For many drummers, Oli Rubow is not a new skin. He has been known for years through countless blog entries and articles on the subject of "echo drums", his field of musical research, which he has worked on intensively over the last 20 years. This exploration can be heard in bands such as Netzer, Hattler and DePhazz. He practices hybrid drumming with an acoustic drum set and electronic effects.

Speaking of electronics: in 1957, Pierre Schaeffer, one of the pioneers of electronic music with his experimental "Musique concrète", laid down rules to revolutionize the craft of composition at the time. His demands were about "creating new sound objects and practising their realization". Or "learning to use sound manipulation devices" and "making studies before conceiving works". As a crowning conclusion, he then formulated the following rule: "Work and time - essential for any real process of appropriation!"

I quote this episode of music history because Oli Rubow in his book Echo Drums uses precisely these practices and thus greatly supports the appropriation process. He tells his story with a fresh flow. From the first echo device to today's setup. Stumbling blocks and workarounds, musical tricks and technical know-how - as a reader, you are immediately immersed in this exciting world and want to try out these sounds right away.

Thanks to the well-thought-out step-by-step instructions, this is no problem at all. With concrete exercises that you can put into practice immediately, the topic is illuminated more and more. You create new sounds and practice their realization. You get to know the equipment, which is far less complicated to use than you feared. With anecdotes and references to pieces of music from pop history, you will become familiar with the many possibilities of this effect playing technique. There are also many further links and online videos.

This book is recommended for all musicians who want to integrate the exciting world of echo and delay effects into their playing with concrete exercises.

Oli Rubow: Echo Drums - Different drumming thanks to electricity and effects, 116 p., € 24.80, Leu-Verlag, Neusäss, ISBN 978-3-8977-184-2

This is the sixth volume of arrangements for youth ensembles by British musician, composer and teacher James Rae. To date, he has published over 250 works, mostly of educational music, almost all of which have been published by Universal-Edition. These include instrumental editions, etudes and schools for wind instruments, transcriptions and duets. Together with his compatriot, jazz piano teacher Mike Cornick, he has written four musicals for schools.

The All together easy series is characterized by instrumental movements that are easy to play and listen to, "democratic" distribution of the melody to all four voices and a stylistically diverse selection of popular pieces from classical music, folk, jazz and original compositions.

Volume 6 contains: Mack the Knife (Kurt Weill), Bridal choir from Lohengrin (Richard Wagner), The Sky Boat Song (trad. Scottish) and the groovy Rugged Rock (James Rae).

Ensemble teachers can find All together easy Suitable material for enjoyable music-making in any combination of instruments. The level of difficulty for all instruments is correctly described as "easy". More demanding and contrapuntally differentiated ensemble movements can still be made by yourself!

All together easy, Easy concert pieces for variable four-part instrumental ensemble, Volume 6, arr. by James Rae, score and parts (in C, Bb and Eb), optional piano part, UE 21 585, € 22.50, Universal Edition, Vienna

Antonio Vivaldi, composer and violin virtuoso, is famous for other works, not for his operas. And yet, according to his own account, he wrote 94 operas between 1713 and 1739, up to 5 operas a year! Of these, 49 have been preserved and identified, at least in part, as his works.

Vivaldi was particularly active as an opera composer in the theaters of Rome, Mantua, Verona and in his hometown of Venice and mainly used material from ancient history and mythology. Divas such as Cecilia Bartoli have performed his operas before, and corresponding recordings are available, but apart from a few well-known arias, this music is not often heard. Editions Buissonnières now make Vivaldi's vocal works accessible to us in the most beautiful way.

An entire collection of Vivaldi arias gives us a glimpse of unexpected treasures, even from very unknown operas. Organized by vocal genre, this is an enchanting series, enchanting above all in its execution: bound books that would make photocopies and tablets green with envy. You want these books have. Even the hard cover is captivating with its Venetian views, a volume is dedicated to each voice part, soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto and tenor arias are of course supplemented by a volume for contre-tenor, another for baritone/bass has been announced for this year. There is also a volume with ensembles and choirs. The sheet music is enriched by a few historical illustrations.

Three major operas are discussed in detail with their genesis, cast and content. Each aria is preceded by comments on how the arias fit into the respective plot and a translation of the vocal text from Italian. The only drawback is that all these texts are only in French.

The music is gripping, moving, extraordinary and varied. As we know Vivaldi. Virtuosically challenging, furious, elegiac-expressive, heartfelt. You can learn to sing with this music, you can demonstrate virtuosity, musicality and expressiveness. One can only hope that these works will increasingly find their way into concert halls and music academies. Or have you ever heard of an opera called Tietiberga or Dorilla in Tempe or Atenaïde heard?

Antonio Vivaldi: Airs d'opéra pour
soprano, chant et clavier, EB-2-115, € 29.00;
mezzo-soprano EB-2-337, € 33.00;
alto EB-2-371, € 38.00;
contre-ténor, EB-2-222, € 38.00;
ténor, EB-2-372, € 29.00;
Extraits d'opéras duos, trios, chœurs, EB-2-370, € 29.00;
Editions Buissonnières, Crozon

This double CD with piano works by Gregorio Zanon (*1980) focuses on a Swiss composer who is still little known in German-speaking Switzerland. Unjustly so, I would say after this first encounter with his work. It is a pity that the record company spends two pages on the biography of the pianist Cédric Pescia, who enjoys an excellent reputation in this country, while only scant information about the composer can be found in the booklet. Wikipedia tells us that Zanon, who was born in Geneva, studied in his home town with Jean Balissat and Eric Gaudibert and in London with Dominic Muldowney. He has already achieved considerable success with works for strings in particular.

Zanon's piano works are stylistically diverse. He is not an iconoclast who wants to reinvent music, but neither is he an eternalist who still composes today as he did in Brahms' time. Instead, he builds his own musical cosmos from the elements of tonal music, which may at times be reminiscent of Scriabin, Shostakovich or Ravel, but as a whole represents a very personal achievement. Even after thinking about it for a while, it is hard to think of a musical category in which to categorize Zanon's work. In his booklet text, Antonin Scherrer aptly names meditative or nostalgic counterpoint, memories of birdcalls and hyper-romantic verve as elements of Zanon's style. Despite the sometimes sophisticated construction of his pieces, one often has the impression that they are improvised in the moment and that the course is not yet definitively defined. Some of the works on the CDs are the result of reworkings of pieces that the composer had partly composed during his studies or even before. The revisions have presumably stood them in good stead, as they now seem to have been cast from a single mold. A witty homage to Bach are the three Goldberg Etudeswhich give a very subtle hint of the Leipzig master. They would certainly be a great success in any piano recital.

Cédric Pescia and Gregorio Zanon share the recording of the nine works, which are quite demanding pianistically. Pescia pulls out all the stops of his ability and it is a pleasure to listen to him. It is obvious to the ear that he fully identifies with these pieces. The big surprise, however, is the composer himself, who is an ideal interpreter of his works, very sonorous in delicate passages, but also present where they require great technical skill. No wonder Pescia remembers being overwhelmed when he heard Zanon "play his music - live!" for the first time.

Switzerland's music schools and amateur organizations such as youth music associations, brass bands, choirs and amateur orchestras are the main providers of musical education for children and young people as well as adults. They promote music-making and singing and make a significant contribution to anchoring music in the population.

Public music schools in Switzerland fulfill important educational tasks in our society as part of the education system, as cultural institutions and as preparatory training facilities for studying at a music university. As educational platforms, youth music associations are committed to promoting young musical talent and, together with brass bands, contribute to national cohesion. Choirs and amateur orchestras promote ensemble music-making and make music accessible to a wide audience at concerts. Music schools and amateur organizations enable people of all ages to receive musical education and thus make a decisive contribution to the population's participation in cultural heritage, its cultivation and further development.

Even after the resumption of face-to-face operations at music schools and rehearsals and orchestral activities at amateur organizations, the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic in the field of music education will be felt for a long time to come - conditions are currently worsening rapidly again and the brief fragile "new normality" is already being called into question again.

The 400 or so music schools that are members of the Swiss Music Schools Association (VMS) are currently unable to hold regular instrumental demonstrations, meaning that children and young people cannot be encouraged to take part in music education to the usual extent. Ensemble and orchestra rehearsals as well as concerts by music schools, amateur music associations and choirs can only take place under difficult conditions due to the protective measures. Many concerts and competitions have had to be canceled and will probably not be possible to the usual extent for some time to come.
 

The coronavirus pandemic is likely to have an impact on the financial circumstances of many families due to the tense economic situation in many sectors. It is questionable whether all parents will be able to continue to send their children and young people to music lessons at the current parental contributions. Initial feedback from the music schools indicates that a decline in the number of pupils is to be expected. Music clubs and amateur orchestras as well as choirs are threatened by a decline in active members, as concert performances are hardly possible and rehearsals can only take place under severe restrictions. This will make access to music schools and amateur music associations more difficult in the long term and, as a result, ensure even less equal opportunities in the field of musical education.

Music schools and amateur organizations have responded quickly and with great commitment to the challenges of the current crisis. Alternative forms of teaching and rehearsals as well as online platforms for performances have been developed and widely implemented. This has at least partially cushioned the immediate consequences of the lockdown. More far-reaching measures are needed to deal with the lasting effects.

Music schools are now doing everything they can to counteract the decline in student numbers with innovative solutions such as flexible registration deadlines and entry options as well as special taster courses or, where necessary, remote offers. Amateur clubs and choirs need to find suitable venues for rehearsals and concerts and are required to develop new concepts for recruiting members and for performances.

To ensure that singing and making music remains one of the most popular leisure activities among the Swiss population and that comprehensive musical education is open to everyone without barriers, the creative commitment and will of all those involved is needed.
 

The Swiss Association of Music Schools and various amateur music associations are proclaiming the Day of Music Education CH on November 7, 2020. The offers of music schools, amateur music associations and choirs will be highlighted and the great importance of music education will be emphasized. Individual music schools and amateur music associations will draw attention to their offers with musical activities on the day of action. An overview of the planned events can be found on the Campaign website published.

various music associations

Signet Day of Music Education CH

The lively Mazurka by the American composer Edmund Severn (1862-1942) has been delighting middle school students in the USA for decades; now a European edition has also been published. The rondo combines chordal playing, left- and right-hand pizzicato, harmonics, dance-like sections and melodic lines without exceeding the third position

Edmund Severn: Polish Dance for Violin and Piano, Bärenreiter's Concert Pieces, edited by Kurt Sassmannshaus, BA 10750, € 9.95, Bärenreiter, Kassel

Born in 1940, Barnabé, whose real name is Jean-Claude Pasche, studied singing at the Lausanne Conservatory and was initially active in Lausanne, where he produced revues for the municipal theater. He then founded his own theater in the family barn in Servion, which had to be rebuilt after a fire in 1994. It includes a rehearsal room, a stage workshop and a huge inventory of over 7000 costumes.

The theater is also home to the largest cinema theater organ in Europe as well as numerous mechanical organs. Barnabé was the first to bring the legendary show "La cage aux folles" to Europe. He himself was still on stage this year. The theater has been managed by a foundation since 2005.

The cultural sector can understand that drastic measures are necessary to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, writes Suisseculture. However, these would pose a definitive existential threat to many cultural professionals and cultural enterprises.

The Culture Taskforce is therefore calling for standardized regulations to be formulated for cultural events throughout Switzerland and for cultural associations to be involved in the design of macroeconomic measures (short-time work, corona income replacement). It is also calling for cultural associations to be informed about pandemic measures at an early stage and to be involved in their concrete implementation, as well as for the promised financial support to be provided quickly and unbureaucratically. 

The cultural sector also does not want overcrowded intensive care units or an overload of healthcare professionals. Since the first lockdown, the Swiss cultural sector has been committed to implementing the federal government's measures, developing functioning protection concepts and applying them consistently. Only rarely have people been infected at cultural events.

For cultural professionals (including event technology specialists), cultural enterprises (e.g. event organizers) and suppliers (e.g. catering services), a renewed lockdown or further restrictions on events would pose an existential threat.

Full text:
https://www.musikrat.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/20201024_MM_TFC.pdf

After studying the cello in Winterthur and Hamburg, Engeli trained as a conductor at the Hamburg University of Music. He is now Kapellmeister at the Leipzig Opera and regularly conducts the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Musikalische Komödie.

The Saxony State Youth Orchestra has been the place to go for ambitious young orchestral talents from Saxony since 1992. In two rehearsal phases a year, the orchestra alternates with the artistic director and constantly changing guest conductors to rehearse programs at a professional level, covering all stylistic areas.

The individual vocal groups work together with teachers from renowned Saxon orchestras such as the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig and the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra Chemnitz.

The musical possibilities that the sonata for violin and piano still opened up at the beginning of the 19th century, and how little binding the treatment of the instruments was, can be seen from the title page of Beethoven's Sonata op. 47, published in 1805, the so-called "Kreutzer Sonata" because of its dedication: "It is a Sonata per il Piano-forte ed un Violino obligato, scritta in un stile molto concertante, quasi come d'un concerto - a sonata for piano and obbligato violin, written in a very concertante style, almost like a concerto. With so much variability, it is hardly a coincidence that no independent aesthetic of the sonata for piano and melody instrument emerged throughout the 19th century (not only for the violin).

Beethoven dedicated the composition to the French violin virtuoso Rodolphe Kreutzer, who, however, according to Hector Berlioz, never played it and even considered it a "outrageusement inintelligible" (as "absolutely incomprehensible"). But even among his German-speaking contemporaries, Beethoven found little understanding. On the contrary, he was bluntly accused of only wanting to be different from the others: In a review in the Leipzig General Musical Newspaper is used by a "aesthetic or artistic terrorism" perhaps understandable in view of a first movement with no less than 599 bars. The technical demands were also felt to be very high, and the sonata itself was only recommended for certain occasions: "when two virtuosos, for whom nothing is difficult anymore, who possess so much spirit and knowledge that, if practice were added, they could write such works themselves, and who, precisely because of this spirit hovering above the whole, are not disturbed by the most whimsical excesses in detail -: if they come together, rehearse the work (for they too would have to;) if they now wait for the hour when even the most grotesque can and may be enjoyed, provided that it is made with spirit, and if they now perform it in this hour: they will have a full, rich enjoyment of it."

The idea of such a musically more intimate hour refers directly to Leo Tolstoy's 1889 publication, The Kreutzer Sonata in which Beethoven's composition acts as an emotional catalyst and transforms the protagonist's love into power-obsessed jealousy. A psychologizing drama about the repressed emotional depths of the bourgeoisie of the time. The 21st chapter reads: "When two people devote themselves to the noblest art, music, there must be a certain intimate understanding; there is nothing offensive about such a rapprochement, and only a stupid, jealous man can see anything objectionable in it. Nevertheless, everyone knows quite well that it is with the help of these pursuits, especially music, that a large number of marital break-ups occur in our society."

Link to the project homepage "52 x Beethoven"

Since spring 2020 and until the end of 2021, a total of around CHF 22.8 million has been available for these support measures in the cultural sector. In future, book and music publishers as well as educational and event projects by bookshops and galleries will also be eligible in St. Gallen.

In accordance with federal legislation, non-repayable financial aid is provided in the form of cancellation compensation and now also contributions to transformation projects. Cultural enterprises can apply for compensation for financial losses resulting from the cancellation, postponement or limited implementation of events and projects or due to operational restrictions as a result of government measures. They can also apply for contributions to cover the costs incurred for transformation projects. This supports projects with which cultural enterprises aim to adapt to the changed circumstances and with which they want to achieve a structural reorientation or attract audiences.

Cultural enterprises can also apply for short-time working compensation. As a rule, short-time working is due to economic reasons. Loss of working hours due to official measures or other circumstances independent of the employer's will also count as short-time working. As the compensation for loss of earnings for cultural enterprises is subsidiary to the compensation for short-time working, those affected are requested in a first step to apply for short-time working compensation if possible.

Current information is available on the website www.sg.ch/coronavirus can be found under "Culture". The corresponding application forms will be available from November 1, 2020.
 

The music theater project "Chronik eines Aussterbens oder der innere Klang" by Micha Stuhlmann and Beat Keller and the concert series "NOEISE" for contemporary music by trumpeter Christoph Luchsinger received awards.

The interdisciplinary project "Chronicle of an Extinction or the Inner Sound" will be performed as an open-air play with the participation of a Thurgau choir in spring 2022 at Schreckenmoos in Kreuzlingen. Micha Stuhlmann and Beat Keller will combine music, theater and dance in a performance. The project will also be filmed. Christoph Luchsinger is designing an innovative concert series that aims to make contemporary music accessible to a broad public and take place in unconventional venues. Three programs are planned so far, which will be performed in the 2021/22 season.

KosmosMusikThurgau was announced as part of the funding priority Impulse for the Thurgau music scene of the 2019-2022 cultural concept and was aimed at musicians who, in collaboration with Thurgau-based groups of all musical genres, implement music projects that pursue an innovative, independent approach and promote networking and cooperation.

The competition was announced in January 2020 and the submission deadline was extended by two months due to the exceptional situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Eight projects were received by June 30, 2020, which were assessed by a jury of experts.
 

Malangré is the second musical director of a permanent orchestra in France after Debora Waldman, who has been conducting the Orchestre Régional Avignon-Provence since September 2020.

Johanna Malangré is a graduate of Johannes Schläfli's conducting class in Zurich. She has also completed masterclasses with Bernard Haitink, Paavo Jarvi, Reinhard Goebel and Nicolas Pasquet, among others. In 2017, she was a Conducting Fellow at the Lucerne Festival Academy, where she worked with artists such as Heinz Holliger and Patricia Kopatchinskaja. She has been re-invited as Assistant Conductor for the Roche Young Commissions and the Academy Orchestra for 2020 and 2021.

Beethoven had long since realized that the French Revolution, originally striving for freedom, equality and fraternity and directed against the feudal corporative state, had come to an end when a Leipzig publisher made him an untimely proposal. He was to write a "revolutionary sonata" for an (unnamed) client, possibly depicting the events programmatically, but at least reflecting on them. His rejection on April 8, 1802 was full of indignation: "Is the devil riding you, gentlemen? - To suggest to me to make such a sonata - at the time of the revolutionary fever - that would have been something like this, but now that everything is trying to get back into the old groove, Buonaparte has concluded the Concordat with the Pope - such a sonata? - If it were still a Missa pro sancta maria a tre vocis or a Vespers etc - now I would like to take the brush in my hand - and write a Credo in unum with big pound notes - but dear God such a sonata - in these new Christian times - hoho - leave me out - nothing will come of it ..."

It is not possible to determine Beethoven's specific attitude to the political circumstances of his time, or even whether he sympathized with republican ideas. Apparently perplexed by the French expansionist policy, he composed a Farewell song to Vienna's citizens WoO 121 (referring to the Corps of Viennese Volunteers), followed by a War song of the Austrians WoO 122 (1797). Only a few years later, Napoleon was held in the highest esteem as First Consul in Vienna: Beethoven was particularly enthusiastic about his statesmanlike farsightedness and the establishment of a civil society with civil law (including the Civil Code). In the end, he even considered moving to Paris.

However, after it became public in Vienna that Napoleon had crowned himself emperor in Paris on December 2, 1804, Beethoven completely rejected these idealistic plans. The rededication of Symphony No. 3 in E flat major op. 55, as related by his friend Ferdinand Ries in an anecdote (which cannot be proven with any certainty), is also connected to this: "Beethoven had Buonaparte in mind for this symphony, but this one when he was still First Consul. ... Both I and several of his close friends have seen this symphony, already copied out in score, lying on his desk, with the word 'Buonaparte' at the top of the title page and 'Luigi van Beethoven' at the bottom, but not a word more. ... I was the first to bring him the news that Buonaparte had declared himself emperor, whereupon he flew into a rage and exclaimed: 'He is nothing more than an ordinary man! Now he will also trample all human rights underfoot, indulging only his ambition; he will now place himself higher than all others, become a tyrant! Beethoven went to the table, took hold of the top of the title page, tore it right through and threw it on the ground. The first page was rewritten, and only then was the symphony given the title: 'Sinfonia eroica'."

Further historical events show that Beethoven was right in this assessment. After Vienna had been occupied by Napoleon without a fight on November 13, 1805, the city was only retaken after heavy artillery fire on the night of May 11-12, 1809. Beethoven spent these hours in the cellar of his brother Kaspar Karl (1774-1815); to protect his failing hearing, he is said to have covered his ears with pillows.

Link to the project homepage "52 x Beethoven"

The city supports initiatives and projects that "deal with the current challenges in the cultural sector in a diverse, innovative and sustainable way". A total of 34 applications were submitted as part of the call for proposals. A budget of CHF 100,000 was available to support selected projects. The call for proposals was supported by the Foundation for Art, Culture and History (SKKG).

The jury selected the following projects: Video project "Shared Set of Concerns", Sarah Hablützel and Marko Mijatovic (5000 Swiss francs), project "Kunstpost", Luca Harlacher (5000 Swiss francs), "Kunstprojekt mit Messina", Messina (5000 Swiss francs), project "ChorOnline / CaféOnline / ConcertOnline", Franziska Welti and Lea Hagmann (10,000 Swiss francs), project "Tanz-Trail-Spiel", Astrid Künzler (10,000 Swiss francs), exhibition project "System Reset. Tools for a better working world", Museum Schaffen (CHF 20,000), project "Interactive Experiences in Arts & Culture in Times of Crisis & Opportunities", Artsnext (CHF 20,000), audio walk "Tell me where the children are...", Cornelia Truninger and Liliane Weber (CHF 25,000).