Instrumental technique exercises have a bad reputation - wrongly, in my opinion, because after all they create the necessary foundations and support the acquisition of difficult passages in the repertoire. Etudes for the saxophone are not available in great variety. There is a general lack of etudes for the development of finger skills that also have a musical expression at their core and pursue a compositional idea, as we know it from piano or violin schools, for example. It is therefore no wonder that many pieces from this collection have been transcribed for saxophone. And it is all the more gratifying when new ideas enrich the repertoire.

With his 15 technical studies inspired by minimal music, Christoph Enzel has shown courage for the simple idea of repetition and underpinned it spiritually. His musical mantras are a stimulus to free the process of practicing from its tediousness by helping the seemingly boring movement sequences to flow and making the sacredness of repetition resound far away from any mindless repetition mechanics. This is not so easily accessible to every student and requires pedagogical and methodical sensitivity on the part of the teacher, especially when the exercises in exposed positions pose a technical challenge. As the composer and saxophonist states in the foreword that difficulties in rehearsing a concerto are the starting point for this publication, teachers and pupils could follow this idea and compose their own mantras to suit their individual level. Have fun!

James Rae's booklets have been a permanent fixture in many teaching libraries for years - classical saxophonists in particular appreciate the wealth of pop and jazz-related teaching pieces. His production of countless publications may seem inflationary, as music teachers do not always have an innovative musical impetus with which to incorporate new aspects into their lessons.

Ultimately, however, it is probably the musical nature that is convincing - as in the 18 Concert Etudes for Solo Saxophone. Here, the joy of playing is the order of the day: they alternate between rhythmic, melodic and harmonic solo pieces, which are sure to be well received as performance pieces. Together with the 12 Modern Etudes (UE 18795) and the 20 Modern Studies (UE 18820) these etudes form a popular teaching register.

Christoph Enzel: Saxophone Mantras, 15 Technical Studies for Saxophone, ADV 7158, € 14.95, Advance Music, Mainz 2017

James Rae: 18 Concert Etudes for Solo Saxophone (S, A, T, Bb), UE 21705, € 16.95, Universal Edition, Vienna 2017

Born in 1978, Dario Sisera graduated from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts with a degree in performance jazz in 2007. He plays together with his older brother, bassist Luca Sisera, and guitarist Franz Hellmüller (both also graduates of Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts) and saxophonist Carles Peris from Barcelona in the formation "Radar Suzuki".

Dario Sisera has been involved in various music productions (including Where's Africa, Bahur Ghazi's Palmyra) and has been teaching percussion and drums at various Swiss music schools since 2007, including the Neuenkirch Music School (Lucerne) and the Domat/Ems Music School (Graubünden). In 2004, Sisera received a grant from the Axelle and Max Koch Cultural Foundation and in 2008 the Cultural Promotion Prize of the Canton of Graubünden.

More info: dariosisera.ch

Born in Bolzano in 1986, prizewinner Miriam Roner is an accordionist and has been working at the Saxon State and University Library in Dresden since April 2018. Her responsibilities there include looking after the archive of contemporary composers and cataloging music manuscripts and musical estates.

From 2013 to 2015, she was part of the research project "Klingendes Selbstbild und 'Schweizer Töne'" at the University of Bern, where she completed her doctorate in 2016 with her dissertation "Autonome Kunst als gesellschaftliche Praxis: Hans Georg Nägelis Theorie der Musik". In her work, Miriam Roner takes a comprehensive look for the first time at one of the most important and versatile figures in Swiss music history, based on a broad range of sources.

A total of seven recent doctoral graduates applied for the prize. It was not easy for the selection committee, consisting of members of the SMG board, to make a choice from the dissertations submitted. This is the fifth time that the Swiss Music Research Society has awarded the prize, named after the Moscow-born Swiss musicologist and organist Jacques Handschin (1886-1955), which is awarded to young academics every two years. The exact date of the award ceremony is yet to be announced.

Zurich has had a big band for 23 years. A luxury, certainly, but a most welcome one. Big jazz bands are not in vogue at the moment, but this in no way detracts from the achievements of the Zurich Jazz Orchestra, or ZJO for short. It was originally founded as an experimental vehicle for local sound creators and arrangers. Four years ago, the renowned Cologne composer and multi-instrumentalist Steffen Schorn took over the direction of the 18 musicians.

Now "Three Pictures" is the first audio document of this collaboration - it is the ZJO's fourth album in total. The twelve tracks were all written by Schorn and testify to his musical virtuosity. When asked what makes the ensemble unique, the 50-year-old says: "We have imagination, we are willing to take risks." Anyone who has listened to the record will agree with this assessment. With Eye Of The Wind the recording begins with generous melodic arcs, albeit rather restrained and comparatively traditional. The three-part Africa is not only much denser, but also more intricate, brash and inventive. Cleverly placed guitar and saxophone solos repeatedly break up the action, provide eruptive moments and do not shy away from dissonance.

The almost 21-minute title suite is no less daring Three Pictures. It knows how to vary between pulsating beats and sparkling lushness and never runs the risk of drifting into shallow musical waters, on the contrary. On the contrary, the composition offers plenty of lyrical power and a well thought-out arc of tension. With its sound, the ZJO succeeds in combining swinging rhythms with grooving tempo intensifications and constantly changing motifs. A feat that makes the sound paintings both innovative and multi-layered. It should not go unmentioned that a lot of space was also given to improvisation on the album. This makes it not just unpredictable, but downright accomplished.

Steffen Schorn & Zurich Jazz Orchestra: Three Pictures. Mons Records MR874611

More info: zjo.ch/

The radical break with the past was certainly less important to Othmar Schoeck than the solid craft he learned from Max Reger. Born in Brunnen on beautiful Lake Lucerne in 1886, Schoeck remained in the romantic realm and stuck to the melodious - precisely because of his preference for lieder. With the CD Summer Night, the chamber string orchestra I Tempi from Basel now presents an under-appreciated strand of his work: there are three works for string orchestra, all written in the mid-1940s shortly after the end of the Second World War.

The opening work is a suite for string orchestra in A major op. 59. Schoeck often cultivates a contemplative, sceptical tone, to which a movement entitled "Pastorale tranquillo" fits well. The instrumentation is outstanding. Schoeck thus creates a latent inner tension, which is released in two faster movements. In the third movement in particular, "Tempo di marcia allegro", there is a completely new tone, which - as the author of the very good booklet, Chris Walton, is right - bears traits of Sergei Prokofiev's music. Parallels to "Montague and Capulet" from Romeo and Juliet are almost too obvious.

The Concerto for Cello and String Quartet op. 61, completed two years later, is stronger than the Suite. Soloist Christoph Croisé finds a suitable and, above all, always flexible tone for these soundscapes, in which he must constantly alternate between standing unobtrusively in the foreground and integrating into the orchestra. The chamber orchestra I Tempi, which penetrates deeply into the delicate music, and the sound engineer Karsten Zimmermann also deserve special praise. They all managed a balancing act in the Zurich radio studio. Giving the music the necessary sonic opulence while at the same time not depriving it of its analytical transparency is a technical and aesthetic challenge that was mastered in an almost artistic manner.

The CD, which begins with the eponymous Pastorale Summer night op. 58, can be recommended to the domestic sound fetishist as well as to those who simply enjoy good and well-played music. Any prejudices in the direction of "Schoeck the conservative" should quickly disappear in view of all these qualities.

According to the canton's press release, the open-air theater deals with a social theme that has been relevant throughout the centuries - the search for individual and communal happiness - and links this to the currently planned renovation of the village square. The project will be realized by professional performers with the involvement of around 70 amateurs, including a choir.

On the recommendation of its Cultural Council, the Government Council of Appenzell Ausserrhoden awarded support to five applications as part of the first funding tranche in 2018. The four other funded projects include the documentary film "Plötzlich Heimweh" by Yu Hao, which deals with the process of integration through the camera of the Chinese woman who first came to Switzerland in 2002.

The theater project "Apéro riche" by the Varain theater group is about forms of individual and social commitment. The play is linked to the 1918 national strike and aims to find out what people are committed to today. The interdisciplinary, autobiographical trilogy "Ryf" by Michael Finger is about a personal development process. An album is also being produced to accompany the stage play, for which he is writing the texts and composing the music. The fifth grant goes to the literary project Schulhausromane.

In addition, the Department of Education and Culture granted a total of CHF 54,600 for 33 applications between the end of October 2017 and February 2018.

According to the latest monitoring by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 241 projects were realized with crowdfunding in the "Music, concerts, music festivals" sector in 2017 (2016: 241). The average amount raised increased from 7577 to 7816 francs. An estimated 800 to 900 projects were successfully financed with crowdfunding in the cultural and creative industries in general. According to the study, this is a considerable figure. However, crowdfunding is often only part of the financing, especially in the cultural sector. Public funding measures are also very important.

Crowdfunding is now highly relevant in the cultural and creative industries. In total, an estimated CHF 9.5 to 10.5 million was raised through crowdfunding in this area last year (previous year: CHF 6.5 to 7 million). At CHF 4.1 million, the largest share of this went to the "Media, books, literature" category, followed by "Music, concerts, festivals" with CHF 1.8 million. The media sector is heavily influenced by the crowdfunding campaign for the magazine Republik, which accounted for a total of CHF 3.5 million.

More info:
https://www.hslu.ch/de-ch/hochschule-luzern/ueber-uns/medien/medienmitteilungen/2018/05/28/crowdfunding-studie/

Cooking may not yet belong to the Artes liberales, but it is undisputed that it has risen to the rank of a ninth, tenth or whatever art in recent decades. What's more, it far surpasses almost all the good old arts in terms of charisma and aesthetic taste. The only thing it can't quite keep up with is the prices on the art market, but people are willing to pay as much for an evening with a top chef as they would for one with Anna Netrebko. This shows just how much the incessant communication work via cookery programs and books has paid off. The amateurs have long been involved here. Unfortunately, there is no Jamie of spectral music.

On the other hand, Sancta Innovatio, the patron goddess of new music, has also arrived at avant-garde cuisine. Classical four-courses are overcome, sweet and peppery counterpoint is practiced, molecular tonality is explored, and even the extended techniques appear in the use of moss and ash - it just has to be digestible. In this respect, it is astonishing how rarely crossovers are dared, i.e. Kurtág combined with nouvelle cuisine, Lachenmann with Stefan Wiesner. Discourse is sorely needed here.
 

While the truly multi-sensory cross-over is still largely a culinary art of the future, eating together has established itself as part of performance art. It is an integral part of numerous festivals. And not without good reason: the food makes the atmosphere far more relaxed than usual at a concert.

The tavolata with music to be discussed here builds on this, and is thoroughly amusing and fun, as the title itself shows: Loud-mouthed. The newly founded vocal sextet Maulauf invited guests to its first production. The difficulty in this case was not so much that you shouldn't speak or sing with your mouth full. The actors are only recommended to do this during a performance in exceptional cases anyway. And they did so after the performance. What is more difficult is that the audience eats and drinks even when the performance is running. The sound becomes musique d'ameublement. How should you behave?

The balancing act inherent in every cross-over is that two levels have to meet on the same level. This was not entirely successful at the performance at Kosmos Zurich on May 16. It was only served late, during an interval after half an hour. By then you could already feel a little hungry. And food and music remained quite separate from each other. For consumption, there was more of a delicious, but somewhat cheese-heavy aperitif riche than a veritable menu. The structural relationship between the normal food and the "food of love", i.e. the music, remained ephemeral.
 

This makes the vocal menu all the more convincing, as this ensemble is of the highest quality. The voices of Irina Ungureanu, Isa Wiss, Dorothea Schürch, Urs Weibel, Mischa Käser and Urban Mäder are not only virtuoso, but also very different. They come together as a collective and yet all retain their own character. Each and every one of them gets their solo, one more delicious than the other. One of them gives a raspy speech, the other pushes his chair through the crowd, ranting. But there is barely time for a round of applause before they continue together. They chant individual words at breakneck speed, gradually varying them in repetition, creating new fields of words and meanings that expand and thin out again. Loud and quiet. Sometimes whispering, sometimes shouting. Singing, speaking, gurgling etc., poetic, but also theatrical. You never know whether someone will start an argument or begin to whine in the next moment. The unsavory would also be conceivable, but is thankfully left aside for aesthetic reasons. But this table music is a little uncomfortable in all its coziness.

The central, if not exclusive, textual basis is formed by the already onomatopoetic texts of Ernst Jandl, whose Viennese blues often resonates beyond the boundaries of the genre. New music? Perhaps. Dadaism? A little too. Vocal performance? Certainly, although this group is pleasantly devoid of the self-indulgence that occasionally appears in the voice music virtuosos. What is palpable, however, is the immense subtlety that can be experienced up close, as well as the enormous vocal power. And the audience (around forty people in total) sits in the middle of it all, eats and drinks, is allowed to chat, marvels and is greatly entertained. The encore was also wonderful: a long, straw-bassed grunt that gradually turned into a bright hum.
 

The aim of the digitization project is to enable researchers and interested parties to access the archive holdings via the website of the Richard Wagner Museum Bayreuth from anywhere in the world with Internet access. The documents in the archive can be researched online according to various aspects such as author, date or place of origin and displayed on the screen as high-resolution color scans.

Now that preparatory work has been completed, digitization and indexing in the database are being tackled: The original handwritten letters of Cosima and, above all, Richard Wagner, as well as his notebooks and the fair copies of his scores, are currently being digitized as a core part of the archive holdings. The digital copies will then be entered into the museum's own database, thus creating the basis for their online presentation.

The National Archives in Bayreuth hold and look after the world's largest collection of archival records relating to the Leipzig-born composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883), his second wife Cosima (1837-1930) and their descendants.

Four grants of CHF 10,000 each will go to the composer and bandleader Sarah Chaksad (Basel), the trumpeter Bodo Maier (Biberstein) and the saxophonist Simon Spiess (Aarau) in the jazz category. In the rock/pop category, drummer Lukas Weber (Lucerne) will receive an award. Natalie Oesterreicher (Beinwil am See) also received a work grant for a new project in the film category.

Studio residencies in Paris, Berlin, London or Nairs in the field of fine arts have been awarded to: Erich Busslinger (Basel), Andreas Bertschi (Zurich), Lea Schaffner (Zurich), Laura Meitrup (Basel), Remy Erismann (Bern) and Stefanie Kobel (Zurich). The singer Corinne Nora Huber (Erlinsbach) and the musician James Varghese are traveling to London. Pianist Thomas Lüscher has been granted a studio residency in Nairs in the Lower Engadine.

The awards will be presented, together with the awarding of the work grants in the fields of literature and theater and dance, at the public award ceremony on November 1, 2018 at the Kulturhaus Odeon in Brugg.
 

The French music market was a focal point of the program; the opening concert featured artists such as the Quatuor Van Kuijk, flautist Juliette Hurel, Alexandre Tharaud and Les Voix Animées, followed by another concert evening with contemporary music by Chloe and Vassilena Serafimova and Accroche Note, among others, on Friday.

The exchange opportunities were also well prepared this year and even better attended. In addition to the expected intermediary business and the exhibition (publishers, institutions, ensembles, producers and agencies), the workshop program (in English) was curated in a varied manner.

One workshop, entitled Biased? the question of why the much-vaunted cultural change in organizations and institutions shows so little momentum - and brings so little joy to those involved. The heretical question posed by Stephen Frost (Frost Included, London) as to whether everyone present welcomed diversity and inclusion could obviously only be answered in the affirmative. Susanna Eastburn (Sound and Music, London) expanded on the point about how everyone is often trapped by socially homogeneous group contexts and the restrictions we are all subject to when it comes to ordering the world by asking whether it is not possible to think about participation differently: from "Who do we want to work with?" to "Who wants to work with us?".

As in previous years, questions about streaming and the digital use of musical products gave rise to controversial discussions, from which the following conclusion could be drawn: If the young "digital guys" use their know-how to interfere in the marketing strategies of the houses and ensembles because they want to make their music available to fans on their portals, then the old-style artistic directors are called upon to let go of "their" product and follow the inclined audience, who will perhaps attend the live "concert" experience in the future, on their listening paths.

The explanations on music education for young audiences seemed a little old-fashioned; here, contributions from the target groups would be a refreshing change from the always similar "Concert for ..." concepts.

The four-day event seems to be worthwhile for many participants from the broad spectrum of the music sector: International contacts, broadening knowledge beyond their own field and a renewed "community spirit", as Classical:next director Jennifer Dautermann emphasizes, are increasingly making the annual event a permanent fixture in the agendas of orchestra directors, festival planners and agencies.

The exhibition stand managed by the Fondation Suisa was a good location for the Swiss music market; there was a presentable roof for discussions, getting to know each other (or refreshing acquaintances from previous years) and networking on an international level. It was probably not least thanks to the support of Pro Helvetia that more artists decided to take part, an opportunity that will become even more widely known.

The next Classical:next will once again take place from May 15 to 18, 2019 at De Doelen music center in Rotterdam.

Nobody would have expected this just a few weeks ago: More than 150 sousaphonists gathered on the main square in Schwyz shortly before 10 a.m. to take part in the "9th Sousiwanderig" to Brunnen. While last year there were four hikers from the region, this year bassists from all over Switzerland and neighboring countries arrived - by train, car, camper van or even by car. The enthusiasm for this unique event could be clearly felt among the participants, who otherwise often feel like the stepchildren of Guggenmusik, right from the starting point. Shouts of "Sousafon" echoed through the streets of Schwyz and dozens of onlookers were on hand.

"This morning I said that if 60 people come, we've made it," said Bruno Föhn, who has been organizing the hike together with Patrick Reichmuth for six years. They publicized the event via a Facebook event and also had around 1000 flyers printed. However, they never in their wildest dreams expected so many participants to come. "We weren't worried about the crowds, but we approached the whole thing with a lot of respect. Where would all the people eat? How will we manage the traffic?"

Volunteers were quickly found to ensure that everything ran smoothly and a vehicle was organized to provide medical care during the hike. In cloudy weather and pleasant temperatures, the columns of four set off via Ibach, Oberschönenbuch, down the Himmelsleiter to Ingenbohl and finally to Brunnen on the lake. Excerpts of songs arranged by the organization were played, which could be downloaded via a link weeks before the event. These included sounds from "Lord of the Rings" and the chorus of Ottowan's "Hands Up". However, as the caravan stretched over several hundred meters at certain points, it was not always possible to hear exactly what was being played. Refreshments were provided along the way.

The weather was fine for a long time, but as soon as they arrived in Brunnen, the sousaphonists were greeted by heavy rain. Nevertheless, they performed the songs they had rehearsed once again for the audience, who also braved the weather.

Next year, the "10th Sousiwanderig" will take place. The organizers are once again expecting a large number of participants and have already come up with something special for the anniversary.
 

What could be better than listening to and watching young people sing? The smile of singing touches the soul. You can't help but envy the way the young voices perform their sometimes simple, sometimes artistic songs by heart, with sophisticated gestures and facial expressions and so naturally. They fill the rooms and sing from all sides across the galleries. They walk and dance, supporting the text so that their foreign language is also understood. A choreography of singing that elevates a folk song to a Gesamtkunstwerk.

Chara lingua della mama The girls and boys of the Bündner Incantanti choir enchant the audience with their Chantun Grischun in their native language. The dedicated director Christian Klucker cheers them on. Every syllable an inch of expression. To the song Ina dultscha melodia they form up in a circle in front of the altar of the Laufen church and let the sweet Melodia from the source of the Rhine up into the Birs valley as if on a gentle barque rocking in sound waves.

Exuberance and rigor mark the voices of the Sverdlovsk Children's Philharmonic Orchestra. Between the romantic Russians Mussorgsky and Glinka, the strapping children and young people inspire with their stomping round singing Rotola or in the whirling puppet show Balaganchik.

In the echoing Leonhard Church, the Jutz-Jugis shout the traditional Appenzell tune of Zäuerli from the Schwäbberg with the typical Alphorn-Fa, hopping in their Sennechutteli and traditional costumes, their hands in their pockets, the Reaper dance twice as lively and stretch in the Stellijuiz heads as high as the Säntis. Pure Swissness.

The Hungarian Cantemus children's choir scatters colorful sakura cherry blossoms around the church and rattles off on a cheerful sleigh ride.

A specialty of the EJCF is that the guest choirs are also invited to rehearse pieces from another choir and perform them together. For example, the Knabenkantorei Basel joins forces with the sturdy Drakensberg Boys Choir to perform the traditional Marokeni from Namibia and is infected by the temperament of the South Africans. Or the girls' choir Bat-Kol unites in the piece Hadudaim by the Israeli composer Tzvi Sherf and in a canto by Fernando Lopes-Graça with the Coro Infantil da Universidade de Lisboa. Very different temperaments come together in a foreign style and language.
 

The choral music program "Songbridge", presided over by Finnish choirmaster Kari Ala-Pöllänen, projects a modern exploration of the country in three world premieres in the beautiful Art Nouveau St. Paul's Church.

First, the Fribourg Zik'Zag-Jeunes paint in Carlo Boller's A Moléson atmospheric sounds of light from the Gruyère mountain, spurred on by Jocelyne Crausaz, followed by the chamber choir of the Gymnasium Muttenz (conductor: Jürg Siegrist) and the Grischuner Incantanti, the colorful new creation Fribourg by Fabien Volery from the baptism. In S Freikunsärt Stefan Furter takes his cue from the down-to-earth Upper Basel dialect of the peasant poet Hans Gysin, as spoken in the villages of Oltige, Weislige and Ammel at the foot of the Schafmatt. The song of the "tuusigfältige" birds has taken a liking to him. In a chorus, the woodpecker engraves Clave's field names into the trunk. A wondrous piece of nature and local history for "allergattig" voices. The Himni al sulegl by Gion Andrea Casanova from Graubünden turns out to be a hymn to the sun, to the white splendor of the snow, to cold and clouds. A sonically sparkling alternation of natural moods and emotions.

What the three world premieres have in common is that they demand a great deal of expression and affect from the voices without straining the vocal chords too much, as New Music tends to do.

The concerts conclude with the festival song Music is everywhere with the chorus, to which the audience joins in unison. The performances are celebrated with standing ovations in the packed churches and in the sold-out musical theater.
 

"Uff dr Stross", on five stages and squares, things get heated in the blazing sun. There is dancing and hooting, whooping and whistling, drumming and fighting until the boards on the stages bend. The director of the Coro de Jovenes de Madrid, Juan Pablo de Juan, encourages the audience to sing and clap along. The singers swing their hips as fiery carmens, courted by the young torreros. During the "Parade à l'envers", the choirs stood at the side of the street and let the audience parade past.

A new feature of this edition of the EJCF, under the proven direction of Kathrin Renggli, was a youth choir ship that cruised along the Rhine to the border triangle several times with its song-loving cargo on board - including a workshop for kids up to the age of 8.

For the 8th time, choir conductors gathered for lectures and demonstrations to prepare their youth ensembles for pop-up performances, stage presence and effective repertoire for festive appearances.

The songs of the cheerful youth resonate for a long time and bring joy and satisfaction from so much peaceful music-making across all borders. Politicians should also be taught to sing, then world peace would certainly be more possible.