Comprehensive Artist Audit: Ensemble MusikFabrik David Beyer International Music Marketing OMBUS-320 Drew Young
Summary
Ensemble Musikfabrik is musician collective based in Cologne, Germany. Their goal is to become a trusted partner of renowned composers and conductors. They record albums regularly, and perform 100+ concerts a year, ranging from festivals to their own Musikfabrik in WDR concert series. They work in unusual media and focus on interdisciplinary projects involving live electronics, dance, film, literature, and improvisation.
What draws me to Ensemble Musikfabrik is that they have created replicas of Harry Partch’s instruments, in order to expose Partch’s music to a European audience. The synthesizer music I currently create uses a Just Intonation tuning system intended to be compatible with these unique instruments. I would love to write a new work for synthesizers along with the Ensemble Musikfabrik’s Partchian instruments.
Who They Worked With
Ensemble Musicfabrik has worked with the following composers…
• Mark Andre • Louis Andriessen • Stefan Asbury • Sir Harrison Birtwistle • Unsuk Chin • Péter Eötvös • Brian Ferneyhough • Heiner Goebbels • Toshio Hosokawa • Michael Jarrell • Mauricio Kagel • Helmut Lachenmann • David Lang • Liza Lim • Benedict Mason • Mouse on Mars • Carlus Padrissa (La Fura dels Baus) • Emilio Pomàrico • Enno Poppe • Wolfgang Rihm • Peter Rundel • Rebecca Saunders • Karlheinz Stockhausen • Ilan Volkov • Sasha Waltz
Their project “Pitch 43_tuning the cosmos” involves commissioning one composer from each European nation to compose new music for the Partch instruments. Then, these compositions will be performed at their respective country’s festivals. The following people are involved with this project…
• Thomas Meixner, who built all the replica instruments • Simon Steen-Andersen, a commissioned composer • Caspar Johannes Walter, a commissioned composer • Carola Bauckholt, a commissioned composer • Klaus Lang, a commissioned composer • Sampo Haapamäki, a commissioned composer • Helge Sten, a commissioned composer • German Federal Cultural Foundation, which is providing grant funding • The Arts Foundation of North-Rhine Westphalia, which is providing grant funding
The Schedule They Followed
Ensemble MusikFabrik runs their own concert series, MusikFabrik in WDR. In connection with this concert series, they release CDs highlighting these performances. So far, they have performed 55 concerts in the series, and released 8 associated CDs. Here are my timing-based conclusions based on looking at the scheduling of this concert series… • 3-5 concerts a year is typical for this ensemble. I believe spacing out the concerts ensures that each concert is a special event for fans for the ensemble. • A new CD is released every 6-7 concerts.
Ensemble MusikFabrik has played an extensive range of festivals throughout Europe and the world, which can be found in full at (http://www.musikfabrik.eu/en/ensemble/promoters-and-festivals). The festivals they have played in within Germany include… • ACHT BRÜCKEN | Music for Cologne • Altes Kurhaus Aachen • altstadtherbst kulturfestival düsseldorf • arte • Bachfest Leipzig • Bayer Kulturabteilung • Beethovenfest Bonn • Deutscher Musikrat • Deutschlandfunk • Deutschlandradio Kultur • Donaueschinger Musiktage • Ensemblia • Folkwang Universität der Künste • Goethe-Institut • HELLERAU - Europäisches Zentrum der Künste Dresden • Hessischer Rundfunk • Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden • Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln • Initiativkreis Freie Musik Köln • Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik Darmstadt • Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden • Klavierfestival Ruhr • Kölner Philharmonie • Konzerthaus Berlin • Konzerthaus Dortmund • Kulturamt Köln • KulturStadtLev • Kunstfest Weimar • Kunstfestspiele Herrenhausen Hannover • Kurt Weill Fest • LehmbruckMuseum Duisburg • Ludwigsburger Schloßfestspiele • Maerzmusik | Berliner Festspiele • moers festival • Münchener Biennale • musica viva • Musik an St. Martin • Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen • Musik der Jahrhunderte Stuttgart • musikfest berlin | Berliner Festspiele • MusikTriennale Köln • Norddeutscher Rundfunk - Das Neue Werk • NRW-Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft, Düsseldorf • Oper Bonn • Oper Köln • Pädagogische Hochschule Weingarten • Philharmonie Essen • Radialsystem V • Radio Bremen • Rheingau Musik Festival • RIAS Kammerchor • Romanischer Sommer • Ruhrtriennale • Sasha Waltz & Guests • Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz • Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Lübeck • Schloss Agathenburg • SWR - ars nova • SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart • Staatsoper Unter den Linden • Stockhausen Stiftung für Musik • Tage für Neue Musik Rottenburg • Tonhalle Düsseldorf • UltraSchall - Das Festival für neue Musik, Berlin • Universität zu Köln • VHS Braunschweig • WDR Köln - Funkhaus Wallrafplatz Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal • Weingartener Tage für Neue Musik • Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusikhttp://www.wittenertage.de/ • ZKM Institute for Visual Media Karlsruhe
The Assets They Needed
• Over 50-one of a kind instruments, replicating the instruments of Harry Partch • Music played live to a cartoon film performance based on the comic book character “Krazy Kat” • Live theatrical performance of Delusion of the Fury o one HQ YouTube video detailing the process of staging “Delusion of the Fury”, in German with English subtitles o one HQ YouTube video detailing the instrument-building process, in German with English subtitles o HQ photo gallery chronicling scenes from the performance o Website page in German and English about the performance o Press quotes • Live theatrical performance of Michaels Reise Um Die Erde o Press reviews in German o One HQ YouTube video showing the “making-of” the project o HQ photo gallery of the production o Website page in German and English about the performance o Press quotes • Live performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Sonntag aus Licht o Two HQ YouTube videos of rehearsals (~7 min each) o One HQ YouTube video showing excerpts from the performance, and excerpts from a Q&A section in German o HQ photo gallery from the performance o Website page in German and English about the performance • Live performance of Der Universums-Stulp based on a novel adapted for “musical storybook” o HQ photo gallery from the performance o Website page in German and English about the performance • Live performance of Harry Partch’s music and spoken word piece, And On The Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma o HQ photo gallery from the performance o Website page in German and English • MusikFabrik in WDR concert series o Broadcast over radio o Recorded and released on CD • Nearly 100 CDs from their member composers available for purchase on their website • Academy MusikFabrik – their educational arm o Studio MusikFabrik their associated youth ensemble which plays contemporary music § 7 concerts per year § HQ photo gallery § Online list of current and former members § Promoters and partners, a list of 3 promoters and 22 partners § Website page in German and English § Separate External Website dedicated to the project o SpielBar, an educational program for adult non-trained musicians focused on developing musical intuition, rather than instrument technique § Website page in German and English § HQ photo gallery o Kölnerkinderuni, or Cologne Children’s University for children ranged 8-12 § One Bag of Sounds, a three-day composing camp for children • Website page • HQ photo gallery • HQ YouTube in German § Expedition Into New Music, a chamber music workshop for kids aged 11-14 • Website page • 3 HQ photos § School Projects, the members of Ensmeble MusikFabrik visit local schools several times per year, and conduct small projects with them • Website page • 3 HQ photos § Musikpiraten, an interactive online game for kids aged 6-12 to explore different sounds, in German o University Collaborations § Master classes § Project-related orchestras § Rehearsals for aspiring conductors § Alternative notation concepts § One text-based webpage in German and English giving a rough overview of these projects o Composer Collider, a workshop series for students and alumni of different universities to work together with a professional ensemble and conductor § Two HQ YouTube Video-Tutorials on Ensemble MusikFabrik’s extended playing techniques in English § Partners • Hochschule für Musik und Tanz, Köln • Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf • Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien, Hannover • Folkwang Universität der Künste, Essen • Hochschule für Musik. Carl Maria von Weber, Dresden • Instytut Adama Mickiewicz, Warschau § HQ YouTube Video documenting a workshop, in German with English subtitles o Adult Educational Opportunities § Rehearsal visits § Cooperations with independent Educational institutions, including the Karl Rahner Academy, Zeit für Wissen, the VHS Cologne or the Melanchton Academy. § Webpage in German and English § HQ YouTube Video documenting one such collaboration • Blog, broken down into several categories (in German), with some posts in German only, and some in both German and English • Email Newsletter in German and English • Facebook Page with 3,717 likes • YouTube Account with 1,137 likes • Flickr Account with 531 photos and 19 followers • Twitter Account with 18,600 followers
Reflections
After researching the Ensemble MusikFabrik, I have realized that the #1 focus of my export plan to Germany ought to be interdisciplinary collaboration. While this composer-collective has built up a vast archive of CDs and has performed at an exhaustive list of festivals, the most impressive assets they have came as a result of collaborating with authors, illustrators, opera houses, and theater companies.
I realized that one way to work with the Ensemble MusikFabrik is to get involved in their Composer Collider workshops, which are targeted at student composers and recent alumni. I will be contacting them about this program.
Everything that the ensemble has ever done is extensively documented on their website via strikingly beautiful, professional photos! This is something I need to get better at—I have photos of varying quality of different performances I have done. I also noticed that as they progressed as an ensemble, the number of assets in relation to each performance increased in quantity and quality. That is, some of their earlier performances only have photo galleries and text descriptions associated with them. More recent performances have making-of videos, rehearsal videos, and press quotes associated with them as well. These making-of videos are educational, and they help you feel a sense of connection with the ensemble. This is definitely a type of content I currently lack, and would like to expand into in the future.
The extensive list of festivals at which Ensemble MusikFabrik has played is also an enormous resource, not only to music export to Germany, but to the world. Festivals would be a great place to meet other composers, musicians, and artists in other disciplines, and their list is tailor-made to my field of interest…experimental microtonal music.