| Coco Tomita | Violin |
| Johannes Ascher | Violin |
| Toby Cook | Viola |
| Miguel Erlich | Viola |
| Alexander Wollheim | Cello |
| Joe Pritchard | Cello |
| Odile Ettelt | Clarinet |
| Klarinettenquintett | Johannes Brahms |
| Sextett Nr. 2 op.36 | Johannes Brahms |
These events are similar in terms of concept, place, musicians or the program.
Why would an ensemble that made its name performing rarities from early and contemporary music then turn to the most successful oratorio of the Baroque? Ensemble Resonanz would presumably answer, »Christmas without the Christmas Oratorio is only half the story. As often as you may have heard or played the piece, you still want to hear or play it again.« The ensemble has been performing its own version of Bach’s Christmas classic for six years now – pared down and with unconventional instrumentation, a little like a concert at home for friends. The concert hall becomes a sitting room, the musicians become a choir, and the work becomes chamber music with Baroque violas, electric guitar and vintage keyboards.
The Decoder Ensemble is one of the most bold and original representatives of the international New Music scene. With its high-energy sound, the ensemble thrills audiences in prestigious concert halls as well as in clubs such as Berlin’s Berghain. For several years, Decoder hosted the Elbphilharmonie’s »Below Deck« series, in which they presented fascinating performance evenings with a range of very different guest artists.
In the early 20th century, Armenian philosopher, mystic, and composer George Gurdjieff traveled widely in the Caucasus, Middle East, Northern Africa, and Asia. He later transformed his experiences of the diverse local musical traditions he encountered into numerous compositions, most of which have only been accessible in piano transcriptions. Led by artistic director Levon Eskenian, the Gurdjieff Ensemble performs these works in new arrangements for traditional instruments, while also highlighting the centuries-old tradition of Armenian ashughs (bards) such as Jivani, Baghdasar Dbir, and Sayat-Nova.
Zum ersten Mal waren sich der Franzose Pierre Boulez und der Amerikaner Elliott Carter in den frühen 1950er Jahren in Paris begegnet. Und sofort entstand zwischen diesen Komponisten eine Freundschaft fürs Leben. Das Ensemble Musikfabrik und Bas Wiegers erinnern nun an diese zwei wichtigen Tonsetzer der Moderne mit Kultstücken der Neuen Musik. Und einer der Solisten ist Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, der Boulez und Carter viel zu verdanken hat.Zunächst steht Klarinettist Carl Rosman im Mittelpunkt – in Boulez’ »Domaines« (1968), in dem er den Raum erwandert und dabei den Dialog mit fünf weiteren Instrumentalisten sucht. Ein musikalisches Gespräch entwickelt sich ebenfalls in Elliott Carters »Doppelkonzert« (1961) zwischen zwei Kammerorchestern – mit ihren solistischen Wortführern Benjamin Kobler am Cembalo und Pierre-Laurent Aimard am Klavier. Igor Strawinsky hielt übrigens dieses »Double Concerto« für ein absolutes Meisterwerk!
The Ramal Ensemble returns to the Pierre Boulez Saal to present a program centered around the idea of real and imaginary journeys. Originally founded in Damascus, the group reassembled in Germany in 2015 and counts several Barenboim-Said Akademie alumni among its members. No strangers to the experience of cultural mobility, the five musicians have cultivated a unique sound and will perform original compositions as well as improvised music. At the Fringe of Time is part of the Ramal Ensemble’s concert series “Creative Music Lab II.” A project of Barzakh gGmbH, supported by the Capital Cultural Fund.
When he founded minimal music, Steve Reich was in his late 20s. Today he is 87, “one of the greatest living composers” according to the New York Times and “the most original musical thinker of our time” according to the New Yorker. Two songs by the rock band Radiohead inspired Reich to write “Radio Rewrite”: “Everything in Its Right Place” and “Jigsaw Falling into Place”. The composer received the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2009 for the colorful “Double Sextet”, and in “Reich/Richter” the old master of minimal music returns to playing with small motif cells. The piece will be performed in combination with “Moving Picture” by video artist Corinna Belz. She creates a shimmering world of form and color from photos of sections of Richter's pictures.
Asian zithers such as the Japanese koto, which takes centre stage in this concert, have movable bridges and their strings have two parts: On the one hand the sounding part, on the other hand the part that is used to modulate the plucked or struck string. On the koto in particular, the bridges are easy to move, so that this instrument can be brought into a different tuning very quickly and even while playing. This can be clearly observed in this concert. The aesthetics of Asian music differ from Western music primarily in the design of the individual tone. Detached from its integration into a harmony system, it can unfold its own life, which can be heard particularly clearly on a koto. This forms a bridge to contemporary music, which also focuses more strongly on the tone colours and progressions of the individual note.
The program includes a world premiere by Ehsan Khatibi, the content of which has not yet been announced. In a text sent to ensemble united in advance, Khatibi quotes an interview with Mithu Sanyal in which the writer talks about how her works are often viewed through the filter of identity politics. It was only after she had been nominated for the German Book Prize that this perspective changed: there was more talk about the aesthetics of the work. This change in perception is also very important to Khatibi.
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