He did not want to write a biography. However, Peter Lukas Graf was prepared to exchange questions and answers with the Japanese publisher Kan Saito during each of the 52 weeks of the year - in the form of an e-mail correspondence. The result is a clearly structured volume on 52 topics related to his instrument. The relaxed and personal commentary style proves its worth both in the advice from the wealth of experience of the flutist, who has been active for over seventy years, and in the comments on conducting, the counter-subject which, as he somewhat bashfully notes, was able to boost his self-confidence. But for him, playing and conducting were "virtually opposing professions ... playing the flute is therefore no help for conducting".

Personal encounters and unexpected events are conveyed in the most concise formulation - without larmoyance, but often spiced with light self-irony - and offer an insight into sensitivities that could influence the course of solo performances. The anecdotal and the technical are combined in a sympathetic way.

Peter Lukas Graf: Backstage - About music, the flute and life, 72 p., € 12.50, Schott, Mainz 2020, ISBN 978-3-7957-2155-8

The fact that the two cousins were given the same first name Jan Anton by their parents was not a good idea in hindsight: both showed a talent for music and especially for composition, which was bound to lead to confusion. Born nine years later, he decided as a young man to take the name Leopold. The two Kozeluch brothers were among the most renowned Bohemian composers in the second half of the 18th century and beyond. After his apprenticeship at home, Jan Anton continued his training in Vienna with Gassmann, Gluck and Hasse and later made a name for himself in Prague, particularly as a composer of sacred vocal works.

Leopold - after studying with his cousin and Duschek - also perfected his talent in Vienna, where he was probably taught by Albrechtsberger. He soon enjoyed resounding success as a piano virtuoso, music teacher and composer. He ignored the offer to become Mozart's successor as court organist in Salzburg. In 1792, he became "Kammer Kapellmeister und Hofmusik Compositor" at the imperial court in Vienna, a position he held until his death in 1818. It is known that he made disparaging remarks about Haydn, and it is also known that he was heavily criticized by Mozart and Beethoven. Despite these personal animosities, which are rather amusing today, it is undisputed that he had a decisive influence on the style of Viennese Classicism. However, large parts of his huge oeuvre have yet to be rediscovered.

The CD combines a bassoon and an oboe concerto by Jan Anton and a symphony by Leopold Kozeluch as well as a world premiere recording of another bassoon concerto, which is attributed to both Leopold and his cousin (although the confusion surrounding the names is also reflected on the cover). The two bassoon concertos, which are quite different, are attractive works in which the soloist Sergio Azzolini can demonstrate all facets of his ability on an original instrument from around 1794: expressive musical speech, cantabile melodic arcs and technical brilliance. The same can also be said of the oboe concerto in F major with the outstanding soloist Giovanni De Angeli. Leopold Kozeluch's three-movement G minor Symphony, composed around 1787, is, like the better-known works in this key by Mozart, Haydn or Vanhal, a highly expressive, dramatic piece with bold harmonies and exciting dynamic contrasts, which was immediately played throughout Europe.

It is to the credit of the Camerata Rousseau and its conductor Leonardo Muzii to present these four works, which were recorded in 2016, in the best possible light on a new CD. The orchestra plays with commitment, beauty of sound, differentiation and precision. Its name refers to the famous Genevan philosopher, poet and composer and recalls that musicians from the Early Music Department of the Geneva Conservatoire founded it to perform 18th and 19th century compositions in the proper style. It has since moved to Basel, and graduates of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis also take part. Karl Böhmer's well-founded booklet text, which contains everything worth knowing about the two composers and their works, deserves special mention.

Jan Anton Kozeluch (1738-1814) and Leopold Kozeluch (1747-1818): Concertos and Symphony. Sergio Azzolini, bassoon; Giovanni De Angeli, oboe; Camerata Rousseau on period instruments; conductor Leonardo Muzii. Sony classical 19439788202

The music collection includes Toggenburg house organs, neck zithers and other instruments as well as numerous handwritten music manuscripts. They bear witness to Toggenburg domestic music and domestic culture in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 20th century, Albert Edelmann (1886-1963), a teacher, painter and promoter of local folk and cultural heritage who worked at the Dicken Comprehensive School in Ebnat, partially rediscovered, promoted and passed on this cultural heritage. However, the instruments can not only be viewed in the exhibition rooms of the Museum Ackerhus.

According to the canton's press release, the protection was preceded by an assessment by the cultural heritage department at the Office of Culture and an advisory board. They classified the "Music" collection and the "Toggenburg Furniture Painting" collection as cultural heritage of the canton.

More info:
https://www.sg.ch/news/sgch_allgemein/2021/08/ackerhus-mit-kulturerbe-label-ausgezeichnet.html

On the one hand, it was about fascinating pioneering achievements and exciting life stories of female musicians, but on the other hand it was also about aspects of oppression, challenge, equal rights and equal opportunities for women in music. All the speakers were concerned with dignity, dialog and respect in the artistic and professional collaboration of musicians of all genders.

Eva Weissweiler gave the keynote speech at the start of the congress with her "Review of a pioneer". Numerous musicological publications and books on women composers, the founding of the working group "Women and Music" and the organization of many festivals and concert series are at the heart of Eva Weissweiler's CV. It is probably exemplary for the artistic and political work of women of her generation, and shows the tireless, internationally networked commitment to the self-evident fact that women are actively involved in the contemporary and classical music scene. In an uncompromising manner, she described the difficult conditions for female musicians, composers and musicologists in the German and European public sphere in the early 1970s: "... that at times I got the reputation of a witch and was no longer greeted by my doctoral supervisor on the street because he was ashamed to have nourished such an adder on his non-existent bosom." Today's conditions are no longer comparable with the hostility towards women of the male generation of that time, and yet Weissweiler proved with impressive statistics that there is still a great deal to be done at all levels: "I can therefore only conclude with an urgent appeal: Let us not only research, but also demand! Let's make our issue a political one! I don't dare to believe it, but it would be a dream come true if one day only a third of all Swiss and German female musicians stopped playing, singing, teaching or conducting for just one week. Because then the rest of humanity would finally realize: without us, it will be quiet, damn quiet!"

In the following lecture, pianist Kathrin Schmidlin portrayed two important female composers of the early 20th century: Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) and Vítězslava Kaprálová (1915-1940). Both composers managed to find their own unmistakable musical language under difficult circumstances: Boulanger - influenced by her French surroundings - with a deep, poetic intensity of timbre, Kaprálová - a student of Martinů - with expressive conciseness in rhythm. Schmidlin drew from the full in her varied performance, not least with examples from her recently published, highly acclaimed CD publication Women's voices (with Anna Fortova, violoncello, released on the Claves label, Review), and awakened the audience's desire for further exploration of both composers and their environment.

Sabine Kemna, speaking from Kassel, presented the history and philosophy of Furore-Verlag after the lunch break: It has been publishing works by female composers since it was founded in 1986 and has now published an impressive number of over 2000 compositions. A truly pioneering achievement, which earned founder Renate Mathei the German Federal Cross of Merit in 2012.

The crisp short film Woman & Piano by Austrian Sebastian Leitner (SLfilm) gave rise to a lively and controversial discussion about images of women in music. To what extent are clichés permissible or useful? What significance do clothing and styling have for women (and men) on stage? What expectations does which audience have? How to deal with sexist reactions?

The discussion led seamlessly into the second keynote speech "Hammer, high heels and calculation" by Esther Flückiger. The pianist and composer, who is also one of Switzerland's leading creators of electronic music, took the audience on a 200-year journey through the history, background and challenges of female pianists on the world's concert stages using numerous videos. Beginning with questions of Biedermeier decorum, Flückiger followed "the path to freedom" through to today's bold and uncompromising female classical piano stars. The portraits of jazz pioneers such as Dorothy Donegan, Carla Bley, Aki Takase and Myra Melford must have been particularly new to many in the audience. Based on her work as a composer and performer and as a co-founder of two women's organizations (Frauenmusikforum Schweiz, 1984, now ForumMusikDiversität and Suonodonne Italia, 1994, Rome), Flückiger offered insights into her wealth of experience in terms of "being a woman" and "being a man" at the piano - politically, artistically and in publishing. The lecture was a passionate homage to piano playing.

The EPTA conference, which was originally planned to take place on the premises of the Baar Music School, had to be held online at short notice. This made it possible to welcome guests from all corners of Switzerland and also from neighboring countries. The discussions following all the presentations were therefore particularly enjoyable and productive. The congress day was framed by beautiful video contributions from two young music students (Sophie Hohl, Brugg Music School; Pauline Schielke, Baar Music School) on the piano. Finally, the traditional, thematically free "Members' Podium" took place. Pianist Annamaria Savona dedicated it to a pedagogical topic: she gave insights into the "Song leading" research program of the Swiss National Science Foundation, in which the use of the piano in school lessons is being scientifically investigated. Using video sequences from teaching situations, she demonstrated the practical and pedagogical challenges of using instruments and digital media to rehearse new songs with children and young people.

The effects of the coronavirus pandemic on cultural activities are lasting, the canton writes in its press release. Cultural events can take place again. However, the implementation conditions are still unstable. Event organizers are planning cautiously and are also facing the challenge of making up for a large number of cancelled and postponed events. There is little scope for implementing new cultural projects. For this reason, the Canton of Berne's cultural promotion program is extending the "Continuer - Contributions for Cultural Creators to Development and Consolidation" funding accent launched in spring.

This funding accent is intended to enable artists (organized individually or as a collective or group) with contributions of up to CHF 10,000 or, in the case of collectives, up to CHF 15,000 to deepen their artistic questions and further develop their working methods and orientation - in general or in relation to the consequences of the pandemic. So far, 47 "Continuer" grants have been awarded to artists or collectives in the fields of music, dance, theater, visual arts and literature.

More info:
https://www.erz.be.ch/erz/de/index/kultur/kulturfoerderung/kulturschaffende/kommission_fuer_allgemeinekulturellefragen/Foerderakzent_2021_Continuer.html

The Valiant Forum Competition of the Murten Classics Festival was once again held this year as a soloist competition for young horn players. The 24-year-old Spaniard Pere Andreu Gomez and Maxime Lambert from Switzerland, who is the same age, played at the prizewinners' concert. Both study in Fribourg. The third, Matthijs Heugen (20 years old), studies in Salzburg. They played the horn concertos KV 417, 447 and 495 by Mozart.

At the subsequent award ceremony, Maxime Lambert was awarded first prize, a soloist concert at the Murten Classics 2022 festival and prize money of 2500 francs. The jury awarded Matthijs Heugen second place and prize money of CHF 1,800 and Pere Andreu Gomez third place and prize money of CHF 1,200.

Every festival has its identity-forming halls and buildings. Bayreuth has the Festspielhaus, Salzburg the Felsenreitschule, Lucerne the KKL. And the Forum Valais has the unique Leuk Castle.

The former summer residence of the bishops of Sion from the late Middle Ages, situated high above the valley at the entrance to the village and surrounded by vineyards, was gently renovated architecturally by Mario Botta and has been managed by the Leuk Castle Foundation since 1996, which has established a cultural center with international appeal here. This spectacular building also hosts the Forum Valais. The three-day festival usually takes place at Whitsun, but this time in August due to the pandemic. The main concert hall is a ground-floor room, in the raw brickwork of which the discreetly lit traces of the false floors and the mighty fireplace are still visible overhead. The acoustically excellent sound space extends up to the roof, and a glass façade on the entrance side makes you forget that you are surrounded by meter-thick walls. This unique ambience alone makes a concert visit something special.

The Valais Section of the International Society for New Music (IGNM-VS) organizes the festival, the programmer is its chairman Javier Hagen from Brig, who is also the IGNM Switzerland presides over the festival. Two dozen institutions, from Loterie Romande to regional sponsors, finance the festival. The festival's own income comes from donations and admission is free. "The IGNM-VS," says the organizers, "expressly wants to guarantee access to contemporary music and culture free from economic constraints." The village of Leuk also benefits: it can profit from the indirect profitability.

In keeping with the venue, the concerts mainly present chamber music and solo pieces with and without electronics. There is no thematic focus. There is a relaxed, almost informal atmosphere and you quickly come into contact with the performers.

Anyone who thinks this is just a provincial meeting is mistaken. The people of Valais are known to be a lively bunch, and not just when it comes to football. Javier Hagen, a passionate cultural activist, plays the keyboard of his international connections with virtuosity. As a gifted networker, he can call on a host of excellent performers for his festival at any time. UMS'n JIP serves as a kind of passe-partout to the international circles of musicians and event organizers. The abbreviation is the trademark of the duo for voice and recorders, which Hagen, a trained singer and composer, forms together with Ulrike Mayer-Spohn. The organizers are obviously keen on the unusual line-up; the two perform around one hundred and forty times a year from Europe to the Far East.

The duo has now performed two large-scale works at the Forum Wallis. Under the title Playing with Morton it offered the minimalist Three Voices by Morton Feldman in a version for voice, recorders and playback. It maintained the tension in the meditative piece for over five quarters of an hour with unshakeable calm.

A second performance by the duo was the world premiere of a new work by Mathias Steinauer for voice/synthesizer, recorders and image projections: an eleven-part song cycle based on text fragments by the Chinese poet Du Fu from the eighth century. The title Simplicity - It is intended to refer to the absence of "false consideration, pretense and dishonesty" - is pure understatement. The content revolves around the major theme of transience and is reflected musically with haunting precision. The reduction to the essentials in terms of message and processing leaves a strong impression. The tonal level is visually counterpointed by the projection of images by John Lavery (1856-1941), who was active both as a fin-de-siècle society painter and as a documentarist during the First World War. A visual alienation effect that makes the subject matter appear in a completely different light.

Steinauer's turn to the last things found a continuation in the solo performance slow fire | by me of the one generation younger Lukas Huber. The term "opera" was, of course, an overstatement, but in his rejection of non-binding material experiments and common political slogans, and in the existential urgency with which he formulated his message of the nothingness of our existence, Huber undoubtedly struck a nerve with his simple performance. A chair, a small table, a small device for simple electronics and a naked light bulb that spread a dim light: these were the only props for his spoken and sung monologue, which was enriched with quotes from the ancient Greeks to contemporary writers. The visitors formed a semi-circle around the sparse scenery. The séance ended with a gentle missionary gesture - as a parting gift, each visitor was given a small tract with the key messages of the performance.

That was the way inwards. The world of the material outside came to the fore in a "Long Night of New Music". The Forum Wallis had launched a worldwide "Call for acousmatic works", jurors from four continents then selected the pieces from the submissions, which were now performed in a concert marathon. The sound direction was provided by young composers under the direction of Simone Conforti, who works at Ircam Paris and teaches at the Cuneo Conservatory. The aesthetic spectrum of the works was broad, but there were some underlying similarities, such as the sensual perception of sound and an individual, often playful approach to the possibilities of the computer as a technical medium.

The percussionist, who commutes between New York and Africa, also uses electronic means, but in combination with live instrumental playing Lukas Ligeti. On a kind of midi marimba, he unfolded a virtuoso performance in which the complex rhythmic structures of African musical practice were recognizable. The sounds are stored in the computer and come from the loudspeaker, whereby their character can be profoundly altered by nuances of touch.

Two improvisation concerts served as a contrast to the loudspeaker music. The trio Manuel Mengis (trumpet), Roberto Domeniconi (keyboard) and Lionel Friedli (percussion) ended the festival with a computer-based improvisation that moved between helpless, lost poking around in sound crumbs and anarchic wildness. A thunderstorm that had just begun provided the perfect counterpoint. The trio Urban Mäder (voice, sound objects), Hans-Peter Pfammatter (synthesizer) and Silke Strahl (saxophone) were more sedate: three individualities who are perfectly attuned to each other and can come together to create sensitively formed sound processes. The search movements in the creation of larger tension sequences are as logical as if they had been rehearsed.

This cultivated togetherness was preceded by an eruptive concert by the Hyper Duo from Biel with Gilles Grimaître on keyboard and Julien Mégroz on percussion instruments. In an hour-long tour de force, they played four works by four composers, each linked by short transitions, each in its own way with a virtuosity that turned the rhythmic interplay in particular into a high-wire act. It was pure precision and joy of playing, a breathtaking demonstration of musical manpower. And also a fine demonstration of the penetrating power of notated music when it is brought to life so passionately. Compared to this, the improvisation concerts seemed a bit old school.

The varied festival program began with a pick-me-up bearing the signature of the Ensemble Modern. The Oboist Christian Hommel had rehearsed works from Benjamin Britten to Rebecca Saunders with three members of the International Ensemble Modern Academy, once again demonstrating the high interpretative culture of this ensemble. He himself shone with the wild-sounding solo piece that mobilized all physical resources Unusual by Rolf Riem. The Korean violinist Jae A Shin performed Bernd Alois Zimmermann's eminently difficult early solo sonata, which was peppered with double stops, with great verve. With young talent like this, there is no need to worry about the future of music.

In the public consciousness, writes the society, Giacomo Meyerbeer has so far been remembered almost exclusively as a composer of grand opera. The fact that he also composed religious songs is virtually unknown and is only now being rediscovered. In his day, Meyerbeer was very well connected with the most important composers and intellectuals.

In the synagogues of the world, however, Giacomo Meyerbeer was an integral part of the service. His family also played an important role during Meyerbeer's lifetime. They set standards in terms of musical salon culture in historic Berlin, comparable to the Mendelssohn Bartholdy family, and were also an important cultural figure and patron of German-Jewish scientific and cultural history.

To this day, Meyerbeer's reputation suffers from anti-Jewish resentment. The patron of the society is the director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Dietmar Schwarz.

More info: meyerbeer-society.com

According to the city's press release, the project planning company and the city council decided to hold a two-stage anonymous project competition in accordance with SIA 142 after discussing various options. This will allow a wide range of good ideas for the New Lucerne Theatre to be evaluated in the first stage. In the second stage, ten to twelve of the most promising designs will be further specified.

This should result in an innovative, high-quality project. Patrick Gmür, an architect from Zurich who comes from the Lucerne region, has been appointed president of the jury. International, national and regional personalities with a high level of expertise are also involved. The jury of experts is appointed by the client. The aim here is to ensure that the voice of the users and clients is included in the process.

Original article:
https://www.stadtluzern.ch/beitraege/1323553

The team compared the genomes of Northeast Asian populations with digital data on their language (grammar rules, sounds, word lists) and their music (structure, style). The results indicate that grammar reflects population history better than any other cultural data.

The unique collaboration of genetics and geography with modern digital linguistics and musicology has brought them a small step closer to understanding human prehistory, explains team member Balthasar Bickel, Professor at the Institute of Comparative Linguistics at the University of Zurich. Further analysis is needed to understand the complex nature of cultural and genetic evolution. But the discovery of the significance of the grammatical factor is a first step in the right direction.

Original article:
https://www.media.uzh.ch/de/medienmitteilungen/2021/Grammatik.html

Anyone wishing to be admitted to the Tonhalle or Zurich Opera House must - if over 16 years of age - be vaccinated or have recovered from a Covid infection or be able to present a current test (PCR or rapid antigen test). According to a joint media release, both theaters are thus implementing the current political guidelines for major events with a capacity of over 1000 seats.

In addition, guests must wear a mask during their visit until further notice. This is intended to further increase protection against infection and meet the need for safety. However, social distancing in the auditorium will be avoided in future.

Andreas Homoki, Artistic Director of Opernhaus Zürich AG, and Ilona Schmiel, Artistic Director of the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft, support the decision. With the certificate and mask, maximum protection is guaranteed. Large-scale opera and concerts in a half-filled auditorium, on the other hand, would not be artistically or economically viable.

The submissions from the Swiss Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM Switzerland) included works by Sachie Kobayashi, Tobias Krebs, Fernando Garnero, David Philip Hefti, Fritz Hauser and Karin Wetzel. This makes Wetzel the fifth Swiss composer to present a composition at the ISCM World Music Days after Helena Winkelman (2015), Iris Szeghy (2016), Junghae Lee (2019) and Esther Flückiger (2020).

The full list of selected repertoire (from both official submissions from ISCM member organizations and independent submissions) can be found on the ISCM website:
https://iscm.org/news/works-chosen-for-the-2021-iscm-wnmd
 

The organizers of the ISCM World New Music Days 2021 in Shanghai and Nanning, China, announce that due to the ongoing threat of the pandemic around the world, the festival cannot take place in September 2021 as originally planned. The organizers hope to hold the festival at the end of March 2022. As things stand today, there would therefore be two rescheduled ISCM festivals in 2022: the 2021 festival in Shanghai and Nanning and the 2020 festival in Auckland and Christchurch in New Zealand.

The ISCM World New Music Days is the annual festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music, ISCM, which has been held since 1923 and has celebrated many music-historically significant (premiere) performances in the last 100 years of its existence: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internationale_Gesellschaft_für_Neue_Musik

The festival has been held six times in Switzerland: in 1926, 1929, 1957, 1970, 1991 and most recently in 2004.
 

Clarinettist Jonathan Leibovici is studying for a Master's degree in Performance with François Benda at the Basel University of Music. His fellow students Anna Gagane and Tomer Ornan (both in François Benda's class) received an "Honorary Mention". The first prize is endowed with 6000 euros. It also comes with an invitation to perform at the Crusell Music Festival.

The final of the competition took place in Uusikaupunki. In addition to Leibovici (Israel), Aron Chiesa (Italy, second prize) and Ann Lepage (France, third prize) performed in the New Church of Uusikaupunki.

The jury consisted of Yehuda Gilad (Colburn School of Music/ Thornton School of Music, USC, Chairman), Christoffer Sundqvist (Sibelius Academy/RSO), Tuulia Ylönen (Finnish National Opera), Shirley Brill (Saarbrücken HFM) and Olli Leppäniemi (Artistic Director of the Crusell Music Festival).

In April 2021, the responsible National Council committee proposed to its Council that the turnover threshold above which a non-profit, voluntary sports or cultural association or a charitable institution becomes liable for VAT be raised from the current CHF 150,000 to CHF 200,000. At the same time, it has invited the Federal Council to comment.

The Federal Council rejects the increase. Sports and cultural associations and non-profit institutions already benefit from a higher turnover limit of CHF 150,000 compared to other companies, which are subject to a turnover limit of CHF 100,000.

In addition, sports and cultural associations as well as charitable institutions have the option of settling VAT using flat rates, the Federal Council writes in its press release. This simplifies bookkeeping and VAT accounting considerably. An increase in the turnover limit to ease the administrative burden is therefore not necessary.

Original article:
https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-84669.html

Guillén came across the work thanks to a mention in a magazine that had appeared during Sarasate's lifetime. After further research, he was able to locate a copy of the piece. Finally, he persuaded the Barcelona-based music publisher Boileau to publish the work.

"Preludio" was composed in 1905 and is subtitled "Molta fantasia cadencioso", which suggests a free and virtuoso interpretation, which in turn is typical of Sarasate's compositional style.

More info:
https://www.boileau-music.com/en/works/preludio-b.4069

The work can be listened to here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WURQHjkvBs