E-UROPAS (Plurality of Centers)
The enduring myths of New Music, once revered as immutable pillars, have weathered with age, their fragility evident to some as irreparable. Despite this, contemporary music stages a recurring narrative, dredging up primal archetypes and seminal events, hoping to decipher and illuminate them anew. Here, the venerated myths of yore intersect with the modern-day mythos of everyday life and media-saturated society, converging on a level playing field. Their demystification is championed as a pursuit of intellectual enlightenment, yet the mystical allure persists, elusive and enigmatic. What strides have been taken to scrutinize, from the contemporary perspective, the essence concealed behind the shimmering facade? Can the forces of music, atonality, and serialism be manipulated to forge new, affirmative myths?
Schmickler's 'E-UROPAS' finds its genesis in John Cage's 'Europeras V,' a Fluxus opera where Cage relinquishes control over musical material to the opera singers. In Schmickler's composition, five virtuoso interpreters of New Music curate their preferred selections from the 20th-century repertoire. Texts by Cornelius Cardew and Guy Debord, along with voice-overs by luminaries such as John Cage, Mauricio Kagel, and Klaus Schöning, accompany the performance. Schmickler's own electronic composition, '«22 gliders»-rule,' interjects into this critical dialogue, weaving together a tapestry of quotations and references emblematic of Modernity.
In bidding farewell to the 20th century, 'E-UROPAS' embarks on a multifaceted exploration, probing the boundaries of reality and concert, tradition and innovation. Through a fusion of disparate elements, it seeks to disrupt complacency and challenge preconceptions, signaling a departure from the familiar into the uncharted territories of contemporary musical expression.
References
- 2020 › CD › Tochnit Aleph
- 2012 Apr 27 › Deutschlandradio › E-UROPAS "PLURALITY OF CENTERS, Goodbye Moderne" feat. Juditha Haberlin, Axel Porath, Dirk Wietheger, Ulrich Löffler, Dirk Rothbrust, Hayden Chisholm, Marcus Schmickler. 00.05 cet
- 2009 Sept 18 › WDR3 Radio › 'E-UROPAS' on (11.00 pm cet)
- 2007 Jun 21 › Berlin › Premiere of 'E-UROPAS' with Musikfabrik at Radialsystem V.
Duration: ~
Premiere:
Cologne Philharmonic 09.16.2016
Credits: Juditha Haeberlin: violin, Axel Porath: viola, Dirk Wietheger: cello, Ulrich Löffler: piano, Dirk Rothbrust: percussion, Hayden Chisholm: speaker, Carsten Goertz: scenography,
Marcus Schmickler: live electronics