Contemporary Insights Academy 2021

From July 16-23 this year, I was composition tutor at the first edition of the Contemporary Insights Academy in Melle, northern Germany. This video gives an impression of the course, which is planned to take place annually.

Sumud postponed again

Thanks to the continued hazards of the coronavirus pandemic, the premiere of Part 3 of Rules of Engagement, the ensemble piece Sumud, has been postponed a second time. After the cancellation of the premiere in March 2020, it was set to be premiered this year in Leipzig on 25 March. It’s currently unclear when it will happen, and whether there might be a recording instead.

The Rules of Engagement Cycle

With the premiere of the third and final part of Rules of Engagement, the ensemble piece Sumud, happening soon, it’s an appropriate time to give some information about the cycle as a whole. Sumud will be premiered on 21 March at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Academy of Music, Leipzig, by Contemporary Insights, conducted by Zachary M. Seely.

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Rules of Engagement (2013-2019)

Razor’s Edge live video

Nico Couck, fretless electric guitar
Ensemble Interface, conducted by Maurice Donnet-Monnay
Transit Festival Leuven, 19 October 2019

Filmed by Jason Thorpe Buchanan

Transit 2019

Razor’s Edge (2018) for fretless electric guitar and ensemble will receive its premiere on 19 October at the Transit Festival in Leuven, Belgium, with Nico Couck and Ensemble Interface. Details here.

CD release

The new solo CD by Diego Castro Magaš features the complete version of Knokler alongside pieces by Chilean and British composers. It can be downloaded and purchased here (and elsewhere):

https://diegocastromagas.bandcamp.com/releases

Ariadne I at Sound Plasma

On 21 October, at the Sound Plasma festival in Berlin, the Spanish saxophone quartet SigmaProject will premiere the first part of my piece Ariadne, which will have three parts in total. Part II is planned for premiere in Tehran in April.

For more on the festival, see:
Sound Plasma Berlin

For the full programme, see:
http://ackerstadtpalast.de/Sound-Plasma-Festival-for-microtonal-music

VAN Article on Donaueschingen and Censorship

VAN magazine has a feature on my censorship letter and the larger context here: https://van-us.atavist.com/rules-of-engagement

Censorship in Donaueschingen

For decades, the Donaueschingen Festival (Donaueschinger Musiktage) has stood not only for new sounds, but also for new ideas and discourses, including controversial ones. Whether dealing with world politics or cultural policy, with globalization or equal opportunities in the music industry, there were generally no taboo topics. 

Zensur in Donaueschingen

Die Donaueschinger Musiktage gelten seit Jahrzehnten als Ort nicht nur für neue Klänge, sondern auch für neue Denkanstöße und Diskurse, durchaus auch kontroverse. Ob es nun um Weltpolitik oder Kulturpolitik geht, um Globalisierung oder um Gleichberechtigung im Musikbetrieb, es herrschen in der Regel keine thematischen Tabus.