With «Ausschweifen», a long-cherished dream of ours is coming true:
‘The performance of Georg Friedrich Haas’s Nach-Ruf … ent-gleitend … in 2013 was a revelatory experience for us as an ensemble. We were gripped by a passion for the world of microtonality, which led us to ever-new explorations of the finest nuances of pitch. Ever since, we have been driven by the desire to perform a work written especially for us by the master himself.»
«Ausschweifen» is a full-length piece for an eight-piece ensemble that lives up to its title in every respect. In it, Georg Friedrich Haas pursues a musical vision that transcends the usual dimensions of a concert premiere, pushes the performers to their limits and offers the audience an existential, sensory experience.
The composition will essentially consist of three elements: spectral overtone harmonies, microtonal clusters and tonal, late-Romantic quarter-tone music. These elements allegorically open up a field of tension between three poles of humanity: whilst the microtonal clusters have an archaic, driving quality and evoke physical ecstasy, one might hear in the spectral overtone harmonies a flash of transcendence, of perfection within imperfection. In between lies a wondrous, tonal music that seems to have fallen out of history. For this, Georg Friedrich Haas draws on a quarter-tone piano piece by Richard Heinrich Stein (1882–1942) from the year 1918. This serves as the starting point for an exploration of interval relationships, free leading-tone relationships and the interplay of timbres and octave ranges.
«The exciting thing about this quarter-tone music is that a counter-movement is possible between all intervals. I believe there is still a great deal of potential in this style and that it represents an exciting field in which there is still a great deal to explore. I’m incredibly excited about this project. It will be a major challenge, and I’m looking forward to working with you all – thank you for your willingness to engage with my music.»
G. F. Haas to Ensemble Proton Bern
Commissioned by Ensemble Proton Bern in collaboration with the Festival Klangspuren Schwaz Festival and the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam.
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Composition commission by Ensemble Proton Bern, made possible by the:
Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung
The concert programme Ausschweifen is supported by:
Pro Scientia et Arte
Ursula Wirz Stiftung
