Decoder Ensemble

Ensemble!

Decoder Ensemble

The Decoder Ensemble always moves with the times – or is a bit ahead of it. As a »Band for New Music«, the six musicians are regular guests at the Elbphilharmonie with a wide variety of projects. »Future Recognition« explores the possibilities of artificial intelligence in music and art as part of the Hamburg International Music Festival, which takes place in 2025 under the theme of the »Future«. All works on this evening experiment with AI and are for the most part premieres by international young composers for whom working with AI is almost second nature. Creative potential or risk to people and their identity? Alexander Schubert is both ensemble member and composer. With his piece »Holo_Acid.MOV (CRYPT-File)«, he raises further key questions: lyrics, sounds and videos in this multimedia work are without exception AI generated. Since its premiere in 2021, production techniques have rapidly improved and streamlined – what does this short half-life mean for artistic creation? Multimedia artist Denis Polec has been commissioned to refine the visual part of this composition using AI.

NDR Bigband / Ensemble Modern

The idea of a joint festival between the NDR Bigband and Ensemble Modern was born during a meeting of seven big band and six Ensemble Modern musicians in autumn 2023. In improvisation phases, they explored similarities and differences. New working structures developed. Five new works and the idea of a cooperative festival crystallised in the improvisations. A programme of music that originated here and will be premiered jointly by musicians from both ensembles will conclude the »NDR Bigband meets Ensemble Modern« festival.

The Rise / Ictus Ensemble

What would happen if humanity could pass through the gateway to the underworld and restart once again in another realm? Eva Reiter’s experimental opera »The Rise«, written on the basis of poems by the Nobel Prize Winner for Literature Louise Glück and staged by choreographer Michiel Vandeveldes, acts out this vision. Deaf actor Ruben Grandits, whose gestures are converted into intoxicating sounds via sensors on his hands, acts in the spotlight. As master of ceremonies, he directs the other people on the stage with his gestures and sounds. A new language, a new company and a new music emerge in the interaction of instruments specifically built for this purpose, electronically transformed sounds and the movements of the performers. The specially designed instruments visually transform movement into sounds. Music, dance and language merge into image and sound – »The Rise« is, consequently, equally accessible to deaf and hearing people.

The Rise / Ictus Ensemble

What would happen if humanity could pass through the gateway to the underworld and restart once again in another realm? Eva Reiter’s experimental opera »The Rise«, written on the basis of poems by the Nobel Prize Winner for Literature Louise Glück and staged by choreographer Michiel Vandeveldes, acts out this vision. Deaf actor Ruben Grandits, whose gestures are converted into intoxicating sounds via sensors on his hands, acts in the spotlight. As master of ceremonies, he directs the other people on the stage with his gestures and sounds. A new language, a new company and a new music emerge in the interaction of instruments specifically built for this purpose, electronically transformed sounds and the movements of the performers. The specially designed instruments visually transform movement into sounds. Music, dance and language merge into image and sound – »The Rise« is, consequently, equally accessible to deaf and hearing people.

Ensemble Resonanz / Saerom Park / Dirk Rothbrust

Therapy for the restless and the overstimulated – that’s one way to describe Rebecca Saunders’s music. »She focuses the ear on minute gradations of timbre and intonation, and turns her performers into Zen masters of attention and focus«, writes the Guardian. How fortunate, then, that no less than five Elbphilharmonie concerts are dedicated to Saunders this season. Bringing this spotlight to a close is the award-winning Ensemble Resonanz – with a full-length Saunders programme, of course. Characteristically of Saunders, the Concerto for Violoncello, Strings and Percussion explores a minute musical ornament, the trill. In the hands of the cellist Saerom Park, it is transformed, says Saunders, into an »unpredictable sound fragment«. A backdrop of shimmering overtones and glissandi animates the piece »Unbreathed« with an eerie magic. And to close, »All that dust« is an opportunity for the percussion to shine, brilliantly performed by Dirk Rothbrust. As one critic brilliantly summarised, »Saunders is looking to create moments of such intensity that music ceases to simply be sound, but becomes an all-consuming synaesthetic experience.«

NDR Bigband / Ensemble Modern / Jonathan Stockhammer

NDR has awarded three commissions for compositions: to the US composer and multi-instrumentalist Carla Kihlstedt, to the British trombonist and composer Alex Paxton and to the German composer and music producer Ali N. Askin. All three work across styles between art rock, jazz, contemporary music, improvisation and electronic avant-garde. In this evening’s three world premieres, the NDR Bigband and Ensemble Modern will explore the specific possibilities that arise from their collaboration. Jonathan Stockhammer conducts.

New Year's Concert 2025 - Netherlands Wind Ensemble

New Year's Concert 2025 - Netherlands Wind Ensemble

NDR Bigband / Ensemble Modern / Jonathan Stockhammer / Geir Lysne

Frank Zappa had a special position in the popular music of the 20th century because he was inspired and influenced by composers of the contemporary avant-garde. Colin Towns has arranged some of Zappa’s compositions for the NDR Bigband. Under the direction of chief conductor Geir Lysne, the big band presents a programme of these pieces. Musicians from Ensemble Modern, Zappa’s »last band«, will round off the evening under the direction of Jonathan Stockhammer with works that characterised Zappa: Iannis Xenakis’ »Anaktoria«, Anton Webern’s Symphony op. 21, »Octandre« by Edgard Varèse and Karlheinz Stockhausen’s »Gesang der Jünglinge«.