The Slide Ensemble wins 1st prize in the improvisation competition at the XIX Annual Congress of the Society for Music Theory at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, the Ensemble Aspirateur Spatial wins 2nd prize.
PM/SMZ_WB
(translation: AI)
- Oct 04, 2022
The Slide Ensemble is a quartet for new music based in Zurich. It deals "with contemporary music as well as improvisation and collective musical practices".
The Slide Ensemble consists of Diego Alberto Kohn (violin/viola), Ferran Gorrea i Muñoz (saxophone), Gemma Galeano Ballestar (saxophone) and Marina Mello Andrade (harp), all of whom have been internationally active in contemporary music and free improvisation for many years.
The Society for Music Theory (GMTH) was founded in Berlin in the summer of 2000. As an interest group for German-speaking music theory, it advocates the political strengthening of music theory as an independent university discipline and is aimed at people who represent the subject of music theory in research and teaching or who are generally interested in music theory topics.
Slide Ensemble wins in Salzburg
The Slide Ensemble wins 1st prize in the improvisation competition at the XIX Annual Congress of the Society for Music Theory at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, the Ensemble Aspirateur Spatial wins 2nd prize.
Music newspaper editorial office
(translation: AI)
- Oct 04, 2022
Slide Ensemble (Image: Alicia Olmos)
The Slide Ensemble is a quartet for new music based in Zurich. It deals "with contemporary music as well as improvisation and collective musical practices".
The Slide Ensemble consists of Diego Alberto Kohn (violin/viola), Ferran Gorrea i Muñoz (saxophone), Gemma Galeano Ballestar (saxophone) and Marina Mello Andrade (harp), all of whom have been internationally active in contemporary music and free improvisation for many years.
The Society for Music Theory (GMTH) was founded in Berlin in the summer of 2000. As an interest group for German-speaking music theory, it advocates the political strengthening of music theory as an independent university discipline and is aimed at people who represent the subject of music theory in research and teaching or who are generally interested in music theory topics.
ZHdK bids farewell to Thomas Meier
The members of the ZHdK bid farewell to Thomas D. Meier as Rector in the presence of Cantonal Councillor and Director of Education Silvia Steiner in a festive setting with music, dancing and greetings from all over the world.
PM/SMZ_WB
(translation: AI)
- Sep 30, 2022
Thomas D. Meier at his farewell ceremony. (Photo: Johannes Dietschi)
Thomas D. Meier, born in Basel in 1958 and raised in Wil/SG, was elected Rector of the ZHdK (Zurich University of the Arts) by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences Council in December 2008. In 2010, he was elected to the Representative Board of ELIA (European League of Institutes of the Arts), and from 2014 to 2018 he chaired this major association of European art academies.
In 2013 and 2014, he was also President of the Rectors' Conference of Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences and a member of the Board of swissuniversities. Previously, the doctor of history and English was Director of the Bern University of the Arts. From 1996 to 2003, he was director of the Museum of Communication in Bern. Thomas D. Meier currently chairs the Board of Trustees of the PROGR Center for Cultural Production in Bern.
Meier was responsible for the ZHdK's move from 39 locations to the Toni-Areal in Zurich West in 2014. According to the ZHdK press release, the current study reform into a major-minor system, which is unique in Europe and was initiated and driven forward by Thomas D. Meier, is just as important. From the fall semester 2023/24, students will be able to put together their studies individually and across disciplines.
Under Meier's leadership, the ZHdK entered into numerous long-term collaborations with other Zurich universities, for example in the Digitization Initiative of Zurich Universities (DIZH), the Collegium Helveticum and the Zurich Knowledge Center for Sustainable Development. Thomas D. Meier also initiated pioneering projects in the area of internationalization: He made the ZHdK more visible internationally and raised its profile, for example with the establishment of the Zurich Center for Creative Economies or the international cooperation platform Shared Campus.
One of his particular concerns was the independent right to award doctorates. By establishing doctoral programs in cooperation with partner universities, he brought the ZHdK a big step closer to this goal. With around 2,100 students and 650 lecturers, the ZHdK is now one of the largest art academies in Europe and has been institutionally accredited since 2021.
Dubois definitely succeeds Sutermeister
The Valais State Council has appointed Alain Dubois as head of the Department of Culture (DK). He is currently Deputy Head of Service Anne-Catherine Sutermeister and has been Cantonal Archivist since 2014. He will take up his new post on November 1, 2022.
Music newspaper editorial office
(translation: AI)
- Sep 29, 2022
Alain Dubois (Image: Olivier Maire)
44-year-old Alain Dubois began his career at the Valais State Archives in 2007 before taking over its management in 2014. He is currently managing several major projects relating to the management and sustainable storage of digital information within the canton of Valais.
In the cultural sector, Alain Dubois was President of the Théâtre du Martolet Foundation in Saint-Maurice from 2011 to 2015, according to the canton's press release. In this role, he familiarized himself with the administration of a cultural enterprise and the challenges of the performing arts and professional artistic creation and helped to build a cantonal network with artists, theater directors and cultural delegates.
Since the beginning of 2022, Dubois has also been Anne-Catherine Sutermeister's deputy, the head of the Department of Culture. Tensions within the department prompted her to resign after just two years.
Starting next year, the Swiss working meetings for the most diverse areas of music education will be coordinated by the Young Ears Network.
Music newspaper editorial office
(translation: AI)
- Sep 29, 2022
The association emerged from the "Kompass Musikvermittlung" process. Photo: SMZ archive
The president of the association Musikvermittlung Schweiz+, Barbara Balba Weber, gave the following information at the request of the Swiss Music Newspaper Insight into the origins and work of the association:
On the initiative of Cultural mediation Switzerland and the Network Young Ears (NJO) the project "Competence Network Music Education Switzerland +" was launched in 2014 (the SMZ has reported). This not only formed the basis for the development and publication of an analog and digital guide Compass Music Educationbut also led to the founding of the professional association "Musikvermittlung CH+". The central aim was to initiate a functioning network of leading professionals in the field of music education in Switzerland, which would act as a catalyst for the scene and the topic of music education in the cultural-political arena and promote the visibility of Swiss music education at home and abroad.
Within the framework of this network, a guide to music education was also to be developed, which would provide useful tools and recommendations for action for the professional world and thus contribute to the professionalization of music education practice. The results of the international working group were discussed and further developed in a model participatory process with many music education professionals in Switzerland and were continuously incorporated into the development of the practical guide. This was published in a first, analogous form under the title Compass Music Educationin the fall of 2015 as part of a series of events in the cultural and educational landscape throughout Switzerland (Report in the SMZ 6/2015, P. 23, PDF). The guidesupports professionals in designing, describing and positioning their projects and reflecting on their own actions. Music education is understood as a practice that affects a wide variety of target groups and all music genres.
From the process surrounding the Compass Music Education the foundation of the Association for Music Education Switzerland+ which held a working meeting three times a year until 2022 and a Swiss working group once a year with the cooperation partner NJO. In May 2022, the association Musikvermittlung Schweiz+ decided to disband at the end of the year because the structure of an association is not necessarily required to maintain these working meetings. The NJO will coordinate the working group meetings in Switzerland in close cooperation with stakeholders in Switzerland in order to maintain this forum. Initially, two meetings per year (in person or online) are planned.
International Heinrich Schütz Prize 2022
In the festive year Schütz22 - "because I live" on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the composer's death, the publishers Bärenreiter (Kassel) and Carus (Stuttgart) will be awarded the Silver Medal of Honor, which has been presented annually since 2018 as part of the Heinrich Schütz Music Festival.
Since 1955, Bärenreiter-Verlag has published the volumes of the New edition of the complete works by Heinrich Schütz as a source-critical edition for both scholarly and practical use. The editions published by Bärenreiter since 1979 Contactor yearbooks in turn provide an important forum for the scholarly exploration of Schütz's multifaceted oeuvre. And in the Schütz2022 anniversary year, we can look forward to the publication of long-suffering desiderata: a few months ago, Walter Werbeck published the Contactor manual and until the end of this year, also published by Bärenreiter-Verlag, the book edited by Werner Breig (winner of the 2021 Heinrich Schütz Prize) will be published. Schütz catalog raisonné.
At the end of the 1960s, Günter Graulich started a scholarly-critical edition of Schütz's works at Carus-Verlag. The Stuttgart edition of Schütz has been published since 1971 and has always been a pioneer in the use of modern editing techniques, while maintaining a high degree of continuity in the music. The bilingual individual editions published in parallel by Carus-Verlag and the performance material for (almost) all pieces were particularly useful in practice. On the basis of this edition, a Schütz complete recording by the Dresden Chamber Choir under the direction of Hans-Christoph Rademann (winner of the 2018 Heinrich Schütz Prize).
The award ceremony will take place as part of the final concert of the Heinrich Schütz Music Festival on Sunday, October 16, 2022, at Hartenfels Castle in Torgau.
Radiance beyond the region
Since 2016, the festival for the composer Othmar Schoeck in Brunnen has been surprising visitors with music, theater, exhibitions, lectures and podiums.
Jürg Auf der Maur
(translation: AI)
- Sep 28, 2022
The Mondrian ensemble in the Werkhalle after the premiere of the commissioned work. Photo: SMZ
It was launched in 2016 and is now known far beyond the region. The "Othmar Schoeck Festival"which takes place high above Brunnen, in a unique location in a villa overlooking Lake Lucerne, is dedicated on the one hand to the music of the composer born here, and on the other to his birthplace and its future potential as an actual cultural center.
The house is alive and is history. The villa was built by Schoeck's father Alfred (1841-1931) and served as the painter's studio. From the terraced garden you can see over the lake, the Rütli, the Treib and the Uri Alps. Both the villa and the garden invite you to reflect, philosophize, make music or discuss.
View of the lake from the garden of the Schoeck Villa. Photo: SMZ
The Schoeck Festival is special and stands out from similar cultural events. What is on offer in the house may only seem elitist at first glance. Alvaro Schoeckhimself an opera director and the composer's great-nephew - together with musicologist Chris Walton he is the artistic director of the event - always provides new surprises. These remain in the minds of visitors for a long time, and those who have not been there always hear that they have missed something. The events at the Schoeck Villa are also a talking point in the village restaurants in the valley basin. The famous composer has been brought back from the past, wrote the Neue Luzerner Zeitung And rightly so in 2016. And the district of Schwyz, which is not known for its financial generosity, honored the first Schoeck Festival with a recognition award, which is rarely given. Sandro Patierno, then district mayor and now a member of the cantonal government, praised the festival's important connection and great regional significance.
Experimentation and a down-to-earth approach
The combination of surprising events, such as those presented in 2016 by the Hauen-und-Stechen-Musiktheaterkollektiv from Berlin, which was recently nominated for the "Faust", Germany's biggest theater prize, podiums on the reception of Schoeck's music or on the Villa's worthiness of protection with outstanding concerts is attracting an ever-growing regular audience. There is also a critical examination of the composer's biography: This year's festival was launched with a discussion on the subject of "Art and Politics in the 20th Century".
Taking the controversy surrounding the Bührle Collection in Zurich as a starting point, the Musicologist Inga Mai Grootethe Historian and author Erich Keller and the online New Yorker Music journalist Alex Ross also about the past of Othmar Schoeck, whose career ultimately suffered more than it gained because of his connections to Germany. Since the premiere of his last opera Dürande Castle In Berlin in 1943, he was accused of being too close to Nazi Germany at the time. It is only recently that the subject and his work have been discussed more openly again. Not least thanks to Schoeck's descendants, who do not resist research, but actually encourage it with great openness.
The panel agreed that Schoeck, like many cultural figures, had benefited from National Socialism, but: "Schoeck was not a National Socialist," Erich Keller put it in a nutshell. No neo-Nazi would ever refer to Schoeck. Finding out more about the professional networks of the time and the reception of composers outside the "avant-garde" also remains an interesting task.
From left: Erich Keller, Kaspar Surber (moderator), Alex Ross (joined online), Inga Mai Groote. "Schoeck was not a National Socialist," Erich Keller put it in a nutshell. Photo: SMZ
The organizers' desire to experiment and the willingness of the invited artists to get involved is what makes the festival so charming. Added to this is the clever integration of local associations and performance venues - from hotel halls to parish churches. From brass bands to the Urschweizer chamber ensemble, people are on board, ensuring that the events are down-to-earth and attract the right audience. The fact that the local bookshop is represented at the festival with a book table and has already dedicated its shop window entirely to "Schoeck" in the run-up to the festival once again impressively demonstrates that the Brunner Festival has made a name for itself in the region and found a place in the cultural autumn.
World premiere and promotion of young talent
This year's festival, which took place at the beginning of September, was no exception. With the Mondrian ensemble a world-class formation performed. The four women - Ivana Pristašová, Tamriko Kordzaia, Petra Ackermann and Karolina Öhman - embarked on the experiment, and instead of filling halls in Klagenfurt, Zurich or Vienna, they traveled to the provinces, where they performed with great enthusiasm and joy in the workshop of a local timber construction company. They even premiered a composition by the 22-year-old Felix Nussbaumer found a place next to works by Dieter Ammann and was cheered by the fascinated audience.
Dieter Ammann and Felix Nussbaumer talk about the commissioned work. The Mondrian Ensemble performed Felix Nussbaumer's work "between regions of partial shadow and complete illumination" for piano quartet twice in a row. Photo: SMZ
Promoting young talent is an important concern of the festival. It has therefore long maintained a partnership with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Music. This year, an ensemble of advanced students worked on Othmar Schoeck's rarely performed song cycle Gaselen op. 38 under the direction of Stefan Wirth accompanied the soloist Balduin Schneeberger, baritone, and created a fitting counterpoint to the works of Ammann and Nussbaumer.
The presentations by Günther Heeg and Anna Ricke treated Massimilla Doni in the arrangement by Schoeck and Armin Rüeger. The two agreed that the work is highly effective for the stage and should definitely be performed again.
From left: Merle Fahrholz, Günther Heeg, Anna Ricke. The experts agree: Schoeck's opera "Massimilla Doni" should be performed again. Photo: SMZ
In addition to a joint project with the Historical Museum Bischofszell The lovingly designed exhibition on the friendship between Othmar Schoeck and his librettist Rüeger, who was a full-time pharmacist in Bischofszell, will also feature the Lutz Grossmann performed with his ensemble Oh you fool! resonate for a long time. Based on artefacts in the Schoeck studio, the troupe used play and music from Schoeck/Rüeger's Don Ranudo to think about holding on to things and thought patterns.
From left: Annina Mosimann (play), Nadja Tseluykina (musical director), Lutz Grossmann (director/play), Nicola Minssen (set), Sarah Mehlfeld (co-director, dramaturgy), Evgeni Lukyanchyk (saxophone), Eric Förster (baritone). The ensemble at the final applause after the performance "Oh Du Narr!" in the Künstleratelier of the Schoeck-Villa. Photo: SMZ
The Schoeck Festival has established itself and offers space for other cultural events. Pedro Lenzthe well-known writer, who recently gave a reading at Villa Schoeck, which is only temporarily occupied by the heirs, is full of praise. "I was very impressed by the villa itself, which is practically as it was in the early days. But what impressed me even more was the love and passion with which Alvaro Schoeck and his siblings are committed to the house and the family's cultural heritage. They do it with heart and hospitality, without any conceit, without any desire for recognition, but with the fire of those who really care about the cause. Chapeau!"
View from the window of the artist's studio. The Schoeck Villa offers space for various cultural events. Photo: SMZ
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Transparency note: The Swiss Music Newspaper is a media partner of the festival. The historian and journalist Jürg Auf der Maur is editor at Bote der Urschweiz.
Mandatory registration for lead?
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is proposing to include the use of lead in Annex XIV of the REACH Regulation. This could have a significant impact on the prices of organ pipes and brass instruments.
Music newspaper editorial office
(translation: AI)
- Sep 28, 2022
Photo (detail): Michael Jasmund/unsplash.com
Use would therefore only be possible with special authorization. Since 2021, the use of lead has had to be notified to the ECHA, but has not yet undergone the complex registration process. The decision on the inclusion of lead in the Annex to the REACH Regulation is expected to be made in 2023.
According to the German Music Council, lead is required for the production of organ pipes, while lead is generally used for alloys in brass instruments together with nickel and chromium. According to the Council, costly developments of new alternatives would lead to drastic increases in the selling prices of instruments. It is therefore calling for an exemption for the use of lead in instrument making
The REACH Regulation ("Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals") is a European Union regulation that was enacted to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can arise from chemicals and at the same time to increase the competitiveness of the EU chemical industry. It also proposes alternative methods for the risk assessment of substances in order to reduce the number of animal tests.
A team from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) in Göttingen and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) has determined the particle emission and the associated maximum transmission risk when playing many different wind instruments.
Music newspaper editorial office
(translation: AI)
- 27. Sep 2022
Photo: Rosario Janza/unsplash.com (see below),SMPV
A relatively large number of viruses can come from the clarinet. It releases significantly more aerosol, which can contain pathogens such as Sars-CoV-2, than the flute, for example. In general, however, the risk of transmission from an infected person on a wind instrument is significantly lower than with singing or speaking people if you spend the same amount of time in their vicinity.
This is the conclusion reached by a team from Göttingen in a comprehensive study. The researchers determined the particle emissions and the associated maximum risk of transmission when playing many different wind instruments. The results provide clues as to how cultural events can be organized with the lowest possible risk of infection even during the pandemic.
In its first edition, the World Ethic Forum in Pontresina presented a special feature: the world premiere of Gérard Zinsstag's ensemble piece "Divagations".
Simon Bittermann
(translation: AI)
- 27. Sep 2022
Gerard Zinsstag and the Ensemble Proton on August 27 in Pontresina. Photo: Mayk Wendt
Graubünden seems to be the preferred spot for forums that ambitiously bear the word "World" in their name. The best known is probably the "World Economic Forum" in Davos, to which those who feel they belong to the international business and political elite make an annual pilgrimage. A place to discuss the world's problems in an illustrious setting - or to produce a lot of hot air, as critics complain. Less well known is the World Ethic Forum in Pontresina. Also because it took place for the first time this year on the last weekend in August: "A weekend with hikes, animals, plants, philosophical sessions, Economy of Love and Common Goods, a Parliament of Things, a night of dancing shamans, a musical premiere and lots of dialog", as the invitation stated. The programmatic differences to Davos could not be greater, as can be seen from the hidden reference to the performance of a piece of music.
Because specially composed for the forum Gérard Zinsstag the ensemble piece Divagationswhich was published on August 27 by the Ensemble Proton Bern was premiered. A concert of new music would probably be unthinkable in Davos. Especially one with a work that was deliberately requested by the Forum as a challenging listening experience and which already shimmers with delightful ambivalence in its choice of title. "Divagations" could be translated as "rambling", and it would be a prankster who suspects a commentary by the composer on the discussion culture of such forums. "Divagations" also means excess or debauchery, and the dedicatee interprets it as such Linard Bardill the title. The songwriter and author is co-founder and managing director of the World Ethic Forum and experienced the work as "music full of new paths, detours and dream paths". He is certainly not wrong, because Divagations is a piece whose richness leaves you speechless and silences the chatter. Energetic, aggressive sounds constantly alternate with passages of enchanting beauty, dissonances with floating consonances. The entire pitch spectrum is utilized, as can be seen from the use of the lupophone, a newer instrument from the oboe family, which considerably extends its range downwards.
Listening with an alert mind
However, it is more likely that Zinsstag's title refers to Stéphane Mallarmé's collection published shortly before his death Divagations in which the poet introduced his idea of critical poems, of "essais poético-critiques", as he called them. This genre, conceived as a mixture of essais, poetry and criticism, is an attempt to marry the world of art with intellectual contemplation of the world - and is thus a possible answer to the old question of how art can be more than mere entertainment, how it can deal with "serious" topics. A question that is all the more pressing in textless music and one that must be addressed, especially in a composition for the World Ethic Forum. Gérard Zinsstag's choice of title is a pointer and admonishes the listener to listen with an alert mind.
This is not surprising. The composer, who was born in Geneva in 1941, is certainly the perfect choice to do justice to this difficult task. As a student of Helmut Lachenmann, reflecting on the social dimension of music, of sounds, is practically part of his craft. And as the founder of the Tage für Neue Musik Zürich in 1985 together with Thomas Kessler, Zinsstag proved that he can and wants to initiate change. Without this tour de force, Zurich would not be the city of music it is today.
But how does this critical dimension manifest itself in Divagations? Similar to Lachenmann, Zinsstag relies on the perception-changing effect of music, relying on the power of raw sound types and noises, among other things. In any case, it is clearly recognizable and perceptible that he also uses the raw musical materiality of artificial sound production in Divagations prefers. On the other hand, Zinsstag searches for an almost physically tangible sensuality that enchants and enraptures. The immense effect of the piece results from the blending or rather the juxtaposition of these two levels. This is symbolized in the headings of the three movements, which merge seamlessly into one another: Lento/Agitato, Agitato/Comodo, Inquieto/Agitato. Each movement alternates between "excited", "impetuous" (Agitato) and something else, with Lento and Comodo something completely opposite ("slow/loose" and "leisurely" respectively). It is only towards the end that a "restless" is added to "agitated", thus intensifying the urgency.
As I was not present at the concert and listened to a recording, I cannot comment on the interpretation of the Ensemble Proton Bern. Divagations It is certainly to be hoped that it will find its way out of the Grisons mountains and into the wider world.
World premiere of Gerard Zinsstag's "Divagations" by the Ensemble Proton. In the foreground is the "Thermofona", an interactive thermo-acoustic sound sculpture by Sascha Alexa Martin Müller, not part of the world premiere of "divagations", but of the rest of the evening's program. Photo: Niki Wiese
Graceful vocal music and stirring symphonies
The Grisons composer died ten years ago in Chur. The Fundaziun Gion Antoni Derungs paid tribute to his work with a festival at the beginning of September.
Helen Gebhart
(translation: AI)
- 27. Sep 2022
Photos: Börries Hessler, Hessler Photography
Composer, choirmaster, organist, piano and organ teacher. Gion Antoni Derungs, one of the most important Rhaeto-Romanic composers, played all of these roles in his life. Born in Vella in 1935, he studied in Zurich and was active in his various professions until his death in 2012. Over nine hundred compositions bear witness to his immense creative power, which is characterized by a rare diversity of genres and styles. Inspired by the rich Rhaeto-Romanic singing and song culture, he incorporated folk melodies into his works, engaged with the avant-garde and yet always sought his own compositional path. To mark the tenth anniversary of his death, the Foundation Fundaziun Gion Antoni Derungs with a festival.
Composer of the avant-garde
At the opening concert at the Theater Chur, Ensemble ö! will present six chamber music works that Derungs composed in the 1960s and 1970s and that show him from his avant-garde side. Partly freitonal, partly inspired by folk music, the works are not always completely comprehensible at first hearing, so multi-layered and complex are his compositions. So it's a good thing that Dance of death is played twice: The violin leads at the beginning with a melody that is constantly interrupted by cluster chords and interjections from the other instruments. In the second version, the sometimes somewhat restrained Ensemble ö! offers more intensity and variation in the dynamics. The eerie sounds send shivers down your spine.
Derung's preoccupation with the avant-garde can also be felt in the organ concert in St. Martin's Church with Tobias Willi. The contrasting program brings together compositions by Derungs, Otto Barblan and Duri Sialm. While Barblan's pieces work with great tonal splendor, Derung's compositions are much more delicate. They often consist of a single melodic voice accompanied by changing chords.
Friend of all singers
A special jewel in the festival program is the Concert da Chor Sacral with the Ensemble Vocal Origen. Under the direction of Clau Scherrer, the ensemble performs sacred vocal works that Derungs composed between 1974 and 2010. The Cantiones Sacrae, Canzuns Religiusas and Cantica captivate with a special grace in the voice leading. Derungs often goes beyond the framework of tonality and exploits the possibilities of the vocal sound by alternating between lyrical passages and rhythmically more animated verses.
At the center of the concert is the Missa pro defunctis. Calm contentment, a kind of inner reflection through the music characterize this memorial mass. No tendency to lament or mourn emanates from the music, but rather a feeling of intimate contemplation about life and death. The last "Lux aeterna" of the mass shines in the church, almost as if the sun is about to rise. The 16 singers sing in perfect harmony and with a wonderful balance of voices. The description "friend of all singers", a saying by Clau Scherrer, proves to be incredibly accurate on this evening, as Derungs seems to have had a special feel for the voice.
Singing school Solothurn girls' choir under the direction of Lea Pfister-Scherer and Eva Herger
Derungs' music is already being passed on to the next generation at the festival. Three children's and youth choirs from Graubünden and Solothurn will be singing Rhaeto-Romanic and German songs that range from funny and bouncy to thoughtful and melancholy to deeply moving. The Singspiel offers a small insight into the musical theater work Salep e la furmicla. The children in the choir are completely absorbed in the performance and sing and recite with absolute confidence.
Autobiographical symphonist
Another side of Derungs can be heard in the festive concert in St. Martin's Church: The 3rd Symphony From my life and Rogationes are perhaps the most intense and stirring music played at the festival. What might he have been thinking of when he wrote these musical hurricanes, storms of triumph and mischievous episodes into the symphony? Large-scale, dense soundscapes, consisting of shimmering strings, virtuoso melodic passages in the outstanding woodwinds and a foundation of menacing bass lines, define it. The wild thundering of the whole orchestra is replaced by sparkling joy in solo passages in the piccolo and xylophone. In this continuous intensity of sounds, the individual elements could quickly blur into one another. Not so with the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, whose interpretation is a real pleasure. Every shimmer, every rumble, every musical joke is clearly perceptible under the direction of Philippe Bach, and the balance between the orchestral groups is incredibly well struck. There are fewer soundscapes and more noises in the world premiere of Rogationes to the train. In this depiction of Catholic supplication processions, air is whistled through the wind instruments, bows are scraped across the strings or the wooden side of the bow is tapped on the strings. After these two moving and stirring works by Derungs, Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 3 calms the emotional waves somewhat.
The concerts at the Gion Antoni Derung Festival showcased numerous treasures from his oeuvre and there are still many more to discover. Getting to know Derung's music and listening to the stories from his life is simply enriching.
The OSI at the Derungs Festival 2022 in Chur's St. Martin's Church under the direction of Philippe Bach
Transparency note: The Swiss Music Newspaper is the media partner of the Gion Antoni Derungs Festival 2022.
More money for Thurgau culture
The cantonal government has approved the canton of Thurgau's comprehensively revised cultural concept for the years 2023 to 2026, which means that over two million francs more will be allocated to culture each year from the lottery fund.
Music newspaper editorial office
(translation: AI)
- Sep 26, 2022
The 2023-2026 cultural concept will provide Thurgau's cultural sector with around CHF 2.2 million in additional funding each year. In total, the planned subsidies from the state budget and the lottery fund for the years 2023 to 2026 will increase from CHF 12,672,600 per year to CHF 14,874,600.
The annual contributions from the lottery fund will increase from CHF 2,931,000 to CHF 4,279,000 due to new service agreements, increases in contributions and transfers of contributions from the state account to the lottery fund.
The annual withdrawals from the lottery fund will increase from CHF 7,860,000 to CHF 8,900,000 due to the planned increase in the contribution to the Cultural Foundation from CHF 1.1 million to CHF 1.5 million (subject to approval by the Grand Council) and as a result of the increases in withdrawals for humanitarian aid projects, for the specialist office for children, youth and family issues, for project funding and for the implementation of the priorities of the cultural concept. Any contributions for infrastructure projects are not included in the lottery fund expenditure ceiling for withdrawals and contributions totaling CHF 13,179,000.
This year, the Canton of Bern is awarding Rico Baumann, Claude Eichenberger, Philippe Krüttli and Steff la Cheffe a music prize of CHF 15,000 each. The "Coup de cœur" prize for young talent, worth CHF 3,000, goes to Leoni Leoni.
Music newspaper editorial office
(translation: AI)
- Sep 23, 2022
"Coup de cœur" award winner Leoni Leoni. Photo: www.leonileoni.com
Rico Baumann completed his drum studies at the jazz department of Bern University of the Arts in 2007. This was followed by representing Switzerland in the European Jazz Orchestra in 2012, the Marianne and Curt Dienemann Foundation Award in 2013 and a scholarship in New York two years later. As one half of the electro-pop duo True, he tours throughout Europe, America and Japan with Daniela Sarda.
The mezzo-soprano Claude Eichenberger has been a member of the Bühnen Bern ensemble since 2007. She studied with Elisabeth Glauser at the Bern University of the Arts. After graduating, she completed her training at the International Opera Studio Zurich. Since 2018, she has also been passing on her knowledge to the next generation at Bern University of the Arts.
Philippe Krüttli is not only known for his work as a trombonist and conductor, but also as the director of the Bernese Jura Music School based in St-Imier. Until 2011, he played the baroque trombone in various ensembles. He has put the trombone aside for a few years now and concentrates mainly on conducting ensembles. He conducted the vocal ensemble d'Erguël from 1992 to 2019 and still conducts the Grand Eustache, a Lausanne orchestra dedicated to contemporary music and the combination of different styles.
Steff la Cheffe began her career as a beatboxer and rapper. In 2009, she won the runner-up title in the "Female Category" at the Beatbox World Championships in Berlin. A year later, she released her first album and made a name for herself beyond the Bernese rap scene. The versatile musician made her comeback in 2018 after a long break, during which she continued to develop artistically, and has been performing regularly on stage ever since.
Leoni Leoni from Bern brings her enraptured pop songs from her bedroom to the stage. Over the past three years, the musician and producer has recorded and produced four albums on her own and released them on cassette.
Basel Culture Prize for Les Reines Prochaines
"Les Reines Prochaines & Friends" receive the Basel Culture Prize. The Basel-Stadt Department of Culture honors the "Sondershop" association, led by Sebastian Day and Tabea Wappler, with the cultural promotion prize.
Music newspaper editorial office
(translation: AI)
- 22. Sep 2022
Les Reines Prochaines & Friends (Photo: Christian Knorr)
The Basel-based author band "Les Reines Prochaines", currently featuring Muda Mathis, Sus Zwick and Fränzi Madörin, has a long international career behind it. Founded in the midst of the youth and women's movement of the 1980s, it aims to challenge traditional art and gender boundaries with its program concepts. In 2019, the collective was awarded the Swiss Music Prize by the Federal Office of Culture for their work.
At the same time as the traditional Culture Prize, the Culture Department has been awarding the Culture Promotion Prize, endowed with CHF 10,000, since 2012. This year, it goes to the "Sondershop" project. Initiated by artist Sebastian Day in 2019, the project has quickly developed into an important platform for young fashion designers from the region.
The committee for the 2022 Culture Prize was made up of Mathias Balzer (journalist); Brigitte Häring (Radio SRF 2 Kultur); Steffi Klär (cultural worker and event manager); Iris Müller (owner of Müller Palermo Buch & Papier bookshop in Basel); Silvan Moosmüller (musicologist and literary scholar); Jiri Oplatek (graphic designer); Hannah Weinberger (artist); Werner Hanak (Deputy Head of the Culture Department, Chair); Jeannette Voirol (Head of Cultural Institutions, Culture Department).
End for Lucerne Blue Balls
"Despite various discussions in recent weeks and months", it has not been possible to find a sustainable solution for the Blue Balls Festival, writes the city of Lucerne. The collaboration with the Lucerne Blues Session association will therefore end at the end of 2022.
Music newspaper editorial office
(translation: AI)
- 21 Sep 2022
Photo: Dominik Meier/Blue Balls Festival
The Blue Balls Festival could not be held in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022, the festival was canceled due to Urs Leierer's health. Following the cancellation in 2022, the city of Lucerne, the Lucerne Blues Session association and Urs Leierer discussed what the future of the Blue Balls Festival in the city of Lucerne could look like from 2023.
The City of Lucerne regrets that it was not possible to find a sustainable solution based on the existing structures. The long-standing collaboration with the Lucerne Blues Session Association has therefore come to an end. As of 2023, the Lucerne Blues Session Association no longer has any claims against the City of Lucerne, neither for subsidies, nor for KKL usage rights or the use of public space.
The city of Lucerne is now examining the alternatives and replacement concepts received and new ones from 2023.