in brief
22.05.2024

Hvad nu hvis Schuberts vandrer mødte en cyborg?

EKKI MINNA og Sebastian Vinther Olsen: »NO MORE NO LESS«
© PR
© PR

Franz Schuberts Täuschung, altså »bedrag-delen« fra Winterreise, hvor et dansende lys forfører en nedslået vandrer, der savner distraktion, får en eksklusiv tur i ny musik-transformatoren af den københavnske duo EKKI MINNA og tonemesteren Sebastian Vinther Christensen. Deres humoristiske og stilsikre arrangementer lader Schuberts forførende lys danse lige ind i vores tid. 

EKKI MINNA har skiftet klaveret ud med accordeon, mens Christian Winther Christensen går mere radikalt til værks med sit karakteristiske og uforudsigelige mix af slag, knibs og mikromelodier fra cello, accordion eller er det et lille orgel? Et veltilrettelagt fysisk statement om, at klassiske instrumenter i vores tid kan frembringe noget radikalt anderledes. Det indledende, fjantende og dansende lys leder os videre til Mads Emil Dreyers smukke, rolige, langt mere alvorlige, ambiente lydlandskab – et blødt og indadvendt sted, der giver mulighed for at meditere over livets bølgende dissonans og konsonans. Lykkes værket i at finde samklang til sidst, selvom tonerne igen og igen søger spænding i yderområderne?

Til sidst hilser det antropocæne temmelig foruroligende på os med sin ambiente uhygge og en cyborgs stemme, Mia Ghabarous autotunede vokal i »A lot of Angels.« Ja, Schuberts vandrer findes også i vores tid, og afslutningen på turen er ildevarslende i en grad, så man får lidt lyst til at gå hjem og preppe. 

NO MORE NO LESS er en vellykket collage af humor, spænding og melankoli, hvis dansende lys sætter både livets vaklen og vores musikarv i et tankevækkende perspektiv.

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»For us, music is a transcendent force with transformative potential – something we get to experience and shape when we create sound together. It is an opportunity to describe one’s innermost universes without words, and the best way for an introvert to express intense emotions at full volume.« 

With roots in Copenhagen’s experimental jazz and punk scene, Echo, Bravo challenges the notion of what a rock band can sound like. The quintet blends post-punk, free punk, and noise rock into a raw and unpredictable soundscape. They describe the music themselves as a kind of »empty-the-fridge soup,« where various leftovers come together. »Best enjoyed as a hot meal in a cold industry.«

 
 
© Ultima
© Ultima

Thorbjørn Tønder Hansen has died. With Thorbjørn’s passing, the art music community has lost one of the Nordic region’s most significant producers, curators and cultural leaders.

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»Music is the best way to discover myself and understand the world around me.«

Luca Quintavalle is a harpsichordist, fortepianist and conductor. He has performed with ensembles including Concerto Köln, Harmonie Universelle, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg and the Kölner Kammerorchester at venues and festivals such as the Kölner Philharmonie, Salzburg Festival and Enescu Festival. He was harpsichordist of Les Musiciens du Prince, led by Cecilia Bartoli, for over five years, and has conducted ensembles including the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Concerto Köln and Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss. His recordings include Mirrors, released by Berlin Classics and awarded an OPUS KLASSIK.

in brieflive
21.09

The Trombone Finds Its Quiet Side

Francisco Coll: »Tapias«
© PR
© PR

At 19, the Spanish composer (and trombonist) Francisco Coll wrote a wild-child of a trombone concerto that pushed the instrument out of its comfort zone. 22 years later he has created a new piece from some of that material. Its priorities are the opposite.

Tapias embraces the lyrical, ethereal qualities of the trombone. It is not a concerto, insists Coll. Perhaps it could be described as a set of frescoes for trombone and orchestra. Whatever the category, it’s a beguiling piece that was gorgeously birthed on Thursday by Ian Bousfield, conductor Nuno Coelho and a sumptuous-sounding Stavanger Symphony Orchestra.

Composers from Sibelius to Turnage have reacted against caricatures of the trombone as brusque and clowning by exploring its dark-hued lyricism. Coll does something more, setting his soloist’s introspective, intervallic melodies in evocative and provocative orchestral contexts. The soloist’s lines can resemble spray-canned tracings on walls already heavy with the patina of history, decoration and graffiti.

Initially the trombone appears to seek repose. The second movement draws it into more agility but the dancing is suppressed: a layered burying of all manner of rhythms from flamenco to Hiphop. Great wodges of rich harmony weigh the boogying down for good. 

The trombone does find peace in the final movement – its long, soulful melodies more yielding. But not before Coll has conjured up moments of huge harmonic strain and conscious orchestral magnificence. They sat well next to Coelho’s fierce performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No 5 after the interval. But Bousfield’s heartfelt journey through Tapias, sounding entirely at one with the orchestra, will linger longest in the mind. 

© Clara Linn & Amalie Lee Bjørn

»For us, music is a passion, a livelihood, and a focal point for us and our best friends in the band.«

Barselona consists of Rud Aslak and Rasmus Theodor. The band was formed in 2016 after a year at Ollerup Musikefterskole and has since released five albums and two EPs, most recently the album *Tag Min Hånd, Så Slipper Vi*, which is set for release in September 2026.