Symfonisk spøgefugl fra Litauen

Algirdas Martinaitis: »Seasons and Serenades«

Sune Anderberg. © Alexander Banck-Petersen

Halli, hallo, og har I lige fået hørt det her album fra januar? Nok ikke, men det er en fejl, for den litauiske komponist Algirdas Martinaitis viser sig som lige den klassiske spøgefugl, vi har brug for, hvis vi nu – måske bare for en stund – dumstædigt har besluttet os for, at Simon Steen-Andersen ikke helt er sjov nok længere.

Hør bare det humoristiske hovedværk på udgivelsen, Serenade for Mistress Europe for strygeorkester, komponeret i 1999 som en postmoderne satire over den vestlige musiktradition, som de identitetsmæssigt splittede litauere kun kunne forholde sig legende og autoritetskritiske til fra deres grøft mellem Vesten og Sovjet.

Ligesom Steen-Andersens gigantværk Trio begynder Martinaitis’ serenade med at ironisere over en storladen symfonisk målstreg og hangen til at sætte to – eller i Beethovens tilfælde ti – streger under facit. Det enormt fikse og vellydende ensemble, litauiske St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, river og flår derefter i senromantisk længsel og dekonstruerer Vivaldi-klingende barokfragmenter til hakkende vinyl.

Musikken sættes i stå, falder fra hinanden i lykkelige uheld, danser skælmsk med Marsellaisen i horisonten og lægger an til et skævvridende bagholdsangreb på romantisk inderlighed, der som minimum aktiverer smilerynkerne og måske endda lattermusklen.

Det kan godt være sjovt at gå til symfonisk koncert. En 72-årig litauer viser her, at det endda kan være rigtig sjovt. Kære danske orkesterchefer: Mor os!

playlist

14.10

My name is Krzysztof Pietraszewski – would you like to see my playlist?

»Music helps me feel, process and regulate my emotions, giving them an outlet when I need release and bringing me calm when I need balance – it’s sort of my outsourced nervous system.«

Krzysztof Pietraszewski is a music journalist, editor and curator based in Kraków, Poland. Since 2016, he has served as artistic director of Sacrum Profanum, a festival dedicated to new and experimental music. He hosts Muzykoteka and the RKK Live concert rebroadcast series on Radio Kraków Kultura. He also develops listening sessions with discussions, inviting audiences to discover unfamiliar music, exchange impressions and experience listening as a shared activity. His work includes executive-producing recordings for the Sacrum Profanum Archives series. Originally from Silesia, he has made Kraków his home, sharing music through concerts, radio broadcasts, writing and, more recently, experimental DJ sets.

playlist

14.10

My name is Lone Hørslev – would you like to see my playlist?

»For me, music is at its best when it appeals to both the head and the heart. I love music that plays with language and understands how words create images, while also possessing its own unique sonic quality and mood. It’s an added bonus if the music energizes me during a run, makes me dance in the kitchen, or makes me laugh. Or cry. Music can be like a chocolate-coated marshmallow treat with a surprise inside.«

Lone Hørslev is an author of poetry, novels, and song lyrics, as well as the TV series Den gode stemning. Together with Mads Mouritz, she forms one half of the Mouritz/Hørslev Project, and she recently wrote lyrics for the musical theatre production STOLT in collaboration with Katrine Muff. The songs can be found on the album Jeg ønsker mig.

playlist

14.10

My name is Raphael Loher – would you like to see my playlist?

»I think music is just the way I perceive and process the world.«

Raphael Loher is a pianist and composer based in Lucerne, Switzerland who combines elements of experimental electronic music, ambient, and minimalist composition. His distinct, crystalline work explores playful reduction and rhythmic abstraction, aiming to create singular resonances and aesthetic connections. His meditative style of piano playing allows shimmering rhizomatic structures to emerge, giving rise to tense narrative arcs. Loher expands his sound spectrum by preparing the piano, using effect pedals, and working with a tape recorder.

Loher’s new album Figuren (Präsens Editionen) is an album shaped by intuition, experimentation, and a deliberate distance from his primary instrument — the piano. Reworking intimate concert recordings made during a residency, Loher deconstructed selected melodies, tones, and resonances into new forms, transforming them further through tape manipulation.

playlist

06.10

We are Late Runner – would you like to see our playlist?

»For us, music is... magic? Aside from the fact that we are huge fans of silence, the closing line of one of our upcoming singles perfectly captures our relationship with music:

'Music feels like magic to me / A superior art form in a marketplace / Trying to find an empty space'.

That is what it can feel like as a songwriter and performing musician. We try to hold onto an almost childlike infatuation with music, yet the art form we work in – alternative-leaning pop-rock – was created and has evolved 'in a marketplace' driven by powerful economic forces. As a romantic, that can sometimes be a bit disheartening...«

Late Runner consists of Asger Tarpgaard and Tanja Forsberg Simonsen, both formerly of the bands Superheroes and Private.

news

04.10

Björk takes over Polish marketplace today for secret festival finale

It was officially confirmed only recently that Icelandic avant-garde star Björk is visiting Bielsko-Biała today. After keeping it under wraps until the last moment, the organizers of the Wędrujący Festiwal (Wandering Festival) have revealed that Björk is the artist closing out the festival's grand finale.