Program
John Psathas (1966* NZ) Drum dances I & III (1993) – for drum-kit & keyboard – 10’
Nicolas von Ritter-Zahony (1986* CH) Boire (2016) – for drum-kit & keyboard – 10’
Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007 DE) Nasenflügeltanz (1983/90) – for drum-kit & keyboard/singer – 8’
Julien Mégroz (1986* CH) Indigne de nous (2016), for drum-kit & keyboard – 7’
Gilles Grimaître (1988* CH) Boulezisdead (2016), for drum-kit & keyboard – 7’
Frank Zappa (1940-1993 USA) The black page (1976) – version for drum-kit & keyboard – 7’
Featuring electronic interludes by Cyrill Lim
Nowadays, just as many composers draw inspiration from pop, rock & jazz as from so-called classical music. Our HYPER FUZZ programme is intended to emphasise the porous nature of the stylistic boundaries that traditionally separated popular genres from the musical avant-garde. The programme is composed of groovy and electric works for keyboard & drum-kit.
Most composers on this programme have backgrounds in pop music, having performed in jazz and/or rock bands. Each contributes, in his own way, in a musical revolution which transplants the electric intensity and angst of rock music into the context of formally composed music. Frank Zappa’s black page seamlessly blends rock and contemporary music from the 1970’s, and stands as a paradigm of this aesthetic tendency. Similarly, Drum dances, composed almost 20 years later by Australian composer, John Psathas, occupies a middle-space between new music and jazz-fusion drumming.
In contrast, one would not immediately expect a work by Stockhausen to sit well on a programme of this nature; however, unbeknownst to the composer, his experiments in electronic music were of real importance in the emergence and development of the technology which was taken up by a new generation of pop artists. His Nasenflügeltanz (an extract of the opera Samstag aus Licht), is a sort of musical theatre work in which the percussionist plays, moves around, sings and shouts, accompanied by a synthesiser playing suspenseful sounds. The work abstractly depicts Lucifer’s nose(!) in a robotic, maniacal dance.
As a counterweight, and in response to these three works which fuse rock and experimental music, the musicians of HYPER DUO—also themselves composers and fans of all sorts of music—will present two of their own works, both of which are charged with heavy rhythms and absurdist identities.
Finally, HYPER DUO commissioned a new work by young, Lausanne-based composer & jazz guitarist (and himself with a long background in rock and metal), Nicolas von Ritter-Zahony. To complete the programme, between each work there will be a brief electronic interlude, specially composed and performed by Cyrill Lim. Each inspired by the atmosphere of a rock concert, these short pieces, presented in the form of fixed-media playback with real-time modifications, connect the major works on the programme. The total duration is around one hour.