Das Spiel - Cycle Concert with Elena Schwarz

With great energy and virtuosity, Swiss-Australian Elena Schwarz conducted the last concert of the series "Ursprung" at the Wiener Konzerthaus on Saturday, 4 May 2024.

For the first time in her capacity as Conductor in Residence, she led the ensemble through an evening of multi-layered soundscapes, performing the Austrian premiere of Georges Aperghis' Hopse and Stefano Gervasoni's Eufaunique. Under the programme's titular theme, the former stood for children's play, inspired by the so-called hopscotch, also known as "heaven and hell". Gervasoni's work then represented the primordial, with the composer devoting himself to the sixth day of Genesis and exploring the ambivalent relationship between Men and Animal. The ritual was then brought to life in Mani.Long by Pierluigi Billone. The piece, which was commissioned by the ensemble around 20 years ago, focusses on the "intelligence of the hand" by means of vocal elements as well as distinctive percussion elements, and finally rounded off the evening's programme.

The TUTTI get-together in the presence of the composers Stefano Gervasoni, Pierluigi Billone and Elena Schwarz herself brought our 2023/24 concert cycle to a festive close.

Photos: © Cornelia Neuwirt/Klangforum Wien