Klangforum Wien is the ensemble-in-residence at the Prague Spring Festival. Under conductor Peter Rundel, six new compositions by Czech composers commissioned by the festival will be premiered. Key works by Georg Friedrich Haas, composer-in-residence of Prague Offspring, and selected works by György Ligeti on the occasion of his 100th birthday will also be performed. In addition, the programme also includes workshops for young musicians.
The first evening concert of Klangforum Wien will open with Ligeti's Chamber Concerto for 13 instrumentalists. This major work represents the culmination of the composer's creative development, while at the same time developing the principles of his earlier works with typical micropolyphony and work with timbres. At the same time, it opens the way to a more eclectic approach of his later works.
This will be followed by the premiere of a monumental composition by Czech composer Jana Vöröšová: Lunapark (Amusement Park) hints at the source of inspiration for the winner of the Czech Philharmonic and Berg Orchestra Composers' Competitions.
The second half of the evening features two members of Klangforum Wien as soloists: Joonas Ahonen will perform the notoriously difficult score of Ligeti's Piano Concerto, with its complex rhythms of traditional African music. Percussionist Lukas Schiske is the soloist for Georg Friedrich Haas' Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich... for percussion and ensemble.
