Ensemble Resonanz / Johannes Kalitzke

To end the composer spotlight, the Ensemble Resonanz devotes an entire concert to Iannis Xenakis. The six pieces for string orchestra or string quartet show how the composer explored the specific capabilities of each instrument, for example, by using rushing glissandi in the works »Aroura« and »Syrmos«. This also applies to the evening’s two solo compositions, »Embellie« for the viola and »Theraps« for double bass, each of which in its own way calls on the performers to push at the envelope of their playing technique. The centrepiece of the programme is »Analogique A and B«, two pieces from the composer’s electro-acoustic experimental phase. Once again, the complex musical structures reveal the engineer Xenakis, who often used mathematical and geometric principles as a basis for his music.