Prague Offspring 2024
Concluding its three-year period as ensemble-in-residence at Prague Offspring, Klangforum Wien performed works by Rebecca Saunders, honorary member of the ensemble as well as composer-in-residence of the festival. Conducted by Enno Poppe, the Czech premiere of Saunder’s Nether (for soprano and Ensemble ) together with soprano Juliet Fraser marked one of the programmes’ highlights.
Furthermore, the concert programme included a tribute to Kaija Saariaho and her unique poetic language, as well as newly commissioned pieces by Czech and Slovak composers, which offered fresh perspectives and ideas regarding New Music.
As its fulminant farewell gift, the ensemble also brought the extraordinary piece 11,000 Strings by Georg Friedrich Haas to Prague. After the Bolzano Festival (world premiere in August 2023) and the Great Hall of the Wiener Konzerthaus as part of Wien Modern Festival (for the first time as an original version with ensemble, November 2023), Prague now marked the third stop of the microtonal composition for 50 pianos and one ensemble, offering an immersive listening experience including both monumental and delicate soundscapes.
