EXHIBITED MUSIC

Das sagt der/die Veranstalter:in:

As part of the Consider Listening event series. Free admission.

Exhibited Music proposes a change of perspective. A concert performance of Brian Ferneyhough's String Quartet No. 2 would be spectacular enough on its own. This innovative piece of chamber music – an immensely dense and multi-layered composition - presents a real challenge for musicians. But the KNM goes one step further. With Exhibited Music, the ensemble brings to life levels of performance that are usually inaccessible to concertgoers.

Mirroring the external form of a string quartet, four monitors and loudspeakers installed in the concert hall convey the deeper layers of this production before and after the performance: Interviews with the musicians, rehearsals and even individual practice sessions are presented in scenic sequences. The various stages of concert preparation thus become elements of the concert event itself.

Furthermore, the score of String Quartet No. 2 will be exhibited, allowing the work to be experienced in its purest form. During the concert, sensors will measure certain bodily functions of the four musicians, whose data streams control abstract visuals. This gives the audience a direct insight into the emotional world of the musicians as they perform. It's like watching a film and it’s making of simultaneously. 100 hours of life for 10 minutes of music.

British composer Brian John Peter Ferneyhough is known for placing the highest demands on performers in his compositions. As a teacher of composition and a leading figure in New Complexity, a movement within 20th-century classical music, Ferneyhough has influenced generations of composers.

According to music critic Reinhard Schulz, Ferneyhough's musicians are forced to push their personal boundaries. The overwhelming demands of highly sophisticated scores ensure a deeper engagement with the material. Schulz sees Ferneyhough's music as a "counter-proposal to the dulling of our senses," which the present, with its "distraction and entertainment mechanisms," dictates more relentlessly than ever. (Source: NMZ)

The Ensemble KNM Berlin represents Berlin’s vibrant, contemporary music scene. Since its foundation in 1988, the ensemble has presented compositions, concert installations and concert projects across the world in close cooperation with the artists. The programs reflect a curiosity to explore the unknown and the willingness to confront the most pressing themes of our time. KNM Berlin has become internationally known not only through its repeated guest appearances at major music festivals such as ars musica Brussels or the Donaueschinger Musiktage, but also through its own productions such as HouseMusik and concert tours, for example to Carnegie Hall (NYC). Since 2016, KNM Berlin has been increasingly committed to musical, multi-perspective networking with intercultural collaborations worldwide.