Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944) is one of those composers who were not only physically destroyed during the fatal years of the "Third Reich", but whose work was also banished from memory and musical life with frightening thoroughness. It was not until the end of the 20th century that there was enough interest for a real reappraisal. Works came to light and, even more so, to the stage which, due to their quality, can claim a permanent place in the repertoire today.

In Ullmann's small oeuvre, this applies in particular to his String Quartet op. 46, but even more so to his opera, which was written in the Theresienstadt concentration camp The Emperor of Atlantiswhich had to wait no less than 32 years for its premiere - although in the epilogue to the melody of Luther's chorale A strong castle is called for redemption: "Come death, our precious guest, / into our heart's chamber, / take from us life's sorrow and burden, / lead us to rest after pain and misery."

First published in 1992, this multi-layered work is now being presented in a newly revised edition by Schott-Verlag - and the fact that this is part of the Edition Eulenburg series can be seen as an accolade in the repertoire. The score, which is both stylistically flexible and dazzling in its instrumentation, is supplemented by an appendix with alternative versions, a critical report and a detailed preface.

Viktor Ullmann, Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder Die Tod-Verweigerung op. 49b (1943/44), play in one act by Peter Kien, edited by Henning Brauel; study score, ETP 8067, € 36.00; piano reduction, ED 8197, € 36.00; Eulenburg/Schott, Mainz 2015

Even the venerable Archiv Produktion label has fallen into the fashion of choosing images for its CD covers that have absolutely no connection to the musical content. On the first recording of a serenade by the Viennese court conductor Antonio Caldara, we admire the portrait of a masked young lady whose face and décolleté are covered with colorful butterflies. The work offers much that could fire the imagination of listeners and readers.

Caldara wrote La concordia de' pianeti 1723 as a congratulatory and homage gift for Empress Elisabeth, who was pregnant at the time. The genre name is to be taken literally: The serenade was first performed in the open air - a ciel sereno. Although the libretto has the usual sequence of recitatives and da capo arias, the differences to an opera are relevant. There are four choruses instead of the usual operatic tutti in the finale; instead of a progressive plot, the various gods of the Greek Olympus sing in rotation to the imperial mother-to-be. The arias of the gods are set to music according to their different personalities; Mars, for example, sings with trumpet accompaniment (No. 28, Da mia tromba). Without tension, without a story, the whole thing could become boring. However, the music remains quite varied, often with a dance-like, never melancholy character.

Above all, the baroque orchestra La Cetra under Andrea Marcon provides a glittering musical experience. La Cetra is an important part of Basel's musical life, especially the annual production at Theater Basel. The musicians are also highly regarded abroad; Caldara's Serenade was performed and recorded in Dortmund in January 2014. The orchestra's playing is outstanding: energetic, precise and a joy to listen to. The singers are able to remain at this level overall. The lightness and taste in the ornamentation of Carlos Mena (Mars), for example in his aria Non v'è bella che non creda (No. 12). The voice of Franco Fagioli (Apollo) is very impressive, but a somewhat clearer pronunciation would certainly not do any harm (No. 13, So ch'io dal suolo alzai).

The booklet provides all the information about the work and the composer that one could wish for when getting to know the work for the first time; the libretto is printed in four languages. Unfortunately, there is no room on the 52 pages for any pictures other than the faces of Antonio Caldara and Andrea Marcon.

The course by Sabine and Hans-Günther Kölz relates to the standard bass accordion with piano keyboard. It is clearly divided into different levels, each of which deals with a specific topic. What is also striking are the specially designated areas: "Beatbox" for rhythm training, "Freetime" for improvisational suggestions, "Finger fitness" for technical exercises and "Music knowledge" for theory.

The first volume (there are two) is very "weighty" with over 100 pages. The staves are large, which I don't think is absolutely necessary in a textbook for this customer segment. I find it valuable that Level 1 tells us something about the history of the accordion. However, this is followed by a series of explanations on holding the accordion, playing style (handling), storage and care, notation and note values, time, time signatures and upbeat, rhythm, articulation, dynamics ... So we have a kind of reference book here. Most of the music theory aspects are superfluous at this point, as they are explained again in the exercises, pieces and songs that follow. The range of literature is very diverse, and even the simplest pieces sound very interesting thanks to the appealing accompaniment and partner parts. Notes on composers, musical forms, but also new themes are each presented very strikingly in a colored box. I find the notated counting instructions and the bellows markings superfluous. Counting does not ensure that the basic beat (pulse) or rhythm is felt. The importance of a good bellows division is undisputed, as is the fact that you need to know the corresponding signs. However, the sizes of accordions differ immensely, especially for young people and adults, and the air consumption of the instruments varies greatly, so that an exact division of the bellows paths in the course does not prove effective.

The enclosed CD contains all the pieces and the corresponding exercises. To my ears, the recordings sound clear, but too monotonous and synthetic (inclusion of electronic instruments). The textbook leaves enough room for your own compositions and provides interesting tips on improvisations, practice variations, transpositions, etc. The progressive structure in terms of range and rhythmic material is perfectly successful.

Sabine and Hans-Günther Kölz, Accordion playing - my most beautiful hobby. The modern accordion school for young people and adults, Volume 1, ED 20951, with CD, € 22.99, Schott, Mainz 2013

The monograph Counterpoint I: The music of the Renaissance by Johannes Menke is the second volume in the Fundamentals of Music series published by Laaber-Verlag. Menke is professor of historical composition theory at the Schola Cantorum in Basel and his publication is partly the result of work with his students. The book is not intended to be a treatise on the history of composition theory, but rather a textbook that aims to inform, inspire and provide orientation. The author achieves his goal with an inspiring style, an extremely systematic and well thought-out structure and, last but not least, a simple and comprehensible style. He consistently pursues a historical approach, skillfully incorporates (self-translated) source texts and, for example, does not shy away from including graphic or tabular representations from treatises in the introductory section "General Principles". In this way, the world of the Renaissance is impressively presented to the reader and at the same time, issues such as solmization, musica ficta or modality are explained in an understandable way. Modality in particular, with its three parallel coexisting systems in the 16th century (the classical eight modes, Glarean's twelve modes and the eight psalm tones), has sometimes been discussed in a confusing and confused manner.

For Menke, treatises are not so much law books as recipe books that point out possibilities and in which the various authors express their personal preferences. With such a relaxed attitude, which does not immediately focus energy on mistakes to be avoided, it is easy for the reader to begin their first composition exercises or at least to play some of the many illustrated music examples themselves. Menke begins quickly with relatively simple full-voiced examples (for example with cadences, so-called clausulae) so that there is no obstacle to full voicing. Although Counterpoint I: The music of the Renaissance is designed as a textbook and not as an actual workbook, it contains numerous suggestions and orientation aids for becoming active as a composer yourself. In this respect, Menke's book offers students, professional musicians and music lovers a profitable read and can also serve teachers with valuable illustrative material or as a reference work. The only minor drawbacks are a few erroneous double spaces or the few linguistic errors that would have been easily found if the text had been corrected.

In keeping with his concept, Menke also leaves the last word to the sources and quotes Gallus Dressler's recommendations to learners and teachers from his Praecepta musicae poëticae (1563).

Johannes Menke, Counterpoint I: The Music of the Renaissance, Grundlagen der Musik 2, 324 p., € 29.80, Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2015, ISBN 978-3-89007-825-0

The book came about, as the author writes at the beginning, because she herself felt that her flute playing was too tense. She then began to study the processes in the body while playing. Angela Buer-Meinschien, who teaches flute and piano and has trained in eutony, focuses on body tension when making music, which can be either too strong or too weak, and the conscious use of the diaphragm. The first chapter, "Arriving", presents various exercises to loosen up, such as leg swings, arm swings and body tapping, as well as exercises from kinesiology, such as the cross-over exercise. In the second chapter, the author focuses on straightening up and ground contact in order to give flute playing a stable foundation. She also focuses on loosening the muscles of the neck, shoulders, face and throat.

The "Breathing" chapter begins with the stimulation of breathing through sniffing and sniffing and the pressure point exercise by the well-known breathing therapist Ilse Middendorf. This is followed by exercises to expand the inhalation capacity for abdominal, rib-flank and chest breathing and how these can be combined in a breathing cycle to achieve full breathing, as well as how to improve exhalation control. She describes the fundamental topic of breath support as the linking of diaphragmatic tension and full breathing and illustrates this with further exercises. At the end, the topics of "strong tone" and "lean tone" are briefly examined. In summary, the author offers various exercise programs for the "Tired Tone" and the "Restless Tone" as preparation for playing the flute.

The book provides a versatile overview of the various breathing exercises that can be used to strengthen body awareness while playing and balance tension. Which of the 60 exercises will benefit your own playing the most is something that everyone can try out for themselves.

Angela Buer-Meinschien, Get fit for playing the flute! 60 physical exercises for breathing technique, posture and relaxation, UE 36 389, 34 p., € 9.95, Universal Edition, Vienna 2015

Thomas Drescher holds a doctorate in musicology and has been working at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis for 26 years, first as a member of the research department and since 1998 as deputy director. He has also worked for over twenty years as a freelance musician (ensemble singer/baroque violin/viola) in various early music ensembles and orchestras.

Founded in 1933, the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis is a training and research institute for early music. Since 2008, it has formed the FHNW University of Music together with the University of Music. It is therefore also part of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW).
 

Subject to approval by the city council on April 21, 2016, the municipal council approved a commitment credit of CHF 2.425 million for the urgent maintenance work so that the necessary work can begin before summer 2017 as planned.

According to the city authorities, the Stadttheater Biel has not been extensively renovated since 1979. It has not been adapted to today's requirements in terms of design or technology. Due to the latent dangers and urgency, only a small part of the immediate measures regarding fire protection and personal safety were implemented in the summer and fall of 2014 to maintain performance operations in 2014/2015.

The stage and building services are also very outdated, and at least some of the electrical installations need to be replaced to ensure that operations can be maintained over the next few years.

As a publicly accessible building, the Stadttheater Biel is also to be adapted to meet current standards regarding accessibility. In addition to minor adjustments in the entrance area and in the disabled WC, additional wheelchair spaces must be created in the audience area. The orchestra pit must also have barrier-free access, which can be achieved by means of a ramp.

Marjan Gilani from Empa's "Applied Wood Research" department and other employees, including Geige builder Johanna Pflaum, examined twenty wood samples for their sound behavior and coated them with selected varnishes. The same varnish was applied to five of the twenty wood blanks per sample type and dried and cured for eleven hours using UV light.

In longitudinal samples, the varnishes increased the sound insulation of the heartwood and the young wood and reduced their stiffness compared to the raw state. This may be desirable: The more elastic the wood of a violin is, the warmer and softer the high notes sound. However, this change is accompanied by a loss of clarity and sharpness in the violin sounds. The situation was different for cross-rehearsals. For these, both the sound attenuation and the stiffness increased. The values for sound propagation also increased.

In general, a correlation emerged between the varnish composition, the microstructure of the wood-varnish composites, their mechanical properties and their sound behavior. Gilani and her research group want to refine these findings in further studies. To this end, another scientist will join the research team from April 2016.

For comparison purposes, the Empa group also analyzed two antique violins (from Cremona and Saxony) at the Center for X-ray Analysis. The violin from Saxony showed extremely fine cracks in the varnish as well as surface impacts and suffered from woodworm infestation. Compared to this violin, the violin from Cremona had a higher density of the wood-varnish composite. As the density increases, so does the stiffness and the sound propagation values - the Cremonese violin will therefore have produced clearer tones than the violin from Saxony.

More info: www.empa.ch/web/s604/varnish-and-violins

The first "Basel Composition Competition" will take place from February 16 to 19, 2017. Ten compositions will be nominated in a selection process and performed by the Basel Symphony Orchestra and the Basel Chamber Orchestra as part of a public competition. The three best compositions will be awarded prizes worth a total of CHF 100,000.

The competition is aimed at composers of all ages from all over the world who compose new works and bring them to Basel for their world premiere. Three works will be awarded prizes at three competition concerts and a final concert, which will take place between February 16 and 19, 2017.

More info: www.baselcompetition.com

With 56 votes in favor and 43 against, Klanghaus Toggenburg failed to achieve the qualified majority of 61 votes in the final vote. This means that the project cannot be put to the St.Gallen electorate for the time being. According to the canton's press release, the government regrets the decision. It "sees this as a missed opportunity for Toggenburg and the entire canton of St.Gallen". 

As a first step, the reasons for the failure of the building proposal in the final vote will now be recorded and weighted. The Department of Construction and the Department of Home Affairs will analyze the points of criticism together with the municipality of Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann, Klangwelt Toggenburg and other interested parties. The government would like to reassess the current situation by the summer vacations, carry out any necessary clarifications and then decide whether and in what form the project can be resumed.
 

Kultur Wallis promotes cultural activities in Valais, both within and outside the canton, and is committed to the recognition of artistic activity. The association has been entrusted with cultural tasks of the canton by the Association of Valais Towns and the Department of Culture, including the promotion, information and support of artistic productions.

The 39-year-old Pralong comes from Sion and, in addition to a Phil. I degree and a doctorate in geosciences and environmental sciences, he also has a diploma in project management. He has gained his professional experience in both the private and public sectors.

Richard Köster comes from Burghausen in Upper Bavaria and is a jazz student at the HKB. The band is made up of Richard Köster (tp, flh), Benjamin Daxbacher (as), Alois Eberl (tb), Christian Zöchbauer (tb), Beate Wiesinger (b) and Jakob Kammerer (dm). The two band leaders Köster and Kammerer gave the band its name. The six young musicians got to know each other while studying music in Vienna.

The Interessengemeinschaft Jazz Burghausen e.V. awards the European Burghausen Jazz Prize for Young Jazz Artists in cooperation with the town of Burghausen. The prize serves to actively promote young talent in jazz. All styles of jazz are eligible. Participation is limited to a maximum age of 30 years.

In 2016, the prize of 25,000 Swiss francs will be awarded in the feature film category. Original compositions for feature films with a total duration of 60 minutes or more, released either in 2015 or 2016, can be submitted until Friday, May 13, 2016.

The Suisa Music Promotion Foundation has been awarding the prize for more than 15 years, underlining the importance of musical works in the seventh art. The list of previous winners includes the names of renowned Swiss film music composers such as Alex Kirschner (winner in 2000), Balz Bachmann (2003 and 2006), Niki Reiser (2001 and 2011), the Baldenweg siblings (2010) and Marcel Vaid (2009). Last year's award, presented for the first time in the documentary film category, went to Peter Scherer, who received the prize for the second time after 2007.

More information on the competition and the regulations of the Fondation Suisa Film Music Prize can be found at: www.fondation-suisa.ch/filmmusikpreis
 

According to the official statement from Irène Philipp Ziebold and Stefano Kunz, Vice President and Managing Director of the Swiss Music Council (SMR), the death of Markus Flury means that the SMR has lost "a personality who for many years, first as a board member and since 2011 as President, has shown great commitment to the concerns of music in Switzerland. Accordingly, he will be missed by the Music Council and musical Switzerland."

A tribute to his work will be paid at a later date.

The official funeral service will take place on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at 2 p.m. in the Roman Catholic Church in Hägendorf. The Swiss Music Council invites musical Switzerland to pay its respects to Markus Flury once again on this occasion. The urn burial will take place in the closest family circle.

The sketches remained in the possession of Schumann's eldest daughter Marie until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1911, they were offered for sale by C. G. Boerner in Leipzig and ended up in the Schumann collection of the Zwickau Oberbergrat and Schumann enthusiast Alfred Wiede. From there they were exhibited once again, at least on the occasion of the Schumann Festival in 1922, at which the work was also played. After that, however, they disappeared into a private safe.

Schumann's sketches are now returning to their place of origin and will be made accessible to all interested parties. At the SLUB Dresden, they complement a small but typical collection of autographs and manuscripts from Schumann's Dresden period.