Since 1957, one canton or one school board around Lake Constance has organized the IMTA. Over 2000 schoolchildren, students and teachers from kindergarten to university from all areas of the canton of Thurgau will showcase their artistic creations in the fields of design/art, music, sport/dance and language/theatre on Wednesday, May 14, from 9 am.

The OC expects around 5000 visitors from the entire Lake Constance region. The public is cordially invited to all performances.

Detailed information and program at: www.imta-bodensee.com

The Swiss sextet Hildegard Lernt Fliegen beat the Dutch trio Tin Men and the Telephone in the final in Munich. In addition to the award, they will receive prize money of 10,000 euros; second place is endowed with 5,000 euros.

Four scholarships from the Friedl Wald Foundation, each worth CHF 14,000, will go to HKB Jazz students this year. The recipients are Marena Whitcher (vocals), Michael Haudenschild (piano), Benjamin Muralt (electric bass) and Valentin von Fischer (double bass).

"Die Entführung aus dem Serail" can currently be seen at the Stadttheater Biel and the Rythalle Solothurn. At the Birgitta Festival on August 14, 2014, the TOBS singers and the choir of the Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn will present Mozart's masterpiece to Estonian audiences in the extraordinary atmosphere of the medieval Pirita Monastery in Tallinn.

TOBS will make another international guest appearance in the fall: As part of the Armel Opera Festival in Hungary, the opera "Figaro¿" by Christian Henking and Raphael Urweider, which premiered in Biel, will be performed at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music (Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem) in Budapest on October 10, 2014.

Bartolomeo Barbarino, whose exact life dates are not known, created sacred and secular vocal music at the transition from the 16th to the 17th century. The new edition of his motets published by Edition Walhall is an exceptional document of great interest to music history.

Barbarino was active both as a singer (he described his own voice as "hoarse and thin") and as a composer and was very fond of the innovations of recitar cantando, following Caccini.

In 1614 his Secondo libro delli motetti da cantarsi a una voce sola o in soprano o in tenore in Venice. In a dedication letter, Barbarino complains about singers who have "no experience in using the passages", and so he offers his monodies in two versions: simple and ornate. Each motet in the Secondo libro appears in two versions, worked out in detail by the composer himself. This special editorial feature gives us a concrete idea of how a melody was ornamented. Another special feature is the complete absence of any figuring of the basso continuo.
Barbarino always seeks an expressive interpretation of the text with his music, which he tries to express with the help of elements of figure theory, Lombard rhythms and chromatic movements in order to emphasize the pathos of particular words such as fear, misery, languishing or sweetness.

Although the collection was originally intended for soprano or tenor, mezzo-sopranos and baritones can rejoice: the monodies are all medium-range, without any notable top notes and are easy to sing even in the ornaments for a middle voice. However, if you want to follow the ornamented versions, you need a fairly familiar throat. The simple and ornamented versions are printed directly on top of each other so that you can jump between the two versions.

Bartolomeo Barbarino, Il secondo libro delli motetti, for soprano (mezzo) or tenor [c'-f''] & b. c., in two volumes edited by Jolando Scarpa; vol. 1, EW 891; vol. 2, EW 894; € 28.50 each, Edition Walhall, Magdeburg 2013

The 27 Bach transcriptions for classical guitar by Martin Hegel are a best-of collection with some of the old master's most famous melodies and pieces. This ranges from Air from the Suite No. 3 for orchestra up to the chorale prelude In dulci jubilo The focus is naturally on arrangements of movements for harpsichord (clavier) or other solo instruments. These include excerpts from the Goldberg Variations and the Well-tempered pianoas well as seven pieces from the music booklet for Anna Magdalena Bach. The cello suites and the sonatas and partitas for solo violin are also represented. The only pieces for lute or lute works are the catchy Bourrée in E minor from the first lute suite and the singular Prelude in D minor BWV 999 (originally in C minor) - both with remarkable fingerings.

Even the organ gets a chance: not only with the aforementioned chorale prelude suitable for the guitar, but also with the first three minutes of the mighty Toccata in D minor BWV 565, transposed to E minor. Transferring the numerous registers of the Queen of Instruments to the six strings of the guitar is a pretty bold undertaking in itself - especially with a piece whose original sound is so firmly anchored in the collective consciousness of music lovers that it is impossible to imagine playing or listening to it without it. But, according to the editor Martin Hegel, Bach's music "is so ingenious and clearly structured that it simply sounds good on any instrument".

Hegel's arrangements are lean, with plausible fingerings, almost no slurring and, in this respect, quite true to the style. Purists will be less interested in the booklet, but it has a lot to offer for unencumbered Bach fans who play the guitar. The edition is functional and carefully designed. A CD with recordings by the editor is available separately.

Bach for Guitar, 27 transcriptions for guitar arr. by Martin Hegel, ED 21601, € 14.99, Schott, Mainz 2013

The archive of Deutsche Grammophon (DG), which was taken over by Universal a long time ago, is inexhaustible. And these vast quantities of recordings seem to have survived the latest media change. Because now that the LP has been sidelined, the CD has its best days behind it and the DVD/Blu-ray generated only marginal shares in the music sector anyway, the synthetic, all-encompassing virtual formats are coming. And as with the CD, it is once again Beethoven's Ninth Symphony that is set to conquer the world of classical music as the measure of all things via app ...

At least that's how it seems once you've downloaded the "toy". There are four great recordings to choose from as a sounding history of interpretation: Fricsay (1958), Karajan (1963), Bernstein (1979, also as a video) and Gardiner (1992). You can zap back and forth, let a graphically animated action model of the orchestra flash, read along with the score (either a copyist's copy from 1825, the Bärenreiter edition that runs through without a page turner or a score generated from it).

So far so good, and after a phase of trial and error and some detailed studies, the app ends up in the corner after all. Why? For one thing, it is limited to a single work and is self-contained, does not allow you to make your own entries - and ultimately does not go into any depth. This is also due to the "story" told by David Owen Norris, both in terms of the background (graphically presented only as a "lead desert") and the explanations accompanying each bar of music, which oscillate between analysis and hermeneutics: "A moment of softness again: a look back ... and then head first ... before either going back to the starting line ... or on to the next exciting event." There is only room for one more saying: The layman is amazed, the expert is surprised.

Beethoven's 9th Symphony, App for iPad / iPhone (German version) by Touch Press LLP, Full Experience iPad Fr. 14.00; iPhone Fr. 6.00

Demo video

The chorale book was last shown at an exhibition at the Bach Festival in Weimar in 1964 and had been considered lost ever since. Herthum's chorale book contains works for keyboard instruments from the 18th century for cantorial use, including pieces by Georg Philipp Telemann.

During cataloging work at the Thuringian State Music Archive, a complete copy of the score of Bach's Christmas Oratorio was also discovered at the Weimar Academy of Music, which may be a manuscript previously only mentioned in old sales catalogs and which could come from the estate of the well-known Bach scholar Franz Hauser (1794-1870).
 

According to the team, the risk for musicians is 3.51 times higher than for the average person. Around three million reports were taken into account. Among those affected, 0.07 percent were professional musicians, a total of 2227 people.

It is the largest survey ever conducted on the subject. It makes it clear that the risks of musicians suffering from hearing loss or tinnitus are far higher than previously assumed.

Original article:
oem.bmj.com/content/early/2014/03/28/oemed-2014-102172.abstract?sid=71fe1a7f-873b-4abb-ab1c-a38473cc34b4

In view of the steady decline in income from recordings, the live business has become increasingly important for musicians. But no Swiss pop musician can make a living from concerts at home. Consequently, two panels at M4Music discussed whether Berlin could become a springboard for an international career.

Berlin has a pull effect, as Katja Lucker, Berlin's music commissioner, knows. The North German is also a newcomer. "Berlin is an incredibly diverse city where you can still live at prices that are okay," said Lucker in the introductory talk to the m4music panel Berlin - The new Swiss music capital?

Ueli Häfliger, Head of Music at FluxFM, explained that many years ago he had planned to become head of music at a Berlin radio station. "I emigrated for this dream." Even if that meant keeping his head above water with part-time jobs over a long period of time. And what did it take for him to realize his ambition? "A lot of drive," says the man from central Switzerland.

Tobias Jundt, singer of the Bonaparte collective, also praised the advantages of the German capital: "You can be internationally active in Berlin without ever leaving the city." But of course you have to make an effort to find your place in the metropolis. Jundt's method: he roamed Berlin in search of a place that appealed to him. No sooner said than done - and spontaneously rang the doorbell of his favorite house. And with success: the man from Bern was given a tenancy agreement.

Unlike Tobias Jundt, Eveline Fink, DJ and co-founder of Enough Music, is not yet able to make a living from her music business activities. "I was gripped by the lightness of the city," she enthuses, but also admits that at the beginning of her time in Berlin she had a lot of trouble with the harsh tone of the locals. "It's nice to know that Berlin can be pretty ugly," added Tobias Jundt.

Jazz musician Stefan Rusconi gave a very simple reason for his move to Berlin: "I didn't like it in Zurich anymore." That's why he now lives in the German capital, goes for walks a lot - for inspiration - and has set up his own studio. But not everyone finds it so - relatively - easy. Katja Lucker also emphasized: "Berlin is not least a stage for failure." Many come to the city, but only very few succeed.

New export strategies

Shortly before the internationally renowned music manager Tim Renner became State Secretary for Cultural Affairs in Berlin, he took part in several panel discussions on topics such as Export strategies for indie labels, artist management and DIY bands. As a representative of the jury that awarded the prize for label promotion by Migros Culture Percentage, Renner said: "A label should always have a clearly recognizable identity." In addition, the jury paid attention to whether a label's work reflected the change in the media and whether something like an export strategy was recognizable.

Oliver Jmfeld from YES Music, DJ Bobo's manager since 1989, talked about the beginnings of his company and how he and his client initially sailed under the British music flag. "Then as now, nobody waits for a band or a label from Switzerland." Ten years ago, DJ Bobo would have generated 70% of his turnover via sound carriers, but today this would only account for 10%. "The rest is made up of concert income, the DJ Bobo brand and ancillary business."

When asked by moderator Jean Zuber, Managing Director of Swiss Music Export, what young labels need to offer in order to assert themselves on the market, both Jmfeld and René Renner, Director of Metropolis Artist Management, said: "They need to have a lot of staying power."

The 18th M4Music will take place from March 26 to 28, 2015.

www.m4music.ch

The first part of the report on m4music by Markus Ganz was published in the Swiss Music Newspaper 5/2014, as well as his commentary on copyright law.

Very few friends of early music will have heard the title of the announced work: Fontana d'Israel - Israelis fountain. The work was written by the Leipzig Thomaskantor Johann Hermann Schein, who had it printed there in 1623. It is a collection of mainly five-part compositions for vocal ensemble and basso continuo. The texts are taken from the Old Testament, mainly from the Psalms, and formulate wisdom on life and death and the relationship between man and God in a language rich in imagery. Stylistically, the cycle moves between the madrigal and motet traditions.

Emotional interpretation

Gli Angeli Genève, under the direction of its founder Stephan MacLeod, blew the dust off the time-honored work. In Zurich's St. Peter's Church, the ensemble performed a brilliant interpretation of the - slightly abridged - cycle. MacLeod, who sang bass himself, formed a very expressive quintet together with the sopranos Dorothee Mields and Monika Mauch and the tenors Robert Getchell and Georg Poplutz, who were accompanied by the harpist Giovanna Pessi, the cellist Hager Hanana and the organist François Guerrier on his chest organ. All five singers are recognized specialists in early music and cultivated a straight but emotionally penetrating sound. The text arrangement was outstanding, capturing both the meaning and the mood of these biblical texts. Those who sow with tears will reap with joy is the third of the 26 pieces. The expressive chromatic lines in the "Tears" and the bouncing rhythms in the "Joys" made this content very clear. Gli Angeli Genève are truly not an anemic ensemble, their heartfelt interpretation, which also likes to operate with strong colors, aroused great enthusiasm among the audience.

Swiss groups

The Zurich festival, which ran from March 20 to 30, bore the fashionable title altemusic@ch. The CH only marginally referred to music by Swiss composers, but mainly to pre-classical music performed by Swiss or Swiss-based soloists and groups. However, as the organizers of the Forum Alte Musik Zürich wrote in their foreword, the aim was not to present "the" early music scene - twelve events would never be enough - but to showcase some interesting exponents of it. And they undoubtedly succeeded in doing so.

Under the direction of violinist Leila Schayegh, who studied baroque violin with Chiara Banchini, the baroque orchestra La Cetra from Basel performed string music from the 17th century. John Holloway, a Swiss by choice, presented music from the English Renaissance with his ensemble. The young ensemble Chant 1450 joined forces with oud player Mahmoud Turkmani in a program focusing on Spain. Early music from Zurich was presented during a walk through the city and at a concert in the Rigiblick Theater. A symposium led by Inga Mai Groote from the University of Zurich was also dedicated to musical life in the Old Swiss Confederacy.

A calm attitude

The Lugano-based Coro della Radiotelevisione Svizzera with its artistic director Diego Fasolis is a formation that also has a firm place in the Swiss early music scene. Unfortunately, he had to cancel his participation at short notice due to illness. At the last minute, so to speak, a replacement was found in Gianluca Capuano, who regularly works with the Coro and was able to take over the planned program unchanged. The a cappella concert in St. Peter's Church, which marked the end of the festival, was dedicated exclusively to the Renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. The program was linked to Fasolis' ambitious project to record all of Palestrina's masses on CD with his choir, based on the scholarly complete edition that is currently being produced.

The clearly structured program presented the Missa della Beata Vergine from the second book of mass compositions and inserted motets and ricercari between the individual movements. Whether the ricercari were really by Palestrina is doubtful. However, the pieces, which Capuano played on a chest organ, formed suitable intonations for the vocal works either way. The choir sang with seven female and nine male voices, with two men also taking part in the alto. Overall, the result was a very homogeneous sound with pure intonation and good blending of the voices. In the mass movements, the choir showed a relatively serene attitude and did not venture out onto the branches. In the motets, the singers paid more attention to the meaning of the text and thus produced some strong effects. In comparison with Gli Angeli Genève, however, the Coro della Radiotelevisione Svizzera did not achieve the same immediacy of expression.

The Fischermanns Orchestra is led by Thomas Reist and is one of the rare large formations in Central Switzerland. It has existed since 2007 and tours throughout Europe. According to its own description, the ensemble's music is "shaped by its musicians, who process their experiences from as far afield as South America and Africa and also experiment with contemporary forms of improvisation".

The prize was awarded by a jury of four experts headed by Hans-Peter Pfammatter, pianist and lecturer at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. 

The Lucerne Jazz School Association (VJSL) established the Lucerne Jazz Prize in 2012 to mark its 40th anniversary. It honours an innovative and creative project, an organization, a label, a band or an individual musician with a connection to the Lucerne region.

The forum "Perspectives on musical learning and teaching in old age" on March 29 in Bern was the kick-off event for the CAS "Musical Learning in Old Age" offered at the HKB, which will enter its second round in fall 2014. In terms of the density of the information provided, this crash course itself had a high continuing education value.

According to recent research, neuronal plasticity continues into old age. This can now be proven beyond doubt using brain scanners. The long-held prejudice that older people can no longer learn anything new has therefore been permanently invalidated. This is especially true when it comes to learning an instrument. Demand in the 50-plus teaching segment is increasing and demographic data suggests that this is likely to be a growth market - reason enough to take a closer look at it scientifically.

It's never too late

"Lifelong learning is possible", emphasized the two hosts Regula Stibi, Head of the Continuing Education Department at the HKB, and Corinne Holtz, Head of the CAS "Musical Learning in Old Age" course. They welcomed an interested and committed group of participants and four guests.

Eckhart Altenmüller, Professor of Music Physiology at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, explained the effect of music on the brain and demonstrated this with images of scanned brains. When a person begins to make music, previously unconnected regions of the brain soon become rewired and the nerve cords expand.

Stimulation of the auditory center during musical activities has been shown to have positive effects on emotional and social competence, language acquisition and cognitive processes. This also applies to older and very old people. In addition, regular music-making is said to have a healing or preventative effect: Among other things, making music makes it possible to build up a "cognitive reserve", which can significantly postpone any dementia. Although the brain shrinks with age, it retains the ability to adapt through new networks, compensate for lost abilities and find new strategies. This is particularly important in complex professions such as teachers, therapists, musicians and doctors.

Unconventional old people - open lessons

Reinhild Spiekermann, Professor of General Instrumental Pedagogy, Piano Didactics/Methodology at the Detmold University of Music, is regarded as the first port of call for music geragogy, music pedagogy for older people. The speaker described the "biographical determinants" of older learners as central. The motivation to opt for music lessons varies greatly from person to person. Some have had bad experiences with learning processes, have experienced successes, failures, biographical breaks and setbacks and usually compare the new experiences with previous ones. This retrospective system influences learning patterns and self-assessment. Here, the teacher needs to build on the learner's life-historical experiences in a dialogical form. Enabling didactics is required and not educational didactics.

Physical limitations of vision, hearing and motor skills must of course be taken into account. Memory performance must also be taken into account. The elderly often learn in a roundabout way, can be stubborn and do not like to be taught. Few but clear instructions are better than too much at once. New material should be introduced carefully. Clear lesson sequences, ergonomic aids and suitable, possibly simplified literature are an advantage. The topic of "progress" must be approached in a differentiated way. Spiekermann recommends working on several pieces of a similar level of difficulty one after the other. "This often brings enough movement into learning. Progress is achieved by working on details rather than by increasing the level of difficulty".

Lack of scientific offerings

Hanspeter Schenk, principal of the Oberemmental music school, took his place on the podium at the final round. He reported an increasing interest in instrumental and singing lessons in the 50-plus segment at his school. Schenk also sees adult lessons as an opportunity for teachers with decreasing workloads. They can compensate for reduced workloads and use more mornings for lessons.

Corinne Holtz misses pedagogical and didactic concepts for the area of music and ageing in Switzerland. There is still no institutionalized scientific knowledge transfer on the subject in Switzerland. In addition to the CAS, other projects on the subject of music and old age are also underway at the HKB. As part of the "Musikpanorama" program (www.musikpanorama.ch), a workshop with Corinne Holtz entitled "Learning the double bass at 58" took place at the end of April. The university is also involved in a research project on "Learning and teaching strategies in 50plus instrumental lessons" in cooperation with the Bern University of Applied Sciences Business, Health and Social Work. Three groups, 50plus, very old people and teachers, are being interviewed on various points. This project will run until summer 2015 and will be followed by an online platform with guidelines on the topic. This would be the first tool of its kind in the world.

The roots of the shakuhachi are unknown The instrument originated in China and, according to legend, came to Japan in the 13th or 14th century, where it was initially played by loosely organized mendicant monks. After the turmoil of the civil wars at the end of the 16th century, these monks formed an order that traces its origins back to the Chinese Zen master Fuke and whose emblem became the shakuhachi. Subsequently, however, a singular development occurred in that the Fuke monks devoted themselves intensively to the instrument and created a unique form of meditative practice centered on breath and sound.

Truly absolute music

As the breath is of central importance in meditation exercises, playing the shakuhachi serves to direct and control the breath. The music is played in this spirit. This practice resulted in very complex music, but it was considered a "spiritual exercise in tones". This is why it was not played in concerts and outsiders may never have heard the pieces ("honkyoku" - the "actual music").

What emerged in this seclusion from society was a very peculiar music, which was based on Japanese scales, rhythms and forms, but which seemed strangely transformed and taken to extremes: a music that was committed only to the breath and the rich tonal possibilities of the instrument and which had no regard for the tastes of an audience that did not exist anyway - in other words, a truly absolute music.

The differences between the countries of Asia and the West are emphasized time and again, and of course they also manifest themselves in the music. But as different as the conditions under which music is created may be, and as different and strange as the compositions may turn out to be - honkyoku can stand for themselves, and it can only be an enrichment for any musician who is serious about his profession to leave the beaten track and venture into new territory. When he looks back, his view will be new and fresh.

Shakuhachi in Europe and Switzerland

More than thirty years ago, Andreas Gutzwiller was the first to bring the tradition of the bamboo flute shakuhachi from Japan to Europe and began teaching at the Institute for Non-European Music at the Basel Academy of Music. It is thanks to his initiative that five of his students in Basel, Zurich and Lucerne are now continuing this work. Eight years ago, the association Chikuyusha.ch Shakuhachi Society Switzerland (chikuyusha.ch) was founded to bring together the various traditions of playing this instrument (Geneva has been added as a teaching location), to stimulate contacts between players and to offer courses that complement the instrumental lessons and promote interaction with the stringed instruments shamisen and koto. This offers a concrete opportunity not only to read about Japanese music and, if necessary, to listen to it, but also to pick up an instrument and get to know it.

The public tour of the Music Island on Saturday, May 24, 2014, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., marks the completion of a project that the Canton of Zurich has been pursuing for a long time. 13 years after the psychiatric center moved out, life is returning to the former monastery.

However, the new use of the Rheinau monastery island does not end with the inauguration of the music island. In addition to the music center, there are also plans for a home economics school, a restaurant and a museum.

With its 63 hotel rooms and 16 rehearsal rooms, Musikinsel now offers both professional musicians and music lovers a place to retreat and practice.
 

According to the University of Zurich, Schläfli "served as conductor of the Academic Orchestra for over three decades, enriching the everyday life of the university with unforgettable musical performances at a high level".

Johannes Schlaefli began his career as artistic director of the chamber orchestra Serenata Basel, now the Basel Chamber Orchestra (1984-1999) and was subsequently also chief conductor of the Bern Chamber Orchestra (1995-2012). He has been chief conductor of the Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester Mannheim since the 2013/14 season.

He has been a visiting professor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, at Rice University Houston, at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and at the Hanns Eisler University Berlin, and gives courses as part of the German Conductors' Forum. The center of his teaching activities is the conducting class at the Zurich University of the Arts.

On April 26, the University of Zurich held its annual graduation ceremony for the 181st time. Nine people were awarded honorary doctorates - including Penny Boyes Braem, the founder of sign language research in Switzerland, the economist Anat Admati and the zoo curator and conservationist René E. Honegger.