Contents About the Initiative
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CONTENTS ABOUT THE INITIATIVE Mission Statement räsonanz – Stifterkonzerte Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung Press Release Interview with Michael Roßnagl, Michael Haefliger and Winrich Hopp by Max Nyffeler Preview of räsonanz in Luzern 2017 and Munich 2018 räsonanz – STIFTERKONZERT MUNICH 2017 Program Claude Vivier on Lonely Child Claude Vivier in conversation with Susan Frykberg Composers’ biographies – Luciano Berio – György Ligeti – Claude Vivier Performers‘ biographies – Sophia Burgos – Teodor Currentzis – MusicAeterna Choir – Mahler Chamber Orchestra PHOTOS COMPOSERS AND PERFORMERS musica viva DES BAYERISCHEN RUNDFUNKS AND LUCERNE FESTIVAL ABOUT THE INITIATIVE räsonanz Stifterkonzerte With the donor concert series räsonanz, the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation lives up to its responsibility for providing contemporary music in a special way. Together with its partners LUCERNE FESTIVAL and musica viva of the Bayerischer Rundfunk, the foundation enables one concert in Munich as well as one in Lucerne every year featuring international top-ranking orchestras and acclaimed soloists performing the works of presentday composers. The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation accordingly reinforces the foundation’s idea: Ernst von Siemens stands for entrepreneurial reason and unique vision, for social responsibility and ambitious promotion of science and arts. Social impact and artistic demand, daring change of perspective and the beauty of the unprecedented – all this becomes evident when contemporary music defines, explores and exceeds its limits. räsonanz is challenging as well as demanding and räsonanz wants to support; the willingness to embark on the unfamiliar and the appreciation of the “new” within New Music. www.evs-musikstifung.ch www.lucernefestival.ch www.br-musica-viva.de räsonanz Press Release March 2017 räsonanz – donor Concerts 2017 for the First Time in Munich and Lucerne MusicAeterna Choir from Perm hosted for the First Time in Munich | Swiss Premiere of Rihm’s Requiem-Strophen As part of an initiative by the EvS Music Foundation the Mahler Chamber Orchestra as well as the MusicAeterna Choir will be coming to Munich in 2017 to perform under the baton of Teodor Currentzis. This will be the famous Perm-based choir’s debut performance in the regional capital. The concert will be organized by Bayerischer Rundfunk’s musica viva. The symphony orchestra along with the choir of Bavaria’s regional broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk will be hosted in Lucerne under the baton of Mariss Jansons to perform the Swiss debut of Wolfgang Rihm’s Requiem-Strophen – the presenter is LUCERNE FESTIVAL. After the successful launch of the concert series räsonanz – donor concert 2016 in Munich the initiative is now to be extended from 2017 to include a concert in Lucerne. Next year it is also planned for Munich and Lucerne to host one concert each. “As a member of the Board of Trustees Pierre Boulez himself expressed the wish almost 20 years ago for the foundation to become more actively involved in the contemporary music scene and to launch its own initiatives. With räsonanz the foundation is sure to have reached its highest point until now through its focus on major composers,” explains Michael Roßnagl, Managing Director at the EvS Music Foundation. The aim of the initiative is to enable contemporary works with large line-ups to be performed by top international orchestras in Munich and Lucerne. Teodor Currentzis with the MCO and MusicAeterna Choir at Prinzregententheater Munich On April 1, 2017 Teodor Currentzis will be hosted in Munich with the MusicAeterna Choir and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. For the first time in its history this world-famous choir from Perm will be presented to the Munich audience. The program will include works by György Ligeti (Lux Aeterna, for 16-part mixed choir a capella, 1966), Claude Vivier (Lonely Child for Soprano and Chamber Orchestra, 1980), Luciano Berio (Coro for 40 Voices and Instruments, 1975 / 76, rev. 1977, as well as Call, St. Louis Fanfare, for 5 brass instruments, 1985, rev. 1987). The soloist is the Puerto Rican American soprano Sophia Burgos. Berio was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 1989, Ligeti in 1993. Journalist Robert Jungwirth will hold an introduction prior to the concert. A workshop for senior high school students will be held prior to the concert. The concert is sold out. Mariss Jansons with the Symphony Orchestra and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Choir at Lucerne Festival April 8, 2017 will see Wolfgang Rihm’s Requiem-Strophen for Soloists, Mixed Choir and Orchestra being performed for the first time in Switzerland. Mariss Jansons will be conducting the symphony orchestra and the Bayerischer Rundfunk choir. The solos will be sung by sopranos Anna Prohaska and Mojca Erdmann as well as baritone Hanno Müller- Brachmann. The work commissioned by musica viva will be premiered on March 30, 2017 in Munich. With texts by Hans Sahl, Johannes Bobrowski, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Rainer Maria Rilke and a psalm Wolfgang Rihm has found an extraordinary and very personal selection for his new choral work extending over an entire evening. Immediately prior to the concert a introduction will be held by Mark Sattler, dramaturg for contemporary music at LUCERNE FESTIVAL, in the auditorium of the KKL venue. Your Contacts: Imke Annika List und Dr. Tanja Pröbstl | +49 / (0)89 / 6 36 3 29 - 47 | [email protected] Nina Steinhart | +41 / (0) 41 226 44 - 43 | [email protected] Laura Imsirovic | +49 / (0) 89 / 59 00 - 2 36 58 | [email protected] Advance Ticket Sales Munich: BRticket: T. 0800 5900 594, Munich Ticket: T. +49 (0)89 54 81 81 81 Advance Ticket Sales Lucerne: T. +41 (0)41 226 44 80 www.evs-musikstiftung.ch | www.lucernefestival.ch | www.br-musica-viva.de Interview: November 2015 in Lucerne The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation’s räsonanz initiative Max Nyffeler in conversation with Michael Roßnagl, Michael Haefliger and Winrich Hopp. The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation’s „räsonanz“ initiative will give new stimulus to contemporary orchestral music. Max Nyffeler spoke about the background and aims of the project with three of those who are directly involved: Michael Roßnagl, Secretary of the Board of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, Winrich Hopp, artistic director of musica viva Munich, and Michael Haefliger, director of the Lucerne Festival. NYFFELER: Mr Roßnagl, the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation’s räsonanz concert series is a new way of promoting contemporary music. What is the idea behind it? ROßNAGL: Currently we support contemporary music projects and award our annual music prize, as well as the prizes for young composers. We are very happy with the way things are going. räsonanz is about taking the initiative ourselves. This idea is, by the way, very much in accordance with something our trustee Pierre Boulez once said: “Do something yourselves, too!” Our initiative is directed at contemporary oarchestral music and we are focussing, for the moment, on two places: Munich, with its important musica viva concert series; and Lucerne with a festival that is showing the way for the integration of modern music into ‘normal’ concert programmes. The fact that the Foundation has its management in Munich and its headquarters in Switzerland was also a factor in choosing the locations. NYFFELER: So it wasn’t the organisers who took the initiative, it was the Foundation? ROßNAGL: That’s right. NYFFELER: What do you think about this initiative, Mr Haefliger? HAEFLIGER: It’s beyond our wildest dreams. For a festival like ours, which has clear ambitions in the area of contemporary music, it’s a wonderful stroke of luck. A partner comes along and asks “what would you like to do and what do you need to do it? We’ll help!” It’s not just about financing a commission for a new composition, it’s about creating the right conditions for today’s music. An open space is being created. This is fantastic, particularly at a moment when many things in the Arts are being called into question. HOPP: I agree with this appraisal. The initiative sets an example in the world of international orchestral music. It says: look, we are doing something for contemporary music ‒ specifically for music from the second half of the 20th century up until the present. NYFFELER: How does this model actually work? ROßNAGL: The organisers plan a project, and we guarantee that it can take place by taking on the deficiency guarantee up to a certain amount. NYFFELER: As a rule, you support projects for up to three years. It seems to be different in this case. ROßNAGL: Yes. It is our own initiative, so we can offer longer term perspectives. NYFFELER: How are the programmes decided on, und what is the Foundation’s role? HAEFLIGER: All three partners work together closely. ROßNAGL: Of course the members of the Board are invited to take part in the discussions. We are all in close contact, and we can sense a strong feeling of common purpose. HOPP: It’s important to note that it is an initiative of the Foundation. The concerts are Foundation concerts, and we, the organisers in in Lucerne und Munich, develop the artistic concept in cooperation with the Board of Trustees. NYFFELER: So tell me about the details! What will the programmes be like? HOPP: The first concert will take place on 27th February – without Lucerne, for the moment – in the context of a musica viva concert weekend. The programme consists of works by George Benjamin, Pierre Boulez, György Ligeti und Georg Friedrich Haas. George Benjamin will conduct the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra. The programme is representative of the orchestra’s artistic achievements during the seventy years of its existence. The cooperation with the Lucerne Festival will take effect from 2017. This will take various forms. We can engage an orchestra together for concerts in Lucerne and Munich, either on consecutive days, or, if the dates don’t suit, with some time in between.