Piano+ 2008

The impetus given by Karlheinz Stockhausen in the middle of the twentieth century still has effects today. On December 13, 2008, precisely one year after the public bid him adieu, we would like to pay tribute to his early works. Pi-hsien Chen and Benjamin Kobler — both pianists worked together with Stockhausen — will present his most exciting and demanding piano pieces together with the percussionist Laszlo Hudacsek. Opposite this, we place two early electronic works that form a veritable foundation for interpretational thought in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. An encounter with John Cage, Stockhausen’s American counterpart, on 12 December promises to be especially inspiring.
Christian Nagel, who was also fortunate to work together with Stockhausen, will play works by both Cage and Jonathan Harvey, the 2007 Giga-Hertz-Prize winner.

The program includes well-established pieces and also premieres. We are pleased to welcome the still young but very successful Ensemble 2x2 (2 pianists, 2 percussionists) for the first time at Piano+. Their innovative program with (among others) the premiere of Sven-Ingo Koch's "Strassen, Wiesen" opens Piano+ 2008. Two members of the ensemble will close Piano+ 2008 with "Kontakte" by K. Stockhausen.
Also this year, the "+" multimedia element should be more strongly emphasized. In a close collaboration with young composers, Rei Nakamura will present music with video and also music with light designs produced via color laser.
You are invited to discover additional versatility in the artistic treatment of piano and electronic media in works by Denis Smalley and Bojidar Spassow, among others. The talks on Saturday, 13 December 2008, will present reflection on accounts by interpreters who knew Stockhausen well.

Artistic director: Catherine Vickers.
 

PROGRAM PIANO+

Thu, December 11, 2008

8 p.m. at the ZKM_Cube
Works by Martin Hiendl (premiere), Denis Smalley, Orm Finnendahl, Sven-Ingo Koch (premiere), Malika Kishino and Oliver Schneller
Piano: Weronika Krowka and Lluïsa Espigolé
Ensemble 2x2:
Piano: Heather O’Donnell, Benjamin Kobler
Percussion: László Hudacsek, Rie Watanabe
 

Fri, December 12, 2008

8 p.m. at the ZKM_Cube
Works by John Cage and Jonathan Harvey
Piano: Christian Nagel

10 p.m. at the ZKM_Cube
Works by Marc Barden, Michael Beil, Annesley Black, Ludger Brümmer (premiere) and Bojidar Spassov (premiere)
Piano: Rei Nakamura and Catherine Vickers
 

Sat, December 13, 2008

4 p.m. at the ZKM_Lecture Hall
Part 1
Perplexing and Explicable in the Work of Stockhausen
Prof. Dr. Rudolf Frisius to celebrate the publication of the 2nd volume of his monograph; on the 80th anniversery of Karlheinz Stockhausen
Part 2
... of Another Nature.
Talks about working with Stockhausen
With Benjamin Kobler, László Hudacsek and Pi-hsien Chen
Moderation: Catherine Vickers and Ludger Brümmer

8 p.m. at the ZKM_Cube
Karlheinz Stockhausen a.o. "Klavierstücke"
Piano: Pi-hsien Chen, Hsin-Yun Chang und
Benjamin Kobler

10 p.m. at the ZKM_Media Theater
Karlheinz Stockhausen "Kontakte"
Piano: Benjamin Kobler
Percussion: László Hudacsek