Professional activity: Composers, Interpreters, Authors
Biography
* 06. 09. 1960.
born 1960 in Grub/ Appenzell
composer, pianist, creator of theatre projects and compositions for landscapes
Piano lessons, establishes independent theatre companies, street theatre with touring stage on a horse cart, theatre studies in Paris and London, studies composition with Nicolaus A. Huber and Klaus Huber.
Mainly working as - for 25 years now - composer, pianist, innovator of new musical theatre, creator of interdisciplinary and situational performances. Founder of the Swiss festival "new music rümlingen". Has been teaching experimental music in Berlin for over 10 years now.
Music theatre production for amongst others Staatsoper Stuttgart, Theater Bielefeld, Donaueschingen Festival, Witten Festival for New Chamber Music. Situational productions for Expo Hannover (music for the Swiss Pavillion by Peter Zumthor), MMK Frankfurt a.M., Festival Alpentöne/ Altdorf and water tower Berlin Prenzlauerberg.
Landscape compositions for amongst others Harbour Sassnitz (Rügen), river Neisse between Görlitz and Zgorzelec, harbour of the Rhine in Basel, river Elbe at Hitzacker and the Ruhr in Witten.
Since 2005 he is Professor for Composing and Experimental Musical Theatre at Berlin University of the Arts and since 2015 a member of Academy of Arts Berlin.
Beginning in 2016 together with Manos Tsangaris he is artistic director of the Munich Biennale - Festival für neues Musiktheater.
Work list
zampugn (1987)
Instrumentation: for twently-nine bells / four percussionists
‘zampugn’, a Retoroman word meaning round-bells: Ensemble: 29 un-tuned bells of various origin (with obligatory juggling).
Sponsored by the SME Lucerne.
Instrumentation: for childrens group and piccolo, bass clarinet, tuba, accordion, mandolin (guitar), violin and four percussion
Texts: Volkslied
Can be played individually: 'kinderspiele' for 2 percussionists (glock.vib.cym) [2']. 'le ranz des vaches' for 6 tuned cow bells (f#+2,g2,d2,g#+3,a3,e4), one player [2'].
A musical portrait woven with words from the castanet story of the Spanish Civil War by Frederico Garcia Lorca: for diverse castanets of assorted origin.
Music for the play 'zweite liebe' (second love) by Jurg Amann. Sixty percussion interventions each between five and twenty minutes in duration; can also be performed without the play.
Instrumentation: for bass clarinet, percussion and string trio
A portrait study, 'Bilderbogen', developed from discussions with members of the 'Ensemble Recherche' concerning their relationship with their instruments; available also as a film version: '7 ½' (together with Reinhard Manz) Distribution: Video-Genossenschaft Basel, Postfach 511, CH-4005 Basel.
Instrumentation: for four guitars, two mandolins, dulcimer, viola, 2 double-bass, saxophone, trombone, tuba, accordeon and three percussion instruments
Spatial composition based on the sound memories of the musicians/singers.
Instrumentation: for voice, percussion, violoncello, guitar and piano (or a variable score)
A musical sketchbook - versions of older pieces - draughts and attempts at new pieces - compositions that have been produced in one day (5.9. - 22.3.). New versions with other scores are conceivable.
1.) 22/3
2.) le ranz des vaches
3.) 5/9
4.) ~
5.) kinderspiele
6.) schto s toboi
7.) jammermusik
Duration: 17' 00" Manuscript
frammenti per pieve caina (1996-2002)
Instrumentation: version for 2 pianos
22/3a, le ranz des vaches, 5/9, ////, kinderspiele, schto s toboi, jammermusik.
Duration: 17' 00" Manuscript
einige schritte (1996)
Instrumentation: for five walking musicians
Variations on five walking models - step model - intimations of an activity.
Duration: 6' 00" Manuscript
schto s toboi (1996)
First version
Instrumentation: for five actors with five accordions
Scenic music based on the 'movement memories' of the actors.
Duration: 7' 00" Manuscript
schto s toboi (1996/1999)
Second concertante version
Instrumentation: for accordion solo resp. for two accordions
Spatial composition for one player and five pairs of shoes made of leather, wood and iron. ‘ojota’ is Kechuan for shoe or sandal. ‘Fuss-Stücke’ (foot piece) at seven fixed points in the performance room and ‘Schritte-Musik’ (step piece) on long stretches of path. The versions are developed for the individual site: open-air, halls and exhibition rooms etc. Part of the composition ‘ZWIELICHT: Sonnenuntergang / Sonnenaufgang’ (1997) with Carola Bauckholt, Maria Cecilia Villanueva, Daniel Almada, Jacques Demierre, Peter Ablinger, Caspar Johannes Walter, Wolfgang Heiniger and Manos Tsangaris.
Duration: 20' 00" Manuscript
7 (1997)
Stage composition
Instrumentation: for soprano, bass flute, horn, trumpet, trombone piano and obligatory light
For the ensemble 'con gioco'.
Duration: 10' 00" Manuscript
zwischen (1997)
Instrumentation: for diverse speakers, percussion, bandoneon, flute, vibraphone, inner piano and electronic tape
Study for the 'Ensemble Zwischentöne', Berlin.
Duration: 12' 00" Manuscript
ojota II (1998)
Instrumentation: for Eb clarinet, trumpet, trombone, viola, violoncello, soprano and percussion or variable score
Musical sketchbook - a sequel to ‘frammenti per pieve caina’. The two cycles can be combined. No. 7 ‘ojota II’ is a combination of shoe noises and intrumental sounds.
1. 22/3
2. ojota Ia für Schlagzeug solo
3. schto s toboi
4. ojota Ib für Stimme solo und 12 Schuhpaare
5. jammermusik
6. 5/9
7. ojota II
Duration: 20' 00" Manuscript
finger weg (1998)
Concept
Instrumentation: for a group of children - children's verse, rhyme and song
Texts: Volkslied
A version for ten nursery school children with various mother languages - all attend the Kreuzberg School of Music.
Duration: 10' 00" Manuscript
22/3 (1999)
Spatial composition
Instrumentation: for three guitars (electronic and accoustic), two saxophones, two double-bass and four percussion.
Elaboration of the existing ‘22/3’ sketches for the ‘Petrikirche’ (St. Peters Church) in Lübeck. An ensemble composition for a room with lots of reverberation. Without conductor, place changing, speech, noises.
Duration: 15' 00" Manuscript
ojota III (1999)
Scenic composition
Instrumentation: for voice, dulcimer, clarinet, trombone and percussion
Stories and memories of shoes and shoe noises. Developed in cooperation with Anna Clementi, Françoise Rivalland, Chico Mello, Simone Candotto and Christian Dierstein.
Duration: 30' 00" Manuscript
ojota IV (2000)
Musical theatre
Instrumentation: for seven sopranos, two actors, dulcimer, clarinet, guitar, trombone, accordion and percussion
Texts: Thomas Bernhard
‘ojota I, II and III’ are included in the feature length version which was created for the theater Bielefeld. Uses a passage from Thomas Bernhards text "Gehen".
Duration: 2h 00" Manuscript
klangkörperklang (2000)
Common chord music
Instrumentation: for six accordions, six dulcimers and improvising musicians
Music for the ‘Klangkörper Schweiz’, the Swiss contribution to the EXPO 2000 in Hannover, in cooperation with Peter Zumthor. ‘klangkörperklang’ sounded twelve hours a day for 153 days. Extracts and new, shorter versions using the base material are cogitable. Common chords A -Q 16/9 - 19/12 - 22/3 - 29/1.