Friday, November 22nd, 2013, 20.30
Works by Alvin Lucier and Michael Moser
Michael Moser, Violoncello
Alvin Lucier
On the Carpet of Leaves illuminated by the Moon
For Koto or Violoncello and Sine Wave Oscillator (2000)
A single pure wave sounds throughout the duration of the performance. While it does so, a
Koto plucks single tone against it, creating interference patterns – audible beats – produced as
the sound waves coincide. The speed of the beating is determined by the distance between
the two sound sources; the farther apart, the faster the beating. At unison, no beating is
heard. The shape of the patterns is determined by the decay characteristics of the plucked
strings. The title of the work is taken from Italo Calvino´s novel „if on a winter´s night a
traveler“. On page 199 one reads: „the Ginko leaves fell like rain from the boughs and dotted
the lawn with yellow. I was walking with Mr. Okeda on the path of smooth stones. I said I
would like to distinguish the sensation of each single Ginko leaf from the sensation of all
others, but I was wondering if it would be possible. […] if from the Ginko tree a single yellow
leaf falls and rests on the lawn, the sensation felt in looking at it is that of a single yellow
leaf. If two leafs descend from the tree, the eye follows the twirling of the two leaves as they
move closer, then separate in the air, like two butterflies chasing each other, then glide finally
to the grass, one here, one there. […] and follow it in its aerial dance until it comes to rest on
the blades of grass. […] I began to concentrate my attention on capturing the tiniest
sensations at the moment of their delineation, when their clarity was not yet mingled with a
sheaf of diffused impressions.“
[Festival Inventionen, Berlin, 2000]
On the Carpet of Leaves illuminated by the Moon (for violoncello) was written for Michael
Moser and premiered during the Festival Inventionen in Berlin in 2000.
Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier was born in 1931 in Nashua, New Hampshire. He attended Yale and Brandeis and
spent two years in Rome on a Fulbright Scholarship. From 1962 to 1970 he taught at Brandeis,
where he conducted the Brandeis University Chamber Chorus which devoted much of its time
to the performance of new music. Since 1970 he has taught at Wesleyan University. In 1966,
along with Robert Ashley, David Behrman and Gordon Mumma, Lucier founded the Sonic Arts
Union, for whose concerts he developed numerous live electronic works, exploring
echolocation, brain waves, room acoustics and the visual representation of sound. His recent
works include a series of installations and works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and
orchestra in which rhythmic patterns and related spatial phenomena are created by close
tunings. In March 1995, REFLECTIONS/REFLEXIONEN, a bi-lingual edition of Lucier's scores,
interviews and writings was published by MusikTexte, Koln.
[Lovely Music | Wesleyan University, USA]
Michael Moser
Locomotion Traces
For Cello, two snare drums, two transducers and sound projection (2011/2013)
Das Bild: zwei Snaredrums werden in bespielte, selbstklingende Objekte verwandelt: Die Idee
entstammt der Arbeit an meinen letzten beiden großformatigen Klanginstallationen – Resonant
Cuts und Antiphon Stein. Hauptelemente dieser Arbeiten waren mit Transducern bespielte
Flächenobjekte aus Glas und Metall. In Locomotion Traces bringen die Körperschallwandler
den zugespielten Klang auf die Felle der Trommeln, machen sie so zu Lautsprecher die je nach
Bauart und Resonanzraum diesen Klang filtern. Sinustonflächen verstärken die Verfremdung
der räumlichen Wahrnehmung. Eigenresonanz, mechanische Anregung und Zuspiel überlagern
einander. Daraus resultiert eine vielgestaltige klangliche Mischung von gespieltem und
bespieltem Instrument.
[Michael Moser, 2011]
Michael Moser
Michael Moser was born in Graz, Austria and studied architecture at the technical university in
vienna and cello at the University of Music in Graz and Vienna with Tobias Kühne and Rudolf
Leopold . Already during his studies of classical music he was intensively engaged with
different forms of contemporary music - composition, improvisation, theatre and filmmusic,
performance etc. - searching to enlarge the cello´s idiomatic repertoire of expression through
experimenting with live-electronics. Michael Moser works as a soloist and chamber musician in
Europe, Japan and the USA giving premieres, radio broadcasts and recordings on CD. Numerous
pieces for cello solo have been composed at his suggestion. He has collaborated with
distinguished artists such as Peter Ablinger, Bernhard Lang, Isabel Mundry, Helmut
Lachenmann, Alvin Lucier, KlausLang, Otomo Yoshihide, Pauline Olivieros, Hans Zender, Elliott
Sharp, Clemens Gadenstätter, Silvia Fomina, Daniel Rothman, Beat Furrer, Michael Maierhof,
Phill Niblock and ensembles as a.o. Polwechsel, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Neue Musik Wien
and ensemble on_line vienna. In 1998 his first solo cd "violoncello" was released on durian
records. At the Donaueschinger Musiktage 2005 he premiered Bernhard Langs Double/Schatten
as soloist together with Dimitrios Polisoides and the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden under
Sylvain Cambreling. Besides being an acknowledged interpreter of new music michael moser
also works as a composer for the ensemble polwechsel and develops sound installations and
concert installations together with wolfgang musil.
http://www.polwechsel.com
Koto plucks single tone against it, creating interference patterns – audible beats – produced as
the sound waves coincide. The speed of the beating is determined by the distance between
the two sound sources; the farther apart, the faster the beating. At unison, no beating is
heard. The shape of the patterns is determined by the decay characteristics of the plucked
strings. The title of the work is taken from Italo Calvino´s novel „if on a winter´s night a
traveler“. On page 199 one reads: „the Ginko leaves fell like rain from the boughs and dotted
the lawn with yellow. I was walking with Mr. Okeda on the path of smooth stones. I said I
would like to distinguish the sensation of each single Ginko leaf from the sensation of all
others, but I was wondering if it would be possible. […] if from the Ginko tree a single yellow
leaf falls and rests on the lawn, the sensation felt in looking at it is that of a single yellow
leaf. If two leafs descend from the tree, the eye follows the twirling of the two leaves as they
move closer, then separate in the air, like two butterflies chasing each other, then glide finally
to the grass, one here, one there. […] and follow it in its aerial dance until it comes to rest on
the blades of grass. […] I began to concentrate my attention on capturing the tiniest
sensations at the moment of their delineation, when their clarity was not yet mingled with a
sheaf of diffused impressions.“
[Festival Inventionen, Berlin, 2000]
On the Carpet of Leaves illuminated by the Moon (for violoncello) was written for Michael
Moser and premiered during the Festival Inventionen in Berlin in 2000.
Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier was born in 1931 in Nashua, New Hampshire. He attended Yale and Brandeis and
spent two years in Rome on a Fulbright Scholarship. From 1962 to 1970 he taught at Brandeis,
where he conducted the Brandeis University Chamber Chorus which devoted much of its time
to the performance of new music. Since 1970 he has taught at Wesleyan University. In 1966,
along with Robert Ashley, David Behrman and Gordon Mumma, Lucier founded the Sonic Arts
Union, for whose concerts he developed numerous live electronic works, exploring
echolocation, brain waves, room acoustics and the visual representation of sound. His recent
works include a series of installations and works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and
orchestra in which rhythmic patterns and related spatial phenomena are created by close
tunings. In March 1995, REFLECTIONS/REFLEXIONEN, a bi-lingual edition of Lucier's scores,
interviews and writings was published by MusikTexte, Koln.
[Lovely Music | Wesleyan University, USA]
Michael Moser
Locomotion Traces
For Cello, two snare drums, two transducers and sound projection (2011/2013)
Das Bild: zwei Snaredrums werden in bespielte, selbstklingende Objekte verwandelt: Die Idee
entstammt der Arbeit an meinen letzten beiden großformatigen Klanginstallationen – Resonant
Cuts und Antiphon Stein. Hauptelemente dieser Arbeiten waren mit Transducern bespielte
Flächenobjekte aus Glas und Metall. In Locomotion Traces bringen die Körperschallwandler
den zugespielten Klang auf die Felle der Trommeln, machen sie so zu Lautsprecher die je nach
Bauart und Resonanzraum diesen Klang filtern. Sinustonflächen verstärken die Verfremdung
der räumlichen Wahrnehmung. Eigenresonanz, mechanische Anregung und Zuspiel überlagern
einander. Daraus resultiert eine vielgestaltige klangliche Mischung von gespieltem und
bespieltem Instrument.
[Michael Moser, 2011]
Michael Moser
Michael Moser was born in Graz, Austria and studied architecture at the technical university in
vienna and cello at the University of Music in Graz and Vienna with Tobias Kühne and Rudolf
Leopold . Already during his studies of classical music he was intensively engaged with
different forms of contemporary music - composition, improvisation, theatre and filmmusic,
performance etc. - searching to enlarge the cello´s idiomatic repertoire of expression through
experimenting with live-electronics. Michael Moser works as a soloist and chamber musician in
Europe, Japan and the USA giving premieres, radio broadcasts and recordings on CD. Numerous
pieces for cello solo have been composed at his suggestion. He has collaborated with
distinguished artists such as Peter Ablinger, Bernhard Lang, Isabel Mundry, Helmut
Lachenmann, Alvin Lucier, KlausLang, Otomo Yoshihide, Pauline Olivieros, Hans Zender, Elliott
Sharp, Clemens Gadenstätter, Silvia Fomina, Daniel Rothman, Beat Furrer, Michael Maierhof,
Phill Niblock and ensembles as a.o. Polwechsel, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Neue Musik Wien
and ensemble on_line vienna. In 1998 his first solo cd "violoncello" was released on durian
records. At the Donaueschinger Musiktage 2005 he premiered Bernhard Langs Double/Schatten
as soloist together with Dimitrios Polisoides and the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden under
Sylvain Cambreling. Besides being an acknowledged interpreter of new music michael moser
also works as a composer for the ensemble polwechsel and develops sound installations and
concert installations together with wolfgang musil.
http://www.polwechsel.com
