On September 8, experts from various countries met at the Florhof in Zurich to discuss the topic on a theoretical and practical level. A week later, a similar event was held in Geneva under the title "Orchestre en classe". It was aimed at teachers and directors of music and elementary school.

On behalf of the Fondation Suisa, Urs Schnell thanked Cristina Hospenthal, former director of Zurich Conservatory of Music (MKZ)and Martin Sonderegger (Clarinet Didactics, ZHdK) for organizing the conference. Since 2016, the Fondation Suisa already over 40 "Klamu" projects supported. However, it quickly became clear that class music-making should be financed on a broader basis in the future and expressed the wish that other people and institutions would also like to support this successful low-threshold offer.

Erich Zumstein, Director of the MKZ, presented impressive figures in his welcoming speech. What began nine years ago with two brass classes in Glatttal has grown into an organization with 2,000 participants every year. Every two years, a large concert has been organized in the Volkshaus with well-known show stars. The school works together with the Tonhalle Orchestra on educational projects, and across the big pond via Skype with a "education through music"- project in the Bronx.

Moderator Esther Girsberger had the pleasure of welcoming Helena Maffli, one of Switzerland's outstanding experts in music education. The speaker and former president of the European Music School Union outlined the importance of classroom music-making in a European context. There are many international role models for this and the program is ideal as a bridge between elementary schools and music schools. Helena Maffli suggested the creation of a national information point as a necessary step to move forward, an idea that met with interest from all sides.

If one of the largest music schools in Europe, with its 24,000 pupils and 600 teachers, in conjunction with a major Swiss foundation, is so committed to a sub-sector of music education, then there must be something to it. Classroom music-making is not only seen as a valuable educational tool in terms of "participation in cultural life", as formulated in the current cultural message. It has been proven that educational goals such as social skills, concentration and attentiveness are greatly enhanced by making music together. Zumstein found that music classes are more popular in neighborhoods with a high proportion of immigrants than in more educated districts. Reaching educationally disadvantaged groups is also likely to have a high integrative value.

In eight parallel workshops, visitors were given an insight into the various aspects and forms of "Klamu" by a number of experts. In discussion rounds and one-to-one demonstrations, visitors were able to get an idea of the practical work. Elisabeth Karrer placed the subject of music and class music-making in the context of Curriculum 21 and the German Jeki specialist Achim Tang presented a unit on "Experimental Class Music-making". Michaela Hahn, lecturer for music school development in Austria, broadened the view of the goals and challenges throughout the German-speaking world.

The experienced primary school teacher and head teacher Idil Calis spoke openly about the malaise in the subject of music at elementary school. She has taught music for 25 years in her 38-year career, "but I'm actually unmusical ... For me, playing music in class is the best thing that has happened in my entire career".

With "Klamu", elementary school now have the chance to solve their latent music teaching problem, and music schools gain access to a broader customer segment, which they can later consider as new talent - a classic win-win situation.

The canton of Graubünden has been providing artists from Graubünden with a studio apartment in Vienna since 2013. During a pilot phase in 2019 and 2021, Graubünden artists will now also be offered the opportunity to use a studio apartment in Rome. This will be used alternately by the cantons of St.Gallen and Graubünden and the Principality of Liechtenstein. The main tenant is the Canton of St.Gallen.

The furnished studio apartment (3 rooms) is located in the San Lorenzo district at Via dei Latini 18 and is available for a period of six months (June 1 - November 30, 2019 and June 1 - November 30, 2021). The Canton of Graubünden makes the studio available to the artists free of charge and pays a monthly allowance of CHF 2,000 towards living costs.

Applications are invited from professional artists who are resident in the Canton of Graubünden or have close ties to the Canton of Graubünden or Graubünden culture. Applications are open to all disciplines and there is no age limit. The application deadline for the Atelier Rom 2019 is Friday, October 26, 2018 (date of postmark).
 

According to the press release from the canton of St. Gallen, the Klanghaus with its expanded range of activities will be more closely embedded in the tourist region. In addition, the Klangwelt Toggenburg Foundation intends to operate the house at its own expense in future as part of a new financing model. The first proposal for the construction of the Klanghaus Toggenburg did not achieve the required qualified majority in the final vote of the cantonal council in March 2016.

The government subsequently gave a regional task force the opportunity to revise the project without repeating the extensive approval processes. The members of the task force are the Klangwelt Toggenburg Foundation, the Toggenburg region, the municipality of Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann, Toggenburg Tourism and the Chur University of Applied Sciences (HTW).

The government adopted the revised dispatch for the Cantonal Council in mid-August. Parliament will discuss the bill in November 2018 and February 2019. If the Cantonal Council approves the bill, voters are expected to vote on it on June 30, 2019.

What?
The Young Ears Award is looking for exemplary and innovative programs for new generations of audiences. This year, for the first time, the Young Ears Award has a thematic focus curated by the netzwerk junge ohren advisory board: diversity. This refers to sustainable programs that bring people together through shared musical activities. In addition, the second category of the Young Ears Award recognizes outstanding personalities in the music education scene.

At its last meeting, the AKO adopted a statement on the 2020-2023 cultural contracts of the Bern-Mittelland Regional Conference (RKBM). In principle, the commission welcomes the proposed support contributions for 15 cultural institutions. It considers it positive that the two new institutions added to the list in May 2018, the Swiss Jazz Orchestra Bern and the Jegenstorf Castle Museum, will now also receive 4-year contracts.

The Commission agrees with the cost allocation presented and the adherence to the previous rule of a 12% cost share for the regional municipalities. It also agrees with the greater additional burden of CHF 47,281 each for the City of Bern for 2020 and 2021 due to the proposed cushioning mechanism for hardship cases.

The Commission also points out that in future, when allocating support contributions, greater attention should be paid to the distinction between investment and operating costs of the supported institutions. It would therefore make sense to find a mechanism by which the renovation or general investment costs of the institutions could also be jointly financed - for example via a fund. To date, such co-financing of the municipalities has been on a voluntary basis, as was recently the case with the renovation of the Stadttheater Bern. However, the Commission does not consider this to be appropriate.
 

Questions of power, position, access and representation characterize the production, distribution and reception of popular music yesterday and today. In Nigeria's hip-hop culture, for example, the globalization of the pop market means that the free use of samples is in danger of disappearing: the pressure to adopt international copyright regulations has become too great. Or in Egypt, musicians without a credit card are denied access to the online music market. "The aim of this conference is to examine these phenomena scientifically and highlight the complex dynamics involved," says Hannes Liechti from Bern University of the Arts, co-organizer of the conference.

The program is characterized by a wide variety of topics and an international line-up. In addition to German-speaking countries, researchers from the USA, Turkey, Finland and other countries will be presenting their findings. Jenny Mbaye, a renowned music and media researcher from City University in London, will kick off the conference with a keynote speech on cosmopolitan music practices in urban Africa. Presentations on the Eurovision Song Contest, pop music in a post-socialist context, the role of music after the Egyptian revolution and the significance of music for Afghan refugees in Europe are just a small excerpt from the German and English-language program. In an effort to narrow the gap between science, musical practice and media presentation, the artists Ali Gur Pir (Pakistan) and Umlilo (South Africa) will respond to the lectures with artistic interventions. Finally, the installation "Arkestrated Rhythmachine Complexities" by ARKollektive makes the complex history of the dissemination of pop and pop rhythms as well as their technical necessities visible and audible.

The conference is organized in collaboration with the Bern University of the Arts, the Institute of Musicology at the University of Bern and the Bern-based music research network Norient. Artistic interventions and a sound media installation will accompany the academic debate.

More info: http://www.musik.unibe.ch/forschung/tagungen/poppowerpositions/index_ger.html

Jazz drummer Lionel Friedli receives the 2018 Culture Prize of the City of Biel/Bienne in recognition of his exemplary career as a jazz musician. As a true ambassador of Biel's culture all over the world, Lionel Friedli regularly performs throughout Switzerland and abroad (USA, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia) and plays more than 130 concerts a year.

Lionel Friedli is actively involved in around twenty musical formations and projects and is open to a wide variety of trends. He is a master of free improvisation and modern, experimental jazz. In 2015, the Fondation Suisa awarded him the prestigious Jazz Prize.

At the same time, Biel/Bienne's municipal council is awarding the Swiss Sculpture Exhibition the 2018 Award for Cultural Merit in recognition of its outstanding commitment to the visual arts. Thanks to this event, it has been possible since 1954 to bring the works of famous artists to Biel/Bienne, where they can be shown in an unusual context.

The ceremony for the awarding of the City of Biel/Bienne Culture Prize and the award for cultural merit will take place on October 30, 2018 in the Farelhaus and will begin at 6.30 pm. Admission is free.
 

Fancy a nice trip to the English county of Somerset? Arranger and composer Hywel Davies takes us on this journey with the tenor saxophone into the vibrant past of British folk music. He has successfully arranged some of the folk songs collected by Cecil Sharp and enriched them with fresh and creative original compositions. This anthology with sonorous and pointed piano accompaniment - easy to master for non-pianists - is an easy hurdle for pupils to overcome with the greatest possible fun factor and offers teachers potential for expansion in the area of improvisation on the basis of the existing themes (ballads, sea shanties and work songs).

Equally refreshing sketches for alto saxophone and piano are the Three Latin Sketches by Mike Cornick. The three short pieces have a Latin American swing, a touch of melancholy from the blues and tango and will give listeners a lot of pleasure on recital evenings thanks to the required interactivity.

Other trouvailles are worth getting to know, including the piece by the young composition talent Linus Köhring with the autobiographical title A Viennese in America. This eight-minute concerto for alto saxophone and small orchestra deals with the music of the two countries in a clichéd and ironic way and ends, according to the composer, with a "hellish" waltz.

 Aleksey Igudesman's trio for alto saxophone, violin and piano concludes in a different kind of furious manner. Take It To Eleven iis a sparkling, effective composition that takes into account the balance between saxophone and violin and requires spirited instrumental playing at a higher level.

Saxophonistically even more demanding is the Suite by Fazil Say for alto saxophone and piano, which is dedicated to Nobuya Sugawa. It demands flexibility in dealing with changing odd meters as well as technical skills in slap, flutter-tongue and altissimo. The arc of the six movements is carried by improvisatory ideas, musical particles and a pictorial free form. This music is imbued with expressivity and to a certain extent also reflects the composer's committed attitude, which is very open to liberated music-making.

Hywel Davies: Folk Roots for tenor saxophone and piano, BH 13309, € 17.99, Boosey & Hawkes, London

Mike Cornick: Three Latin Sketches, Three concert pieces in Latin American style for alto saxophone and piano, UE 21712, € 16.95, Universal Edition, Vienna

Linus Köhring: A Viennese in America, concerto for alto saxophone and small orchestra, piano reduction, D 05490, € 16.95, Doblinger, Vienna 2017

Aleksey Igudesman: Take It To Eleven for alto saxophone, violin and piano, UED3667700, only available as download, Universal Edition, Vienna

Fazil Say: Suite for alto saxophone and piano op. 55, ED 22267, € 49.00, Schott, Mainz

"Carl Czerny was perhaps the greatest pianist who almost never performed and the greatest composer who fell into oblivion," writes Iwo Zaluski in his foreword to the new edition of Czerny's ninth piano sonata. He even counts him alongside Beethoven and Schubert as part of the "great triumvirate" of classical piano sonatas. These statements are of course highly contestable. As far as the "triumvirate" is concerned, Haydn and Mozart should not be passed over so carelessly. And it is also not true that Czerny has been forgotten as a composer. However, it is not necessarily his piano sonatas that come to mind. These would actually deserve more attention.

His ninth in B minor op. 145 has now been reissued by Iwo Zaluski for Doblinger. The formal structure is unusual: six movements, including a free fugue at the end. This is more reminiscent of Beethoven's late string quartets than a classical sonata. The harmonic language is also unusually distinctive in places. The melodic phrases are very expansive, especially in the slow third movement (Adagio molto espressivo) - probably the climax of the work - which is imbued with an almost symphonic breath.
Surprisingly, it is the pianistic development of this music that makes the weakest impression. Although the piano writing is comfortable to play, it suffers from the fact that the many accompanying phrases sound stereotypical and unimaginative.

If you want to experience the composer Czerny "at his best", it is better to go for the four-handed Grande Sonata in F minor op. 178, an unusually passionate and colorful work, entirely in the spirit of the Appassionata of his teacher Beethoven.

Carl Czerny: Sonata No. 9 in B minor op. 145, edited by Iwo Zaluski, Diletto Musicale DM 1470, € 18.95, Doblinger, Vienna 

The fact that Paul Huber (1918-2001) was a striking personality and important for St. Gallen was not only demonstrated on the occasion of the unveiling of his statue in the Huberpärkli, which Thomas Scheitlin, Mayor of St. Gallen, writes about in his foreword to the newly published volume on the composer and music teacher. The large number of interested music lovers who attended the vernissage of this book, initiated by the Paul Huber Society, last February leaves no doubt about this.

The first part contains a biographical sketch, lovingly compiled by Hanspeter Spörri. Paul Huber was born as the second son into a farming family and had to accept the loss of his father and mother at the age of ten. He came to classical music through his foster family. Training at the Zurich Conservatory in piano, organ, school music and theoretical subjects, a short trip to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, election as head teacher for singing and piano at the St. Gallen cantonal school, starting a family, concerts and concert tours: Stages of a fulfilled life. He has received many honors, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Fribourg.

A catalog raisonné of Huber's works was published back in 1993, edited by Max Lütolf and Bernhard Hangartner. The latter has now completed it together with Eva Martina Hanke to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth. It contains 460 titles, with a particular inclination towards sacred music and an affinity for wind music.

The appraisal of Huber's compositional output that introduces the catalog raisonné is largely based on Max Lütolf's foreword from 1993: "Although he repeatedly sought access to an understanding of modern music, modernism ... remained insignificant in his oeuvre", he writes; the decisive model for Paul Huber throughout his life was the personality and music of Anton Bruckner.

Paul Huber - the composer and his work, ed. by Bernhard Hangartner, Eva Martina Hanke and Hanspeter Spörri, 233 p., Fr. 29.50, VGS Verlagsgenossenschaft St. Gallen 2018, info@vgs-sg.ch, ISBN 978-3-7291-1167-7

30 years ago, Brigitte Bryner-Kronjäger's first book title Practicing is stupid (co-author Peter Schwarzenbach) to speak from the hearts of generations of pupils. However, anyone who read the book quickly realized that practicing - provided you do it right - is not stupid, but can be fun. This comprehensive and, at the time, revolutionary study turned some of the concepts of practicing and teaching on their head and put them into perspective: it was important to repeat success, not to dwell on mistakes - this was the astonishingly obvious quintessence. 30 years of experience as a flautist and teacher lie between this first and her latest book My leap into playing. On the interaction between auditioning/pre-singing and practicing. In between, the author published Cross country (2001) and Meeting point for lessons (2010).

My jump into the game can be regarded as a résumé of Bryner-Kronjäger's work. The work is at once a basic book, a textbook for studying, a workbook, a practical guide and a reference work for teaching practice and performances. The author uses the image of a music house with a playroom, practice room, rhythm room, group room and concert hall, a trick intended to make readers aware of what they are currently doing musically, which "room" they are in.

First, the continuum of learning and playing is illustrated using the figure eight, which is intended to symbolize the interaction between the two activities. Play is therefore not only seen as the fulfillment and goal of preparation, but is also a prerequisite for renewed practice; a kind of cycle is formed. The author repeatedly denounces the widespread phenomenon of mixing practicing and playing - one of the main reasons for experiences of failure.

It is a basic book because it provides detailed background information on each topic. There are explanations and definitions for each chapter. The special features of playing music are emphasized in contrast to other types of playing, basic principles of learning and memorization are placed before the practice principle, breathing and posture are given special attention, the concept of rhythm is explained in detail, playing and practicing in a group is psychologically supported and the concert experience is evaluated against the background of the concepts of success and failure as well as stage fright. Exercise instructions and checklists are provided for each section and can be easily consulted.

This comprehensive work for general didactics saves every instrumental or vocal student a lot of work, because it contains everything that future musicians need to know about learning and playing.

The appendix contains a clearly laid out stylistic study by Heinrich Baumgartner entitled "City of Music", complete with working instructions.

Brigitte Bryner-Kronjäger: My leap into playing. On the interaction between auditioning/pre-singing and practicing,
288 p., € 34.00, Musikverlag Burkhard Muth, Fernwald 2017, ISBN 978-3-929379-45-7

For those who rub their eyes when looking at this score, let it be said right up front: Yes, it is the composer of Tosca or Turandotand no - the 7 sonatas, 6 versetti and 4 marches published here have little to do with Puccini's style as we know it from the opera stage. As a descendant of a family of musicians who shaped the musical life of the city of Lucca for four generations - his father was a cathedral organist, among other things - Giacomo Puccini certainly came into contact with church music at a very early age, learned to play the organ and made his first public appearance as an organist. From 1872 to 74, he was employed as assistant organist at the cathedral and worked at the church of San Girolamo until 1882. The hitherto unpublished total of 61 organ works, of which Carus presents a selection here, also appear to date from this period; a complete publication seems to be planned in the Puccini Complete Edition.

Even if one still senses little of Puccini's later tonal refinement, with these works he joins a tradition that was shaped by composers such as Vincenzo Petrali or Padre Davide da Bergamo: lively little movements reminiscent of brass music or Rossini operas, short and easy to play throughout, which reveal a confident composer who was already writing with aplomb and here and there even hint at a return to a more "serious" style of church music composition. Incidentally, the Dutch organist Liuwe Tamminga, who works in Bologna, has also released a recording of these works on the Passacaille label (PAS 1029). Thanks to organs that Puccini may have known or played, it gives a good impression of how even music that seems somewhat simple on paper can be orchestrated magnificently on a suitable instrument. A valuable addition to the Italian repertoire, for once by a great and well-known composer, versatile for use in church services and concerts - and guaranteed to be a success!

Giacomo Puccini: Sonata, Versetti, Marce - Selected organ works, edited by Virgilio Bernardoni, CV 18190, € 28.00, Carus, Stuttgart 2018

In his statement on the focus topic, President Berset said that societies are strong when as many people as possible can contribute their potential. He emphasized the social importance of culture. The more diverse our societies become, the more we need culture to reflect this complexity and recognize ourselves in it.

In addition to President Berset, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein, the King of the Belgians, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier took part in the official talks. Among other things, they discussed the importance of international cooperation in solving global issues, the pressure on state institutions and European cooperation. Migration policy was also discussed.

At the invitation of President Berset and his wife Muriel Zeender Berset, the spouses of the heads of state of the German-speaking countries also attended the meeting of six in Graubünden. At the end of the event, the program included a visit to the Origen Theatre on the Julier Pass. The annual meetings of the German-speaking heads of state have been held since 2004 and are hosted alternately by the participating countries. Switzerland last hosted the event in 2012.

Johann Benjamin Gross (1809-1848) was principal cellist at the Leipzig Gewandhaus and played in the imperial orchestra in St. Petersburg from 1837. Until recently, the works of this contemporary of Mendelssohn and Schumann were almost completely forgotten. The writing virtuoso dedicated the majority of his compositions to his own instrument, but he also wrote several string quartets, as he was the chamber music partner of the famous Belgian violinist Henri Vieuxtemps in Russia.

Pan-Verlag has published several works by Gross for the first time. Three editions in particular should be mentioned here:

• The three-movement Sonata in C major for two cellos moves within the 1st and 5th registers, whereby the composer skillfully exploits the tonal possibilities of the limited range. Thanks to the easy technical demands, the work is well suited for teaching purposes. One small drawback to this first edition: it contains two individual parts, but no score.

• The Capriccio op. 6 (Pan 1602) on a theme from Étienne-Nicolas Méhul's opera Joseph in Egypt for violoncello and bass is an effective virtuoso piece whose variation form corresponds to the zeitgeist of early Romanticism. While the solo part demands brilliant bowing technique and secure (thumb) position playing, the bass part is assigned a purely accompanying function.
• The Sonata in B minor op. 7 for cello and piano (Pan 1603) is stylistically close to Mendelssohn and represents a significant enrichment of the duo repertoire from the first half of the 19th century. Together with songs and the String Quartet in F minor op. 37.3, it has been recorded on the Laborie Records label (performers: Quatuor Mosaïques; Michael Dahmen, baritone; Yoko Kaneko, piano; Christophe Coin, violoncello).

Johann Benjamin Gross: Sonata in C major for 2 violoncellos, edited by Folckert Lüken-Isberner, PAN 1600, € 10.00, Pan, Kassel

id.: Capriccio op. 6 for violoncello and bass, PAN 1602, € 16.00

id.: Sonata in B minor op. 7 for violoncello and piano, PAN 1603, € 19.00

Spectacular things are sometimes quite inconspicuous. The plain orange cover has no photo. You will search in vain for the names of the soloists. Conductor Rudolf Lutz and his orchestra from the J.S. Bach Foundation St. Gallen, which plays on period instruments, are all about the matter in hand - a complete performance of Bach's vocal works over a period of 25 years, including audio and video recordings (see Sswiss music newspaper 9/2009, p. 14 f.).

Musically, the twentieth CD of this ambitious project is a great success. The clarity of the text is excellent throughout. The choir of the J.S. Bach Foundation shines with agility and transparency, while the soloists impress with their clever phrasing and many tonal colors. In the cantata BWV 96 Lord Christ, the one and only Son of God special guest Maurice Steger draws elaborate lines on the sopranino recorder. The fast opening chorus is light-footed and dance-like. The lying notes in the orchestra are lively, the articulation is always eloquent. Jan Börner's alto is just as moving as Noëmi Sohn Nad's limp soprano. And the arias are also in good hands with Hans Jörg Mammel (tenor) and Wolf Matthias Friedrich (bass).

In the light cantata BWV 67 Hold Jesus Christ in remembrance the choir inspires with relaxed coloratura. And when bass Dominik Wörner sings his calm greeting of peace to the troubled souls in the choir and orchestra, the result is great theatricality. In the cantata We should already praise Christ BWV 121 is accentuated by Andreas Holm on the oboe d'amore, while Johannes Kaleschke (tenor) plays the coloratura in the aria O creature exalted by God sparkles. Only the final chorales seem a little breathless in this stimulating interpretation of Bach, which relies on fluid tempi and great agility. But this cannot detract from the excellent overall impression.