"The tuba players play in the lowlands of music, in sound catacombs, (...) they are half-blind tone weights, they are the miners of music, the doormat of the orchestra." With these words, the German cabaret artist Olaf Schubert began his humorous presentation of the 2013 Echo Klassik prizewinner, the young tuba player Andreas Martin Hofmeir, at the concert for the award ceremony in the Berlin Konzerthaus. The eccentric Hofmeir, who plays barefoot like Patricia Kopatchinskaja, who is almost the same age, is the typical anti-star, someone who tries to shake things up, is involved in all musical genres and therefore cannot be pigeonholed: Orchestral musician, chamber musician, folk musician, pop musician, cabaret artist, lecturer at the Mozarteum Salzburg. A star after all!

Art needs such driving forces in order to create something new. And if anyone can tackle this for the "miners of music", it is Hofmeir. So it comes as no surprise that this exceptional artist asked his Hungarian tuba colleague and composer friend Roland Szentpali to write a work for him in order to generate literature for his underestimated solo instrument. Szentpali, only one year older than Hofmeir, presented a work with a curious instrumentation in 2014 - matching the curiosity of Hofmeir - with which he proved Olaf Schubert wrong: the Chill Fantasy for tuba, piano, percussion and string quintet. Everything is demanded of the soloist here, and the tuba turns out to be a highly acrobatic, agile solo instrument capable of incredibly high notes. The basic jazzy orientation of the piece is supported by the possibility of free improvisation (for tuba and piano) on jazz harmonies, whereby the composer offers a fully composed version for "non-jazzers". A solo piece for tuba that only conforms to a certain classical standard in its three movements, but is otherwise more likely to be understood and enjoyed as a musical Kneipp cure - barefoot, of course!

Roland Szentpali: Chill Fantasy for tuba, piano, drum set and string quintet, TU185; score and parts Fr. 78.00; orchestral score Fr. 42.00; Editions Bim, Vuarmarens 2015

This generously designed booklet is aimed at young primary school children in individual or group lessons. Most of the lyrics - even for well-known folk tunes - are written by the author himself and relate in some way to the musical content. For example, Gabi Gans and Günter Geier like each other on the g-string, while Doris Dackel on the d-string is constantly thinking of fat Dieter Dachs. All the melodies not only want to be played, but also sung.

There is a whole page available for almost all pieces, so that the overview is always maintained despite graphic aids, polyphonic arrangements, additional accompanying teacher parts and colored illustrations. Each guitar string is assigned a specific color. (In lessons, corresponding highlighter pens can be used in parallel). The children are introduced to the world of tones, rhythm and song accompaniment with great care and didactic thought. After an initial phase of thumb playing on the notes g-d', the alternate beat is demonstrated. Reduced chords are used as accompaniment, which are struck with the index finger on the three melody strings. The thumb and alternate stroke are combined into a non-simultaneous two-part attack, and the "free" attack of the index finger is also introduced alternately with the thumb - as a pendulum attack.

The relatively quick introduction of different touch techniques opens up various combination possibilities in group playing. But the volume also offers attractive material for individual lessons. The order of the notes to be learned does not follow any particular scheme, but is pragmatically adapted to the characteristics of the guitar fingerboard. For example, although the pupils learn the D-sharp and G-sharp, some lower root notes are missing; a suitable follow-up course by another author might not be so easy to find. We are therefore eagerly awaiting a second volume!

Burkhard Wolters, Alles Gitarre! School for group and individual lessons; without CD: ED 21710, € 14.00; with CD: ED 21710-50, € 19.50; Schott, Mainz 2014

Who composed the symphony for 156 office machines at the 1964 Expo? What compositions did Igor Stravinsky write on Lake Geneva? Were there only women composers in monasteries? And what is so special about Arthur Honegger's music?

When Antoine-Elisée Cherbuliez, Professor of Musicology at the University of Zurich, wrote the first history of Swiss music in 1932, Arthur Honegger was still one of the "young" composers. Since then, there has been no independent publication on Swiss music history. Angelo Garovi now examines musical themes on Swiss territory in numerous brief chapters. He begins with the late Roman water organ at Avenches, addresses the music at the great monasteries of St. Gallen and Engelberg and at the Council of Basel, talks about liturgical games in the late Middle Ages and festival culture in the 19th and 20th centuries, about minnesong and cowbells, the Geneva Psalter and Glareans Dodecachordon. Switzerland also plays a role as a host and inspirational country for famous musicians from neighboring countries.

Angelo Garovi (*1944 in Sarnen) studied German philology, history, music history and organ as well as composition with Mauricio Kagel. Garovi was a music critic in Lucerne, music editor at Swiss Radio SRF in Bern, state archivist for the canton of Obwalden and professor of German philology at the University of Basel. He has lectured at various universities in Switzerland and abroad.

Angelo Garovi, Musikgeschichte der Schweiz, with index of composers' names, 160 pages, illustrated, paperback, Fr. 19.90, Stämpfli, Bern 2015, ISBN 978-3-7272-1448-6

Review by Brigitte Bachmann-Geiser

On Supermoon Sophie Hunger presents herself as a musician who has found herself - in the field of tension between singer-songwriter tradition, impulses from jazz and electronics as well as unconventional lyrics that are still of central importance. This is particularly evident in the title track, where she initially appears almost classical with her acoustic guitar and musing vocals. A pulsating beat, shimmering background sounds and subtle effects bring not only a contemporary component, but also a latent restlessness to a deceptively relaxed interplay between dark and light moods.

The folk influence of this song refers to the place of origin in California. The CD cover also features a psychedelically distorted picture of Sophie Hunger with a guitar, as if she were a West Coast folk singer from around 1970. Love Is Not The Answer whose title can be understood as a reversal of the slogan that is still used today. The humor is particularly evident in the accompanying video clip, which ends in a massacre of flowers. The piece is particularly funny musically Superman Womanwhich turns out to be a veritable stylistic potpourri.

However, most of the songs are characterized by thoughtfulness, a peculiarity that The whole world is reinforced by the choice of High German. "I watch CNN, beheaded Kurds and a world record in tracking", she sings with caustic laconicism. This is the only part of the album where Sophie Hunger then lapses into declamation, which seemed mannered in some earlier tracks (and probably also contributed a lot to her polarizing effect): "Uhhh, I'm so up-slurred!" And that fits in this context too, especially in the interplay with devoted "duuu-u-u-u-u-uuu" singing, which lacks any sentimentality. Sophie Hunger impresses to a large extent because she is a master of phrasing - and not just here.

Like Stephan Eicher, Sophie Hunger also cultivates multilingualism and forgotten songs. With La Chanson d'Hélène is a wistful love song that became famous as a duet by Romy Schneider and Michel Piccoli. Sophie Hunger interprets it together with the former footballer and actor Eric Cantona almost as enigmatically poetic. Once again, however, a dialect song is particularly haunting. In Heicho Sophie Hunger discusses her life between a sense of home and restlessness. "But I'm sure I'll get stronger," she sums up dryly.

Sophie Hunger: Supermoon. Caroline/Universal. Information, videos and music excerpts: www.sophiehunger.com

The planned Klanghaus is intended to replace the Seegüetli course venue above Unterwasser, create an offering from Klangwelt Toggenburg and become a musical and architectural center for natural sound music. As a sound workshop with unique acoustics, the Klanghaus will attract both professional musicians and amateurs for rehearsals, courses, research and experiments.

The room program of the Toggenburg Sound House comprises four acoustically special sound rooms that can be tuned like an instrument. The building is planned as an integral timber construction. The canton is planning the Klanghaus as the client. Klangwelt Toggenburg is to be the operator of the Klanghaus.

The total costs for the construction of the Klanghaus, including all preparatory work, amount to CHF 24.3 million. Of this, CHF 5 million will be financed by foundations and benefactors and legally secured before construction begins. This leaves a credit requirement of CHF 19.3 million for the canton. Accordingly, the cantonal council's decision is subject to a mandatory financial referendum. 

The Klanghaus project by the Meili, Peter Architekten and Staufer & Hasler Architekten consortium is also attracting interest from private individuals, potential sponsors and foundations. According to the canton, a significant proportion of the private third-party funding has already been pledged or promised. The construction project will only be tackled once co-financing of CHF 5 million has been secured from private donors. 

Once the dispatch has been forwarded to the Cantonal Council, the preliminary advisory committee will be appointed in the September session. The first reading in the Cantonal Council is expected to take place in the November 2015 session and the second reading in the February 2016 session. If the Cantonal Council approves the project, the referendum is planned for 2016. If approved by the electorate, construction could begin in 2018.

The repertoire of the North German organ school seems to have been the subject of increased interest in recent years. In addition to a wealth of scholarly editions of sheet music - in some cases even in almost parallel new editions of the same music (e.g. for Buxtehude, Tunder or Weckmann) - various specialist books have also been devoted to the theoretical study of this music. After Jon Laukvik's Organ school for historical performance practice (Baroque and Classicism, Carus 60.002; Romanticism, Carus 60.004; Modernism, Carus 60.006) and Klaus Beckmann's encyclopedic presentation The North German School (2 volumes, Schott ED 9869 and 20088), Paolo Crivellaro, Professor of Organ at the Berlin University of the Arts, now presents a book which, according to the blurb, is aimed at the practical organist who wants to play "with historical awareness".

The approximately 200-page presentation - with around 1000 (!) footnotes - is clearly arranged and touches on all essential aspects of the performance practice of North German Baroque music, such as its stylistic classification, the source situation, the most important genres, instrumental conditions and important organ builders, but also questions of tempo, ornamentation, registration practice, etc. Crivellaro relies primarily on historical quotations, which he comments on; with numerous references to their (sometimes quite contradictory) interpretation in the more recent secondary literature, the author also provides a valuable summary of the current state of research and offers numerous suggestions for in-depth reading in areas where his book can inevitably only provide brief references. Crivellaro's "objective" approach, which for the most part dispenses with judgment, encourages the reader to think actively and form his or her own opinion. Biographical notes on the 15 most important composers of the North German School with an overview of their works and - particularly helpful - information on the instruments in their places of activity round off the presentation.

There are very few concrete interpretative notes in this book, as in Laukvik's work, or analytical information on important works, as provided by Beckmann; occasionally one would have been grateful for illustrative music examples for individual problems, if one does not have the corresponding editions of music close at hand when reading in order to be able to check the practical implementation. Here too, however, the bibliography provides valuable information on the state of publication up to 2010. Paolo Crivellaro's book thus offers a wealth of information for a stylistically appropriate examination of this repertoire, but also obliges the reader interested in this music to take a great deal of initiative in his further study of North German Baroque music. The doors to this are wide open thanks to this excellent book!

Paolo Crivellaro, The North German Organ School. Performance practice according to historical quotations - repertoire - instruments, 208 p., € 68.00, Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-89948-212-6

Although there are numerous masterpieces among them, only very few Polish art songs entered the world repertoire. In addition to prejudices, the lack of internationally successful singers and linguistic difficulties stood in the way of widespread dissemination. With its many sibilants and nasal sounds, the Polish language does not make it easy to attract performers who can be expected to have tongue-breaking skills as well as an understanding of a special, predominantly Slavic world of sound and expression.

All the more reason to be grateful to mezzo-soprano Bernadeta Sonnleitner, who trained at the Frédéric Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw and the Bern University of the Arts, and Polish pianist Jakub Tchorzewski for a CD packed with premiere recordings, which introduces us to representative samples of six important composers from Poland. The selection of Stanisław Moniuszko, who wrote around 300 songs and is regarded as the "Polish Schubert", may have been so delicate that he was ultimately omitted. In his place, Chopin leads the Romantics, whose last representative Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876-1909) stands out with consistently expressive songs from opus 3.

In the Three fragments (Jan Kasprowicz) op. 5 by Karol Szymanowski, the singer escalates into operatic pathos. Less vibrato would also have been better in Roman Palester's Vokalise Dreamscape by Andrzej Panufnik and in Lutosławski's crystal-clear Five songs based on poems by Kazimira Iłłakowicz would have been desirable. However, both performers fully exploit the emotional and spiritual content of the stylistically very different songs with audible commitment. In addition to the original Polish text, the booklet contains translations into English and Italian.

Polish Music - Songs. Chopin, Karłowicz, Szymanowski, Palester, Lutosławski, Panufnik. Bernadeta Sonnleitner, mezzo-soprano; Jakub Tchorzewski, piano. Acte Préalable APO 337

Born in 1963, Marie Louise Werth studied piano and organ at the Zurich Conservatory. She won the national Concours Eurovision de la Chanson with the group Furbaz in 1989. She began a solo career in 1992. Since the comeback of the Furbaz in 2004, she has performed an annual Christmas tour exclusively with the group.

In 2014, after 25 years, she once again won the Prix Walo as "Audience Favorite for Extraordinary Achievements in 2013". Marie Louise Werth was a member of the Suisa Distribution and Works Commission from 1993 to 2015.

Born in 1979, Zeno Gabaglio studied philosophy and holds a diploma in
in cello and a master's degree in improvisation. He has composed the soundtracks to around 20 European films, which have won awards at major international festivals. He has also created music for the theater on numerous occasions. In the course of his career, he has worked with musicians such as Bugge Wesseltoft, Michel Godard, Villi Hermann, Frankie Hi NRG, Teho Teardo, Vinko Globokar, Peter Kernel and René Burri.

Zeno Gabaglio has always been active as a critic and promoter of new music in Italian-speaking Switzerland. He is also a member of the jury for the Swiss Music Prize and the cantonal sub-commission for music.

The Demotape Clinic is the most established competition for up-and-coming Swiss musicians. For the 17th edition, newcomers from all over Switzerland submitted 681 songs from the pop, rock, urban and electronic categories. A jury listened to all the songs and presented the best ones on March 27 and 28, 2015 at m4music, the Migros Culture Percentage pop music festival. Industry professionals commented on the tracks in front of the festival audience and gave the bands valuable tips.

The most exciting demos, including the winners of the Fondation Suisa Awards, are brought together on a compilation for the tenth time: The Best of Demotape Clinic 2015. m4music festival director Philipp Schnyder from Wartensee is delighted with the CD: "I am convinced that we have once again tracked down a number of talents this year who will be making a name for themselves in the future. At the same time, the compilation shows how diverse and active the Swiss pop music scene is."

With Manoirthe first track on the compilation, FlexFab won in the Electronic category as well as the main prize "Demo of the Year 2015". After a few gigs in Belgium, the 25-year-old from Neuchâtel will be playing at this year's Paléo Festival in Nyon. The Chikitas from Geneva, who also hail from French-speaking Switzerland, won the prize in the Rock category and are currently working on their new album in Los Angeles. The winner in the pop category, Don't Kill the Beast, is no stranger to the Swiss music scene: the bassist of Basel band Sheila She Loves You has worked on his solo project in Paris with musician Marcello Giuliani, who has also produced for well-known artists such as The Young Gods and Sophie Hunger. In contrast to this are the comparatively young musicians of the band Pedestrians from Baden: All around twenty years old, the band from Aargau won in the Urban category, their second award after the bandXaargau competition.

Under www.m4music.ch/de/demotape-clinic the compilation can be listened to as a stream. It will also be released as a CD in a limited edition of 4,500 copies, which will be sent to the most important decision-makers in the Swiss music scene. The CD will not go on sale, but can be ordered online free of charge (while stocks last).

The next edition of m4music will take place from April 14 to 16, 2016 in Zurich and Lausanne.

Authors, institutions and editors of musicological publications will be able to "publish books and essays quickly and transparently", writes Schott Music.

All texts published on the "Schott Campus" platform are open access, i.e. freely accessible. At the same time, the publisher will offer books for sale throughout the German and international book market as paperbacks, hardbacks and e-books, as well as making them available to libraries. Schott Music uses the distribution and technology infrastructure of the publishing service provider tredition for the platform.

Each publication undergoes a multi-stage quality assurance process that has been developed together with GfM. At the launch of the platform, Schott Music is offering selected texts from its program. GfM, which has supported Schott Music in setting up the platform, is planning to publish its own series of publications via Schott Campus

According to Peter Hanser-Strecker, publisher and Chairman of the Management Board of Schott Music, the offer is intended to enable "a contemporary form of publishing" and guarantee a "high degree of independence with the usual high publishing quality".

More info: www.schott-campus.com

A specially formed Glarus youth band and singers will perform their skills on various occasions, for example at the Cortile San Damaso and in St. Peter's Basilica. The musical coordinators are Hermann Mathis, who has already built an organ for the Sistine Chapel with his Näfels-based company, and Lorenz Stöckli, conductor of the regional Young Winds.

The Glarus cantonal council has approved the concept for organizing the event and approved a budget of 180,000 francs. In addition to the music, it includes other activities such as two aperitifs for hundreds of people, which will be organized by Glarus restaurateur Claudio Keller in collaboration with his Zurich colleague Daniel Pesaresi. The cantonal government would like to make it possible for the people of Glarus to take part in the event. A public invitation to tender will be issued shortly via the official gazette and the Internet.

The panels are not immediately obvious. Visitors are initially overwhelmed by the baroque splendour of this church interior, which has been resplendent in the brightest colors since the renovation was completed. As you walk around, you will find it on a wall in the left aisle. It usually depicts St. Fintan, who lived as a monk in the Rheinau monastery in the 9th century, accompanied by texts such as this: "Mr. Conrad Götz von Reinach, officer in the French prince's army, fell over the mountain with his horse on 18 December 1793 near Volken-Bach; however, he and his horse were miraculously preserved unharmed by St. Fintan."

These votive tablets, with which believing Christians in earlier times gave thanks for salvation from an emergency situation, led to one of the three basic ideas from which the composer Ulrich Gasser, who lives in Rheinau, created his oratorio Exvoto - a Magnificat builds on. The second basic idea - as the title suggests - is based on Mary's hymn of praise. Gasser wrote his composition for the reopening of the renovated former Rheinau monastery church written. And this is dedicated to Mary, as you can easily see from the numerous depictions of Mary in the church interior. The third element is the rosary. This form of prayer, which has largely disappeared nowadays but is still practiced in Rheinau, is a kind of meditation that looks at the life of Christ from the perspective of his mother Mary. The fact that the Protestant Ulrich Gasser takes up such Catholic themes in his oratorio with veneration of the saints and the Virgin Mary may come as something of a surprise. The texts by Gasser's wife Eva Tobler, who enriches the traditional prayers here and there with updated paraphrases, provide a counterpoint from the perspective of the Reformation.

Sound period

The musical concept of the oratorio is also inextricably linked to the spatial conditions of the monastery church. The world premiere under the overall direction of Peter Siegwart demonstrated this aspect in an impressive way. Participants included the Vokalensemble Zürich conducted by Siegwart, the Bach Choir Konstanz (conductor: Claus G. Biegert), the Cäcilienchor Rheinau (conductor: Gesuè Barbera), the Brass-Band-Posaunenchor Marthalen (conductor: Daniel Jenzer) as well as a string trio, a horn, a glockenspiel, a harp and three organs. The large organ at the back of the gallery and the choir organ at the front not only set the scene, but also set themselves apart from the tempered wind instruments and choirs with their mid-range tuning. Sophisticated spatial effects were created in particular by the Vokalensemble Zürich, which could be heard alternately in front of the high altar, in front of the choir screen, in the nave, in the side galleries or in the organ loft. The string trio and individual musicians from the brass band also took up different positions. The spatial design clearly illustrated the different textual and formal parts of the oratorio.

In his work, Ulrich Gasser, as he himself says, spreads out a "period of sound" that the listener must fill in themselves. His music flows along at a leisurely pace, often repeats itself, has a static character, offers a flat tension curve and thus invites meditation. Again and again, beautiful major chords can be heard, reminiscent of the halo of Mary on one of the altarpieces. However, the familiar sounds are also contrasted with alienated ones, created by various "modes" such as pentatonics or twelve-tone rows. The melodious sound is also disturbed by the superimposed moods. In this way, Gasser's harmonies reflect precisely the double figure of Mary, which also appears in the texts of the work: she is both a tangible and yet infinitely remote apparition.

According to the canton's press release, the Culture Department, together with the Aargau Board of Trustees, will tackle the task in the coming weeks. The cultural players and stakeholders in the canton will be involved "in an appropriate form". With the support of external experts, the cultural concept is to be submitted to the cantonal government for approval by December 2016 and brought to the attention of the Grand Council in spring 2017. The canton has had its own cultural law since 2010.

The current practice is to be reviewed "against the backdrop of social changes, such as in the area of digitalization and demographic developments, but also in view of the canton's financial situation". The objectives and fields of action for the years 2017 to 2022 are to be "aligned in such a way that resources can continue to be used in a sustainable and impact-oriented manner", the canton writes further.

All used and identifiable works are distributed, depending on the click rate. The contract between Suisa and YouTube is currently in its second year. The contract directly licenses usage in 43 countries, as Suisa Director General Andreas Wegelin writes in the company's blog.

The challenge in processing the usage reports from YouTube is not only the enormous amount of data, but also the data quality, especially of the "user-generated content", Wegelin continues. Videos from private users would hardly contain any information on the material used.

For the billing period of 15 months, Suisa processed usage reports from YouTube with around 3.2 million different videos that were viewed a total of 1.7 billion times. Of these, 590.2 million views relate to the repertoire that is billed by Suisa.

The distribution amount per click for the billed period is CHF 0.0008. In comparison, Suisa can distribute an average amount of CHF 0.0018 per stream in the second distribution of Spotify revenues, which is also taking place now, i.e. more than twice as much.

Jossi Wieler is an artist who has been closely associated with the state through his work for many years, said State Secretary Jürgen Walter, Chairman of the Foundation Council, explaining the decision.

Wieler succeeded in uniting the social and the psychological in his work. He is also exemplary in his way of working and his enlightened humanism. Wieler, born in Kreuzlingen in 1951, has been artistic director of the Stuttgart State Opera since 2011.

Established in 2002, the Baden-Württemberg Cultural Prize Foundation of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken and the Baden-Württemberg Foundation awards the Cultural Prize every two years, alternating thematically. It is endowed with a total of 25,000 euros and is divided into a main prize and a sponsorship prize. The latter goes to the Zeitraumexit association from Mannheim.