Phœnix

“Dada”

An immanent musical-theatrical firework spectacle for and with Svea Schildknecht.

György Ligeti’s only opera “Le Grand Macabre” is based on a play by the Belgian poet Michel de Ghelderode, one of the most important representatives of absurdist theater alongside Eugène Jonesco, Alfred Jarry and Samuel Beckett. The arrangement of three arias for coloratura soprano and ensemble was written by Elgar Howard, who was the study director of the premiere of the opera at Stockholm in 1978. The German composer Manfred Stahnke, who studied with Ligeti in Hamburg and now teaches composition there himself, wrote his work “Lumpengalerie” in 1999, based on a recorded improvisation that was reworked into a sextet. The South Korean composer Unsuk Chin wrote the ensemble piece “Gougalōn” in 2009 after a visit to the suburbs of Seoul in memory of the old, impoverished neighborhood of the 1960s where she spent her childhood. She describes the work as “imagined folk music”.


Program

Manfred Stahnke (*1951) “Lumpengalerie” for six instruments (1999) – 14’ György Ligeti (1923–2006) “Mysteries of the Macabre” for coloratura soprano and ensemble (1974–1977, arr. Elgar Howarth 1992) – 9’ Unsuk Chin (*1961) “Gougalōn – Scenes from a Street Theatre” for ensemble (2009/11) – 24’
Svea Schildknecht
coloratura soprano
Jürg Henneberger
conductor
Christoph Bösch
flute, piccolo, alto flute
Antje Thierbach
oboe, English horn
Toshiko Sakakibara
clarinet, bass clarinet, clarinet in Eb
Zeynep Bozkaplan
bassoon, contrabassoon
Aurélien Tschopp
horn
Nenad Marković
trumpet, piccolo trumpet
Antonio Jiménez Marín
trombone, bass trombone
Denise Wambsganß
mandoline
Daniel Stalder
timpani, percussion
João Pacheco
percussion
Kirill Zvegintsov
piano, celesta
Asia Ahmetjanova
piano
Friedemann Treiber
violin
Daniel Hauptmann
violin
Petra Ackermann
viola
Martin Jaggi
cello
Stéphanie Meyer
cello
Aleksander Gabryś
double bass
Blanko

“Blanko 2025”

Once a year, EPhB invites experimental musicians with a rather non-academic background to a collaboration. These artists come from areas such as noise, free improvisation, sound art, etc. An exciting combination of the young Chinese performer and sound artist Yiran Zhao, who lives in Berlin, and the experienced British all-round musician Barry Guy and his double bass is planned. Both will conceive and curate one half of the concert each.


Program

Yiran Zhao (*1988) “Negative Space C” for ensemble (2025, WP, commission EPhB) – 30’ Barry Guy (*1947) “M.B.’s Breakout” for ensemble (2025, WP, commission EPhB) – 30’
Barry Guy
double bass solo
Christoph Bösch
flute, artistic direction
Toshiko Sakakibara
clarinet
Raphael Camenisch
saxophone
Nenad Marković
trumpet
Michael Büttler
trombone
Janne Jakobsson
tuba
João Pacheco
percussion
Maurizio Grandinetti
electric guitar
Samuel Wettstein
synthesizer
Martin Jaggi
cello
Thomas Peter
electronics
sound design