Rofu, Manta Mantra by Makrokosmos Quartet

Makrokosmos Quartet

Rofu, Manta Mantra

Price: € 14.95
Format: CD
Label: Ronin Rhythm Records
UPC: 0610098165095
Catnr: RON 024
Release date: 07 August 2020
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Label
Ronin Rhythm Records

UPC
0610098165095

Catalogue number
RON 024

Release date
07 August 2020

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

ROFU is a musical ritual for two pianos and percussion, written in 2012 and commissioned by the Makrokosmos Quartet, which is especially interested in performing new pieces. The premier was at the Dampfzentrale Bern at the festival “Morton Feldman – long music” in 2012. This context and the interest of the Makrokosmos Quartet in my music was a chance to write pure chamber music for an ensemble which was not my own. This led me to a different way of interpreting my own background and musical development, focusing more on completely written out music - and reflecting this tradition and process at the same time. Igor Strawinsky once said when asked about the meaning of words in relation to music: "Sometimes I feel like those old men Gulliver met on the trip to Laputa: They renounced language and tried to communicate with objects. A composer is always in this position because he has no verbal control over his music. The only real comment on a piece of music is another piece of music." MANTA MANTRA is another work for almost the same instrumentation. It was commissioned by the young Ensemble New4Art in 2014. I saw a film about a huge manta ray floating peacefully in the pure blue of the sea in two different speeds, seen from below together with the broken sunlight. This inspired the piece. Later I found in the graphic novel “Superman” by Gion Capeder a wonderful similar sequence, which is seen on the cover.

Artist(s)

Philippe Spiesser (percussion)

Bahar Dorduncu (piano)

Sébastien Cordier (percussion)

Ufuk Dorduncu (piano)

Makrokosmos Quartet

The Makrokosmos Quartet is a Swiss quartet based in Geneva, Switzerland. The group takes its name from the eponymous music of George Crumb, itself conjuring up the magical possibilities of such an instrumental line-up. Alongside the great classic masterworks of the genre - the Sonata for 2 pianos and percussion by Béla Bartók; Le Sacre du Printemps by Igor Stravinsky and Music for a Summer Evening - Makrokosmos III by George Crumb, the Makrokosmos Quartet continues to forge its own new identity working hand-in-hand with composers in exploring the instrumental format of 2 pianos 2 percussions to create a new voice and a new music for the 21st century. From its inception, Makrokosmos has commissioned and performed many works by the world’s leading composers such as Luciano Berio, Ivan Fedele, Stefano Gervasoni, Georg Friedrich Haas, Bernhard Lang, Enno Poppe, Steve Reich & Wolfgang Rihm. Furthermore, the quartet has also widened its repertoire by commissioning other composers like the Swiss Nik Bärtsch to reach even wider audiences. Among their collaborations we can find different orchestras, choirs and ensembles such us Ensemble Contrechamps, the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, l'Orchestre de Chambre de Geneve or recently the Spanish dancer Andrés Marín. Makrokosmos has played at many of the world’s leading festivals and venues including Festival Archipel Genéve, Witten Tage für Neue Musik, Hong Kong MUSE, Suntory Hall Contemporary Festival-Tokyo, Saint Petersburg Contemporary music Festival, Philharmonie Berlin or Festival Istanbul. The quartet has been broadcast on radio worldwide and has several highly acclaimed CDs including 'Magical worlds of Sound' (Crumb, Gervasoni Haas) & 'Round Midnight' inspired by Thelonius Monk (Schneller, Gregorio, Ferrero & Stefan Wirth ).

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Composer(s)

Nik Bärtsch (piano)

Born 1971 in Zurich. Pianist, composer and producer. Lives in Zurich. Instruction in piano and percussion from the age 8. 1997 Graduation from the 'Musikhochschule Zürich'. 1998-2001 studies in philosophy, linguistics and musicology at the University of Zurich. 2003/04 stay in japan for half a year. Ongoing work on his RITUAL GROOVE MUSIC as pianist and composer. Leader of MOBILE (since 1997; with Kaspar Rast, Mats Eser & Sha) and the zen-funk quartet RONIN (since 2001; with Kaspar Rast, Thomy Jordi (till 2011 Björn Meyer) and Sha. 2002 - 2012 also with Andi Pupato). Instructor for ‘Practical Aesthetics’ at the 'Musikhochschule Zürich/Winterthur' (2000-2003). Co-founder of the Music club EXIL in Zurich (2009). Founder of the label Ronin Rhythm Records, a platform for creative groove music...

Born 1971 in Zurich. Pianist, composer and producer. Lives in Zurich. Instruction in piano and percussion from the age 8. 1997 Graduation from the 'Musikhochschule Zürich'. 1998-2001 studies in philosophy, linguistics and musicology at the University of Zurich. 2003/04 stay in japan for half a year.
Ongoing work on his RITUAL GROOVE MUSIC as pianist and composer. Leader of MOBILE (since 1997; with Kaspar Rast, Mats Eser & Sha) and the zen-funk quartet RONIN (since 2001; with Kaspar Rast, Thomy Jordi (till 2011 Björn Meyer) and Sha. 2002 - 2012 also with Andi Pupato). Instructor for ‘Practical Aesthetics’ at the 'Musikhochschule Zürich/Winterthur' (2000-2003).

Co-founder of the Music club EXIL in Zurich (2009).

Founder of the label Ronin Rhythm Records, a platform for creative groove music (since 2006).

Co-founder and co-artistic director (together with Judd Greenstein and Etienne Abelin) of the Indie-Classcial Festival Zurich Apples and Olives (2014).

Interest in the influence and the combination of music and movement, specially in the following Bodytechniques: Aikido, Feldenkrais, Gyrotonic.

Nik trains at Kokoro Aikido Dojo Zurich.

Residencies, workshops and lectures at several institutions (f.e. Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance London (UK), Musikhochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig (DE), Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (CH), Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (CH), Conservatorio Die Musica Trieste (IT), Accademia Di Architettura Mendrisio (CH), ETH Zürich (CH)).

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