quartet «Dance in the bird cage», which with its sounds of flamenco shows folkloristic allusions. The orchestra piece «Nabuli Tintin» of 1999 tells a lot about Hessler's constantly searching and wide-ranging spirit as a composer. As a homage to Arvo Pärt, whose Tintinnabuli-style (Glockenspiel-style) led, in the 1970s, out of modernity, which he felt had no future, «Nabuli Tintin» demonstrates the multifaceted possibilities of «postmodern» composition" (Dr. Barbara Dobrestsberger in Glarean Magazin, dated July 6, 2012).

Hessler & piano

"[Hans-]Joachim Hessler ignites archaic allegros on his keys [...]. However, the eardrum-straining passages are followed for instance by harmonic piano soli, which calm the listener like a quietly flowing river" (WAZ newspaper Herten, dated October 31, 1992).

"How physically experienceable music can be, the audience learned via [Hans-]Joachim Hessler's piano solo, in the course of which the pianist seemed to become one with his instrument" (Ruhr news Dortmund, dated May 18, 1994).

"[Hans-]Joachim Hessler's passionate melancholy and trance and the hymnal awakening (...) and his solo-compositions for piano Ballade Nr. 1 - Ritmico was fascinating due to the energetic way it was performed and the high theatrical drama" (Newspaper Westfalisches Volksblatt dated November 7, 1994 - on the occasion of the Days of New Music in Paderborn).

"Parallel as well as alternating, Joachim Hessler at the grand piano decomposed the harmonic leftovers into exotic sounding sequences. The audience probably did not expect the music to move from this abstract and disharmonic world of sound back into a sphere full of stirring harmonic beauty. This event opened many possibilities for the listener to reach a new understanding of music. Also, it became clear that the crossing of boundaries needs not loose itself in a huddle" (Neue Westfälische newspaper, dated November 7, 1994).

"Hans-Joachim Hessler wanted to present musical contrasts as well as commonalities [...] on the occasion of the [...] inauguration oft he donated, new Bechstein grand piano in the Paulus Church [...]. Baroque, New Music, Orient, Occident: Hessler showed [...] on Monday night that this form of confrontation also shows up many points of contact. [...] The listeners rejoiced in the spirited sounding blazing heat with melancholy undercurrent. [...] The exceptional artist had presented a highly fascinating, musical evening and had fully convinced the audience" (Newspaper Westfaelischer Anzeiger, dated November 2, 2012)

Hessler & organ

"A perennial favorite of church music" (Wicho Herrmann-Kümper, Unsere Kirche, dated February 23, 2014, p. 18).

"With his star seconds he brought the venerable Faust organ of St. Paul's Church Marl to shine: Dr. Hans-Joachim Hessler explored the possibilities of the pneumatically operated instrument with a concert of Advent" (Jürgen Wolter in Newspaper WAZ, dated December 18, 2013).

The "Rheinische Post" called "A.C.D.E.B. (Hommage à Achille-Claude Debussy)" an atmospheric piece of music the audience was enthusiastic about (Newspaper RP, dated August 19, 2011).

"On the day of the Open Memorial in the Paulus Church in Marl-Huels, it was also about the Faust Organ of 1914. It has been listed since the mid-80s, and has been renovated entirely since 1987 - according to the original, late romantic »sound«, in which the famous organ builder Paul Faust of Schwelm [...] build his (pneumatic) organs. [...] The organ player Joachim Weiss from Dortmund [...] created wonderful sound images from the compositions which were rich in melody and colour. By making use of the turnescent dynamic possibilities of the organ, Weiß interpreted [Hans-]Joachim Hessler's »Irritations« and »Nabuli Tintin« in an equally unforgetful way [...]" (Newspaper of Marl, dated October 10, 1999).

"Hans-Joachim Hessler's meditative conjuration of the divine spark »Evocation Nr. 2« presented further aspects of contemporary music" (Newspaper Westfaelischer Anzeiger, dated August 4, 2009).

"Cathedral music from Letmathe [...] The motto of the afternoon was »sound clouds«, a concert for percussion and organ. This combination is rather seldom within the musical landscape. Martin Broedemann (organ) and Sarkis Cat (percussion) played, apart from their own compositions, compositions of contemporary composers. [...] Martin Broedemann and Sarkis Cat harmonised perfectly together, gave each piece an own colour, whereby Martin Broedemann in particular made great use of the diversity of sound of the organ in the dome of Lenne. At times in a nuanced way as in »Toccata minimal«, at other times explosive and blustering as in the »Hommage to Claude Debussy« [by Hans-Joachim Hessler]. [The] visitors of the concert listened to the idiosyncratic compositions in a fascinated way" (Newspaper Der Westen, dated March 22, 2010).

"»A.C.D.E.B.«: The initials of the French impressionist provided the pattern of tones, which is repeated in different variations, for Hans-Joachim Hessler's Hommage to Achile-Claude Debussy" (Newspaper Westfaelischer Anzeiger, dated October 24, 2010).

"The unusual duo [Cat/Broedemann] makes one prick one's ears: the combination of organ with its light and dark registers and sound colours with oriental percussion instruments opens new worlds of sound, combines old forms and rhythmical structures to entirely new experiences of sound. [...] The Hommage to Achilles-Claude Debussy by Hans-Joachim Hessler also underlines the specifically impressionistic sound by means of dark organ colours and southeastern Asian singing bowls and gongs" (Newspaper WAZ, dated May 28, 2012).

"The signs of the Zodiac as short organ impressions - enlightening brightly, in order to disappear again quickly - play out acoustically Hessler's ideas of falling stars. The spectrum reaches from the loud buck leaps of Aries to the gurgling-bubbling organ-pisces. [...] Finally, Hessler brought the concert to a fulminantly good end with his own »Per Paertuum Mobile«. Arvo Paert's preoccupation with medieval music had inspired this minimalistically meditative composition" (Newspaper Westfaelischer Anzeiger, dated August 21, 2012)

"[Hans-Joachim Hessler] opened [...] the concert with an own variatio on the advent choral "Es kommt ein Schiff" ["A ship is coming"], whereby he drew, in terms of the variations, on middle age modalities as well as the rhythm of a sarabande [...] and combined all this in a stylistically adept way. [...] In a meditation on "How beautifully does the morning star shine", he made the morning star gleam by means of true sound cascades..." (Malte Hemmerich in the WAZ Herne dated 3 Dezember 2012).

Hessler & orchestra

"Interesting experiments lead one to prick one's ears in relation to [Hans-]Joachim Hessler, whose various orchestra pieces are titled »Le Différend«. [...] Thus, the single instruments »fight« with one another in »Le Différend XXI« in a polyphone way" (Newspaper of Fulda, dated October 18, 1999).

"Only the works of contemporary composers were played [...] such as »Le Différend XXI« by [Hans-] Joachim Heßler [...]. The atmosphere was attentively silent amongst the youthful audience" (Newspaper Herborner Echo, dated October 31, 1998).

"The guests, mostly from the art scene, had the unusual pleasure of experiencing the exciting transformation of an exhibition space [the old leather factory] into a phantastic sound space. The audience was captured and moved into the dream worlds of the music [...] [for example] [...] with the Hommage to Leonard Bernstein, called »HALB«. The contemporary composer [Hans-]Joachim Hessler presented this piece himself as a work in-between two worlds of style with South-American folklore, Rumanian rhythms, however also with alienated adaptations from Romanticism and elements of Neoclassicism. The orchestra was directed by Ovidiu Dan Chirila, the general music director of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Kronstadt" (Newspaper Koelner Stadtanzeiger, dated December 7, 2000).