The trio Quamakútsch for the rare combination of flute, double bass and piano was composed by the Basel composer René Wohlhauser for the Art Ensemble Berlin. Quamakútsch is, as he writes, a work title "that has no concrete meaning, but as sound poetry has a musical effect on those who perceive it, just as music as a non-verbal form of expression has an emotional and subliminal effect on those who perceive it". Right at the beginning, the piano begins to pulsate and is soon contrasted by the tremolos in the flute and double bass, which soar up to the fourth octave and are then led even higher by the piano. For René Wohlhauser, this symbolizes a "chaotic beginning, a symbol of searching, as it were". Between the high and loud sections, recurring, atmospheric "Misterioso" intermezzi by the flute and double bass resound mysteriously. They are interspersed with microtonal glissandi, which create interesting sound colorations. The composer deliberately uses microtonality flexibly, mixing the different systems. Wohlhauser describes his compositional style as "listening to the depths" and wants to counter the surface with meaningful music.

Subsequently, many interwoven figures and gestures develop in the three instruments, which seem to unfold and comment on each other and repeatedly return to the short, quiet intermezzi. The music also often contains mirrored movements, initially as developing synchronized trills in the flute and double bass, then again figuratively in the piano, which merge almost seamlessly into one another. The different types of material return continuously, abandoning the previous and embracing the new, creating a structural diversity. Quamakútsch sounds very varied and interesting due to its strong alternation between dialogic, meditative and pulsating sections and is a great enrichment of the rather sparse literature for this instrumentation.

René Wohlhauser: Quamakútsch for flute, double bass and piano, score, Edition Wohlhauser No. 1785, Ergon 59, Fr. 42.00, www.renewohlhauser.com/

We are often on the lookout for new piano literature that is simple but will make both teacher and pupil sit up and take notice. Looking through the Two-part piano pieces on one page I quickly realized that these are by no means one-sided. I always found great pleasure in the ingenuity and simplicity. Emil Hradecký (*1953) succeeds in capturing different moods in a two-part piano movement with the stroke of a pen, while still taking into account typical pianistic playing techniques. Heavy-light, opening and closing of the hand, use of the pedal, polyphonic playing, different articulations - all of this is used casually without being demonstratively instructive. The musical content also contributes to this. The pieces impress with their tonal and rhythmic variety and clarity of idea. In addition to a few character pieces, there are many little dances from minuet to tango to cha-cha-cha.

Bright young pupils, but especially young beginners or those returning to school, should enjoy playing these lively pieces and learn and discover many valuable things from them.

Emil Hradecký: Two-part piano pieces on one page, 16 easy pieces for beginners, H 8034, € 7.50, Bärenreiter, Prague 2017

The English pianist, composer and multitasker of South Korean origin, Hyung-ki Joo, is a musical phenomenon. Trained at one of the most internationally renowned talent schools, the Menuhin School in London, his great musical talent, unquenchable thirst for knowledge and dazzling dramatic and comedic skills quickly paved the way for a significant career in the classical music business and far beyond. The duo Igudesman & Joo is world-famous, a YouTube hit, and the two fill large halls with their humorous programs. But to reduce him to that would be to underestimate him. Joo is not only interested in parody, questioning traditional concert forms and masquerade, but also in re-staging subtle content. His works are always characterized by respect for the great masters. He switches from E to U with ease, but always remains a confident and brilliant pianist and communicator of values. To expect a "serious" string quartet from him would nevertheless be a misunderstanding, because he does not want to be measured against the established canon, but rather to entertain musically on stage (certainly not here via recording), to stimulate thought, to inspire.

The present quartet was composed while he was still a student and anticipates all the qualities that would later characterize him as an admired stage magician. The extremely short score - one is almost reminded of Anton Webern - summarizes six different impulses that Joo calls "tributes", i.e. tributes to role models, inspirers from music, theater and the visual arts. They are Henry Purcell and his play Fantasia on One NoteSamuel Beckett Waiting for GodotLudwig van Beethoven's 5th Symphony, Edvard Munch's The cryJ. S. Bach's French Suite in B minor (BWV 841) and, finally, Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique. Anyone expecting an elaborate, intellectually demanding homage to the aforementioned greats would be wrong. Joo ignites a stage joke that skilfully combines subtlety with humor, rascally dismantles the familiar and patches it up again, leads the audience on the wrong track only to quote the familiar loudly and with aplomb (or cultivated with feigned seriousness) before new question marks open up to be finally resolved or dispersed. All of this requires one thing above all: performers who engage in this tongue-in-cheek game and bring the piece to life with dramaturgical understanding.

Hyung-ki Joo: String Quartet No. 1 "Tributes"; score, UE 36 966, € 19.95; Voices, UE 36 967, € 24.95; Universal Edition, Vienna 2017

It is an old adage that Swiss composers are of little value in their own country. In recent years, however, there has been a refreshing joy of discovery that has brought many a gem to light. For example, Hermann Suter's Symphony in D minor, recorded by the Aargau Symphony Orchestra under Douglas Bostock, attracted international attention. And the same orchestra - now known as the argovia philharmonic - is currently working on a recording of Hans Huber's Symphony in D minor under Bostock's direction.

Kevin Griffiths has successfully emulated his British conductor colleague by performing two violin concertos by Hans Huber (1852-1921) and Paul Juon (1872-1940) with the Collegium Musicum Basel and recording them on Sony. The spiritus rector was the young Russian violinist Maria Solozobova, who had tracked down the works. They were already well received in the 2014 and 2016 concerts at Casino Basel, especially as the soloist contributed so much to the success. Now it has become a sound document of value.

Hans Huber's one-movement work, lasting around 18 minutes, is entirely in the late Romantic style: broadly flowing, musical thoughts strung together. The Collegium Musicum under the direction of Kevin Griffiths accompanies the soloist, who plays with stylistic confidence and a melting tone, with a sensuous but not sentimental sound.

The three-movement Violin Concerto op. 42 by Paul Juon, the grandson of a confectioner from Masein in Graubünden who emigrated to Russia, is more exciting and also "gnarlier". Juon's style, which oscillates between indulgent opulence and austere directness, also characterizes the Violin Concerto, which was composed in 1908/09. The work thrives on a variable meter which, like the melody, is constantly reshaped so that the impression shifts between down-to-earth and floating.

Juon's music is oriented towards the Russian and Nordic idiom of Sibelius, for example. Just right for Solozobova, who interprets the solo part with a warm sound and technical finesse. Kevin Griffiths, known for his straightforward conducting style, fits in well: the rhythmically delicate first movement is edgy and austere, the subsequent romance full of cantilenas and the folk music and dance finale with a powerful drive.

Although there are minor unevennesses in the orchestra in the recording, the shimmering acoustics of the Stadtcasino Basel, where the recordings were made, make you homesick for the excellent concert hall, which unfortunately cannot be played in again until 2021. It's a shame that the booklet contains information about the composers, but nothing about the recorded works.

Taking inspiration from others, adapting existing works for other instrumentations or even using entire parts of an existing composition in a new work is an old tradition. What needs to be considered from a copyright perspective when adapting a free work?

According to copyright law, an adaptation is a "second-hand work". The same conditions apply to a protectable adaptation as are defined for a "work": Adaptations of a work that are personal intellectual creations of the adapter are protected as independent works. The creative achievement arises through the recognizable transformation, alteration or extension of the musical substance of the original.

An arrangement therefore exists if a new musical work is created using an existing work in such a way that the musical work used remains recognizable in its individual character. However, the newly created elements must also have an individual character. Typical examples of adaptations are arrangements of works for a different instrumentation or the translation of a text into another language.

Not all modifications of works are considered adaptations. SUISA's distribution regulations contain a whole catalog of works that are none constitute protectable arrangements. This includes, for example, the addition of dynamic or agogic markings, the transfer to a different key or pitch (transpositions), the omission, replacement or doubling of parts or the assignment of existing parts to other instruments (simple transcriptions). The complete catalog can be found in the SUISA distribution regulations under item 1.1.3.5. In practice, this list has proven itself many times over.

Musical works that are free of copyright may be adapted and modified without consent. When registering an adaptation of a free work, a specimen copy of the new work as well as the original used must be submitted so that SUISA's Music Service can assess its protectability. This applies to works whose authors died 70 or more years ago or are unknown, as well as to works that have been handed down through folklore and are therefore considered traditional.

SUISA's music service checks the submitted free works for copyright-protected adaptations. This is always done by comparing the original with the edited version. The inherent musical quality of the submitted piece of music or movement is irrelevant.

1. normal processing

The normal case is the "arrangement" in the narrower sense. A popular melody is prepared for a specific instrumentation by adding voices or instruments (e.g. for mixed choir, string quartet, orchestra, country band, big band, etc.). The melody or main part is taken over exactly, the accompaniment is made new. In this case, the arranger's share is 15% (for works with lyrics) or 20% (for works without lyrics).

2. co-composition

The free melody is not also the upper voice, but is hidden within the musical structure. In this special case (e.g. choral and organ music), the arranger's performance must be valued more highly because he has to create his own upper or main voice and usually has to embed the adopted melody in the music using so-called contrapuntal techniques. The arranger's share in these works is 50% of the composer's share.

3. reconstruction

An original work breaks off at one or more points, is left unfinished by the composer (or due to loss of tradition) and is completed by the arranger. The arranger's share of these works is 50% of the composer's share.

4. more complex jazz versions with changing soloists

The sequence begins with a short introduction of the free original melody. Then several soloists or "registers" (saxophones, trombones, piano, percussion) begin one after the other with improvisational renditions of this melody, which make up the main part of the work. This is visualized by the soloists or registers standing up during the solo. At the end, the original melody is often repeated together. The arranger's part in these works is 50% or 100% of the composer's part, depending on the extent and importance of the solos.

5. variation cycles

Variations on themes from music history (Diabelli Variations, Paganini Variations, Gershwin Variations, etc.) are a prime example of the fact that the original theme takes a back seat to the varied version. The original theme is merely a pretext for a completely new work. The only person entitled to the credit is therefore the creator of the variations. It is called: "The Diabelli Variations by Beethoven" etc. The arranger's share in these works is 100% of the composer's share.

The team presents a theoretical approach that comprehensively integrates the interaction of different brain regions into existing processing models. The approach makes it possible for the first time to explain both periodic and aperiodic temporal predictions.

Recognizing time structures and predicting the timing of a signal are fundamental abilities of the human brain. They are even more essential for understanding speech or processing music, which go beyond mere hearing. Previous research has mainly focused on the neuronal mechanisms that allow us to process periodic, i.e. regularly recurring, signals and make temporal predictions based on them. Until now, it was assumed that this happens through neuronal oscillations that follow a repetitive signal in the brain.

Current research findings show that the human brain is also capable of making aperiodic, i.e. non-regular, temporal predictions. This fact cannot be adequately explained by oscillation theory alone. By means of aperiodic predictions, the brain is able, for example, to estimate the course of a movement or assess the dynamics of a conversation. This suggests that aperiodic processes are no less crucial for finding our way in everyday life than periodic processes and should therefore be thoroughly researched - supported by a well-founded theoretical model.

Previous models are based on the assumption of different mechanisms for periodic and aperiodic predictions: on the one hand stimulus-driven, i.e. oscillations caused by a signal, and on the other hand a mechanism guided by our memory. In contrast, current research shows that neuronal oscillations in the brain are influenced by higher-level processing stages that also include aperiodic processes. Several areas of the brain are active at the same time. "It is likely that there is a unified mechanism that is based on neuronal oscillations but is not purely stimulus-driven," explains lead author Johanna Rimmele from the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. "Oscillations still seem to play a central role in the processes of neuronal processing - but temporal predictions can only be comprehensively explained by a more complex view of several corresponding brain areas," the neuroscientist continues.

The editorial concludes with open questions about possible research approaches that build on the model. The aim must be to further refine the new findings at a theoretical level and to substantiate them experimentally.

Original publication:
Rimmele, J. M., Morillon, B., Poeppel, D., & Arnal, L. H. (2018). Proactive sensing of periodic and aperiodic auditory patterns. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2018.08.003

Photo: National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services 

Whoever remembers the Menagerie in F sharp major by Hans W. Heinsheimer (published in Zurich in the 1950s) and to whom the abbreviation UE means more than just two letters of the alphabet, will approach this chronicle of the Viennese music publisher Universal Edition with pleasure and curiosity. In the first thirty-seven and a half years, of which Heinsheimer spent fifteen years as head of the UE stage department, an astonishing amount of what today embodies the first half of the 20th century musically was published there: Works by Gustav Mahler, Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg, Paul Hindemith, Kurt Weill, Ernst Krenek, Béla Bartók, Leoš Janáček and others - successful works such as the Wozzeck, Jonny spielt auf, The Threepenny Opera or Jenůfa.

The history of the reception of modernism, especially in the interwar period, is fanned out in this publishing history. It shows that this focus unexpectedly fell to the Viennese publishing house as a result of political developments in Germany. In close connection with the publishing house Music sheets of the Anbruch published unconventional, progressive and provocative essays, concert reviews and reviews of works that were able to set new trends. Heinsheimer already accepted the first texts by the 23-year-old Theodor Wiesengrund-Adorno, but also Ernst Krenek's comment that these essays "went beyond the style of his speech (he spoke as if in print) into that region of hermetic encryption that borders on mannerism and makes reading his work as appealing as it is difficult". Heinsheimer portrayed the publishing clients who came and went with him accurately and with sometimes smugly affectionate attention, was able to show understanding for Bartók's fussy approach to printing music and could recount Karl Kraus' opinionated attitude towards the contract for his Offenbach adaptations down to the last detail with relish.

It is a pleasure to see the history of music recorded by him from the perspective of the back room; it makes you realize anew what a decisive role the UE played for the works of the Viennese School and for contemporary music, with the large number of world premieres reported in the Commencement (1919-1937) and in Lectern and baton (1924-1930), but only until the right-wing agitation against "degenerate art" also dominated in Vienna and the publications had to be discontinued. All volumes of both journals are now fully digitally accessible.

However, it should also be mentioned that this chronicle was written in 1975, but was not completed and therefore not printed. Forty years later, it is still worth reading - Heinsheimer died in New York in 1993 at the age of 93.

Hans W. Heinsheimer: UE - The first 37 ½ years. A chronicle of the publishing house, 160 p., ill., € 19.95, Universal Edition, Vienna 2017, ISBN 978-3-7024-7513-0

The Bauen-based Zwyssighaus Foundation has announced the "Alberik Zwyssig Prize" composition competition nationally for the third time in 2018. The aim is to make a contribution to musical life. The competition called for sacred compositions that can be performed by a capable amateur choir and have the potential to find their way into the repertoire of Swiss choirs. Xaver Fässler, OC President responsible for the composition competition, and Irène Philipp, President of the Foundation Board, presented the prizes and paid tribute to the composers and their works:

1st prize: Cyrill Schürch for "All who seek you"
2nd prize: Markus Fricker for "I raise my eyes"
3rd prize: David Lang for "Prayer"

The award ceremony and prizewinners' concert took place in St. John's Church in Zug. The Walchwil church choir, soprano Rahel Bünter and Bertina Adame on organ and piano performed the works under the direction of Peter Wehrlen.

The Zwyssighaus Foundation honors the memory of Father Alberik (or Alberich) Zwyssig. One of his liturgical compositions, a gradual, later became the basis of the Swiss national anthem in a revised form. Alberik Zwyssig was born in 1808, but left the village as a child and entered the Wettingen monastery at the age of 13.
His birthplace in Bauen has been managed by a foundation since 1934.

Photos: Zwyssighaus Foundation

Irène Philipp, Cyrill Schürch, Markus Fricker, David Lang, Xaver Fässler (from left)

Master's student Nikita Tonkonogov was awarded the special prize for the best interpretation of contemporary music at the 3rd International Piano Competition in Vigo, Spain (March 2018). He also emerged as the winner of the 8th Siegfried Weishaupt International Piano Competition in Germany (August 2018).

Igor Andreev, HKB alumnus and 2017 Tschumi Prize winner, was awarded 3rd prize at the 2nd Brescia Classica International Piano Competition in Brescia (August 2018). At the International Piano Competition Città di Acquaviva delle Fonti (September 2018) he won 2nd prize and the Audience Award (1st prize was not awarded). At the International Piano Competition Città di Verona (September 2018), he was awarded 3rd prize and the prize for the best interpretation of a classical sonata (1st prize was not awarded). And at the final of the 25th edition of the traditional Italian piano competition Rina Sala Gallo in Monza, the jury under the direction of Vladimir Ashkenazy awarded him 1st prize, as well as the audience prize.
 

Since 2010, the canton of Aargau has been transferring annual contributions to the cantons of Zurich and Lucerne for the services of supra-regional cultural institutions that are also used by Aargau residents, according to the canton's press release. These payments are based on an obligation under federal law within the framework of financial equalization and the new division of tasks between the federal government and the cantons (NFA). Aargau's contributions currently amount to a total of CHF 5.6 million per year (CHF 4.7 million to the canton of Zurich, CHF 0.9 million to the canton of Lucerne). In November 2016, the Aargau cantonal parliament passed a postulate demanding that the cantonal government renegotiate the equalization of cultural burdens with the aim of reducing the contributions to CHF 4.9 million per year. In addition, the contributions to the two local cantons should no longer be recalculated every three years, but should instead be set as a lump sum.

After several months of negotiations, the negotiating partners have now reached a compromise: Zurich and Lucerne have conceded a reduction to Aargau. From 2019, the total amount for the canton of Aargau will fall to around CHF 5.25 million. The reduction will apply for six years from 2019 to 2024, but the change to flat-rate contributions requested by the Aargau cantonal parliament has been waived. Such a change cannot be implemented within the framework of the current intercantonal agreement and would require the canton of Aargau to withdraw from the agreement. With the present compromise, the cantons of Zurich and Lucerne are making financial concessions to the canton of Aargau. By remaining in the agreement, the canton of Aargau is also committing itself to the federal obligation to equalize cultural burdens.

Before the reduction comes into force at the beginning of 2019, the Aargau cantonal parliament is to comment on the outcome of the negotiations. To this end, the Aargau cantonal government will submit a message to the Grand Council and request that the pending postulate be written off.

The tense financial situation has triggered critical discussions on the equalization of cultural burdens in several cantons in German-speaking Switzerland and weakened its acceptance, writes the canton of Aargau. Some cantons do not participate in the financial compensation of central burdens, which are borne by the cantons where cultural institutions with a supra-regional impact are located. On the initiative of the Canton of Zurich, the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) has put the equalization of cultural burdens on the agenda in order to assess the current situation and develop a solution for the whole of Switzerland or at least for the language regions. In addition to the canton of Zurich, the cantonal councils of the cantons of Aargau and Lucerne also support the efforts of the EDK. With the negotiated compromise, the three cantons are sending out a signal of continuity in the intercantonal environment in terms of cooperation on the equalization of cultural burdens. They are thus supporting the search for a sustainable, broad-based solution at a national level in order to ensure compliance with the federal obligation to equalize cultural burdens.
 

Clarinettist and bassist Paed Conca has been working as a musician and composer for almost 30 years. He writes music for theater and dance, film and small ensembles or improvises together with greats in the field. His work regularly takes him across Europe and to Japan, with a current focus on Lebanon.

Saxophonist Christian Kobi is a member of the saxophone ensemble "Konus-Quartett", but he also performs internationally as a soloist. He also founded the Zoom-in-Festival in Bern in 2004, once again creating a platform for improvised music in Bern.

Bassist Björn Meyer has worked with the Persian harpist and singer Asita Hamidi, the Tunisian oud master Anouar Brahem and the Swiss composer and woodwind player Don Li. A year ago, his first solo album "Pro-venance" was released by ECM.

Sassy J. became internationally known with her performance at the Worldwide Festival in Sètes in 2013. This was followed by a mix on cassette for the label The Trilogy Tapes and performances in Barcelona and Amsterdam. She is thus reaping the rewards of a career that began in the early nineties at the Graffiti youth center in Bern with hip-hop on two turntables.

Behind the pseudonym Milena Patagônia is the 31-year-old musician and freelance journalist Milena Krstic. After being on the road with the rock band The New Cool for a long time, she has found her own style in recent years in a duo with Sarah Elena Müller (vocals/keyboard) and above all with her solo project as Milena Patagônia (voice/electronics). She belongs to a new generation of Bernese dialect pop.

The public presentation of the 2018 Music Awards will take place on Monday, November 19, 2018, at 7.30 pm at the Dampfzentrale Bern.

The survey focused on the timetable for cycles 1,2,3 following the introduction of Curriculum 21, the music training of primary school teachers at teacher training colleges and the implementation of Article 67a of the Constitution on music education. The survey contained six specific questions, including ensuring music lessons at elementary school, cost-cutting measures and the topic of jugend+musik.

The VSSM has declared its position on all questions in the survey; for example, it is calling for music to be or become a compulsory subject in primary school education. The survey reflects the current status of music education in the cantons' elementary school and shows that although the federal article Art. 67a is on its way, it is still far from being implemented in line with the requirements.

The entire survey is available at www.verbandschweizerschulmusik.ch/umfrage available.

The world premiere of a piece from 1965 is not an everyday occurrence - especially not at the Donaueschinger Musiktage, where topicality is a top priority. This time, the program includes a piece by Hermann Meier, this Swiss unknown whose aesthetics neither fit in with the post-war avant-garde nor with the ideas of a festival organizer in the 1960s. Heinrich Strobel, director of the Donaueschingen Music Festival at the time, rejected Meier's works. The composer, who was born in Selzach in 1906, simply noted with resignation on the last page of the score of the Piece for large orchestra and piano four hands"SW-Funk rejected this score on October 6, 1965".

The tone of this "piece" is strange: Meier not only avoided thematic material, he also deliberately avoided any developments. He was strongly influenced by the visual arts. Inspired by Piet Mondrian's exhibition in Zurich in 1955, he composed static, timeless soundscapes that he strung together like blocks. This is not Meier's strongest work. For long stretches, there are sparse timpani strokes or hammering piano clusters. He uses the strings too seldom, although their horizontal surfaces develop a cool-sounding charm. Meier probably intended anti-expressive monotones, even abruptness - but all this lacks the wild radicalism that characterizes many of his other orchestral pieces. There is still a lot to discover in the under-explored Meier cosmos.

There were 22 world premieres this time. The Donaueschingen Music Festival has a long tradition of quality ups and downs, but rarely has it reached such dimensions. Isabel Mundry is completely stranded. She conducted an interview with a Syrian student and let the singers of the SWR vocal ensemble speak excerpts from it. In the obviously intended reference to everyday life, this Mouhanad to a superficial, almost embarrassing examination of a topic that is robbed of its complexity. Sure, you don't always have to deconstruct or collage. But there is no artistic added value in redundantly referencing the well-known organizational problems of a refugee in the midst of German bureaucracy. The orchestral work Ricochet by the English composer Benedict Mason fails. The musicians of the SWR Symphony Orchestra stroll cheerfully through the rows of audience members, sometimes moving into corridors or rooms in the Baar sports hall. However, the events of distant sound effects and the simplest dialogs between different orchestral groups quickly become exhausted. Repetitions of notes, simple quaver rhythms or the intonation of the most banal scales underchallenged both musicians and audience.

There was also an impressive overload. In his Thinking Things, Georges Aperghis dealt with the central theme of "Man and Machine" in Donaueschingen. The stage is lined up with what look like movable walls with peep boxes. A talking robot head moves back and forth above the walls, artificial, moving limbs protrude, the wall cut-outs provide a view of real actors, in addition to simultaneous video sequences, harsh, disjointed computer sounds and a surround sound system. Aperghis speaks of a "scherzo panic" - indeed, his multimedia "theater of the aberrations of robotics" is terrifying. After all, the still surreal independence of the machine could soon be real. In another way, a Ballata N. 7 for ensemble by Italian composer Francesco Filidei, born in 1973. He has a soft spot for musical tradition and impresses with his immense wealth of ideas combined with a sense of intrinsic musicality. Towards the end of the rich Ballata N. 7 comes a Mahleresque idyll in unmistakably ironic exaggeration. Afterwards, the turning of apparently empty score pages unfolds with a slightly pulsating thrust. Has everything been said? No, there are still many refreshing ideas in the field of ensemble composition - even without video, electronics or grandiose concepts in the background.

The same applies to sound installations. Zimoun, a sound artist born in Bern in 1977, connects 84 small electric motors to balls that hit stacked moving boxes. There is nothing digital here either, no computer, no microcontroller, no complicated motor control. Zimoun calls his artistic credo "primitive complexity", which gives space to chance and thus to polyphonic, irregular rhythms that develop power in their own lives.
There can hardly be a summary of a festival as dense as the Donaueschingen Music Days. But perhaps a plea: less fuss will do.