Concert NAMES (AT)

28 Nov 2024

19:00

Solitär | Mozarteum University

Concert NAMES (AT)

Barbara Zach – Control
This composition is inspired by Ophiocordyceps unilateralis Petch, a parasitic fungus known for taking control of its host, typically an insect, and manipulating its behaviour to ensure the fungus’s survival and reproduction. The music captures the eerie and unsettling process of this takeover, illustrating the complex and often disturbing relationship between parasite and host. The tension intensifies as the host struggles against the invasion, yet gradually succumbs to the inevitable control of the fungus. On a deeper level, the piece reflects human relationships, drawing strong parallels to the dynamics of manipulation, coercion, and toxicity. Just as the fungus exerts control over its host, one person can dominate and manipulate another in unhealthy, imbalanced relationships. The composition explores these emotional and psychological battles, portraying the constant push and pull, the moments of resistance, and the eventual surrender that can happen when someone becomes trapped in a toxic situation. A defining aspect of the piece is its repetitive structure, which intentionally mirrors the relentless nature of manipulation and control. This repetition can evoke a sense of emotional and mental exhaustion, much like the fatigue that sets in during prolonged conflict or domination. As the music cycles through its patterns, the listener may feel increasingly worn down, reflecting the experience of being overwhelmed or drained by toxic influences. Through this repetition, I aim to convey the grinding, inescapable nature of these destructive dynamics.

Jiwon Seo – Execution City, Operation XX
for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, E-Organ and Analogue synthesizer with Electronics and Video

This episode explores the player’s struggle against genetic manipulation and the oppressive rule of Lah Deus, an E-Organ powered by a DNA Synthesizer developed by the mad scientist, Dr. Lie Köpflen. Together, they control the chaotic, experimental elements of the music, symbolizing genetic manipulation and technological dominance. The central themes revolve around identity, fate, and rebellion against a predetermined future.

‘Execution City’: A futuristic, dystopian environment controlled by a powerful enemy, where the player faces high-stakes challenges / illusions. The city represents a place of judgment and sacrifice, forcing the player to confront an overwhelming threat.

Operation XX refers to a secret mission by the player to disrupt a deadly plot involving genetic experimentation and a city-wide execution event orchestrated by Great Emperor Lah Deus and his minions. The ‘XX’ signifies a mysterious double-cross or an unknown factor that could either lead to success or spell disaster for the mission.

Lena Michajłów – what am I actually scared of
“Behold this compost! behold it well!
Perhaps every mite has once form’d part of a sick person—yet behold!
The grass of spring covers the prairies,
The bean bursts noiselessly through the mould in the garden,
The delicate spear of the onion pierces upward,
The apple-buds cluster together on the apple-branches,
The he-birds carol mornings and evenings while the she-birds sit on their nests,
The young of poultry break through the hatch’d eggs,
The new-born of animals appear, the calf is dropt from the cow, the colt from the mare,
Out of its little hill faithfully rise the potato’s dark green leaves,
Out of its hill rises the yellow maize-stalk, the lilacs bloom in the dooryards,
The summer growth is innocent and disdainful above all those strata of sour dead.“

Walt Whitman This compost

Laure M. Hiendl – Contretemps/Soliloquy
Contretemps/Soliloquy explores chamber musical negotiations of time and timing, taking inspiration from Fred Moten’s concept of the “dis/possession [of time] that we call music.” The composition engages with questions of autonomy and collectivity, offering performers an expanded role in shaping the work’s temporal and musical unfolding.
Structured as a semi-improvisatory framework, the piece foregoes a fully synchronized score in favor of modular material fragments. These fragments are marked with approximate durations—“short,” “medium,” “long”—leaving decisions about pacing and progression to the performers. Within this open framework, the relationships between individual and collective timing are constantly redefined.
The music’s sonic fabric shifts through varying “states”—solid, fluid, and free—where the interplay between instrumental sound and electronics becomes central. Here, traditional instruments function less as sound sources and more as highly sensitive interfaces for manipulating and controlling electronic processes. This dynamic transforms their acoustic signals into tools that drive the piece’s evolving texture, rather than existing as audible endpoints in themselves.
Developed in collaboration with the Zafraan Ensemble in 2018/19 through a process of experimentation and exchange, Contretemps/Soliloquy invites a reconsideration of music not as fixed or linear but as an ever-negotiated interplay of time, space, and agency.

Katharina Rosenberger – Atchafalaya (Remix)
Atchafalaya National Park is the largest swamp area in the United States and is located in the Mississippi estuary in southern Louisiana. The wild and inaccessible Atchafalaya Basin, which is shrouded in myths about people disappearing into the undergrowth or falling victim to the ‘Rougarous’ (Louisiana’s werewolf), is one of America’s most important bird sanctuaries. It is populated by migratory birds or endangered species that have lost their habitat elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Atchafalaya Swamp itself is threatened by human destruction.

The soundscape of Atchafalaya (Remix) is composed of sound fragments of endangered bird species and acoustic translations of recordings made by the composer in 2010 while travelling through southern Louisiana. Atchafalaya (Remix) was commissioned by Ensemble Lemniscate and was developed in close collaboration with the individual performers.