Lachenmann, Schönberg, Saariaho

Participants

Ensemble Particles - Ensemble for contemporary music of the College of Music Freiburg
Studio for Electronic Music
Helmut Lachenmann → Speaker
Ayano Shigematsu → Solo violin
Friederike Scheunchen → Conductor

Program

Helmut Lachenmann → "... two feelings...", music with Leonardo for narrator and ensemble
Helmut Lachenmann → Toccatina, study for violin solo
Arnold Schönberg → Chamber Symphony No. 1 in E major op. 9 for 15 solo instrumentalists
Kaija Saariaho → Lichtbogen for ensemble and live electronics

Concert with Helmut Lachenmann

The "Ensemble Particles" from the College of Music Freiburg will perform contemporary pieces by Helmut Lachenmann, Arnold Schönberg and Kaija Saariaho on May 18, 2024. Helmut Lachenmann, one of the most influential composers of the 20th century, will be taking part. In one of his pieces, he himself acts as narrator.

Students of the contemporary music ensemble "Ensemble Particles" from the College of Music in Freiburg will perform a concert evening on May 18, 2024. It will begin with the two pieces "... zwei Gefühle..., Musik mit Leonardo" for speaker and ensemble and "Toccatina, Studie für Violine allein" by Helmut Lachenmann. It is a great honour to have him as a guest, says conductor Friederike Scheunchen, who directs the ensemble and organized the concert: "He is one of the most important and influential contemporary composers who has fundamentally changed our listening habits and the way we think about music, thinking beyond conventions." Born in Stuttgart in 1935, the composer has taught at music academies in Basel, Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg, Hanover and Stuttgart and has been awarded many prizes, including the Federal Cross of Merit and the "German Music Authors' Prize in the Lifetime Achievement category". Helmut Lachenmann has had a decisive influence on the last decades of music history and is a pioneer of the avant-garde. The special thing about his music is that "he has created an immense and incredibly detailed repertoire of sounds for instruments. These playing techniques are now an integral part of new music," explains Friederike Scheunchen.

Music by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho inspired by the Northern Lights

Ensemble Particles will also be playing Arnold Schönberg's "Chamber Symphony No. 1 in E major (op. 9) for 15 solo instrumentalists" - a groundbreaking and pioneering work of classical modernism, says Friederike Scheunchen. "Tonality is on the verge of exploding in this highly virtuoso work and the famous fourth motif, which is used repeatedly, is often referred to today as the 'fanfare of modernism' and is indicative of the transition to a new musical epoch, modernism." The final piece is Kaija Saariaho's "Lichtbogen für Ensemble und Live-Elektronik". The Finnish composer, who studied with Prof. Klaus Huber at the College of Music in Freiburg in the 1980s and died in 2023, was inspired by the Northern Lights. Through the many tonal colors and subtle nuances, she manages to create these breathtaking images before the inner eye and ear.

In addition to the concert, Helmut Lachenmann will conduct a public rehearsal of his piece "Toccatina" for solo violin with violinist Ayano Shigematsu on May 16, 2024 at 12 noon (Wolfgang Hoffmann Hall, admission is free). And on May 18, 2024, a talk by Helmut Lachenmann with Alessandra Riudalbas will take place before the concert at 5 p.m. in the Wolfgang Hoffmann Hall (admission is free).

Photo: Klaus Rudolph, license CC-BY-SA-4.0, edited.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lachenmann.jpg