NEWSLETTER 07/19

We grow up with myths, fables and fairy tales, they exist in all languages and cultures and are often striking stories with simple messages. As children, we accept the apparent simplicity of structure and story, but a closer look reveals deeper interpretations and aspects of social existence.
For Monserrat Borredá, who teaches choreographic exercises and projects in the drama and musical theater directing courses at the HfMT, this is good material for gaining initial experience with a complete production. The fairy tale project is part of the curriculum for the second semester and leads to the performance of approximately 15-minute works with choreographic elements.
"The challenges are: As a director, how can I find a physical vocabulary for the archetypal characters? How should the characters speak? What style do I want to work in? Some directors write their own fairy tales, others work with existing fairy tales. Some explore the horrific, others focus on the magical or the poetic..."
The fellow students serve as each other's actors and reflect on the effect of their concepts.
Five of these works will be shown at the summer incubator festival on July 11 on the North Campus. Well worth a visit!

Konstantin Reinfeld discovered the harmonica at the age of 13 and was "emotionally gripped from the very first note". A fascination that has lasted to this day, allowing him to continue his tireless progress and making him one of the most exciting and successful musicians on his instrument at a young age. The scene of professional harmonica players is manageable, so it was mainly internet forums that initially served as teachers for the self-taught musician. He started recording his music and posting it online. "I got an incredible amount of valuable feedback that helped me, but also the message that what I was doing wasn't so bad". He tried things out and exchanged ideas, found teachers and looked for a place to study, which didn't exist, but which he finally found in Cologne. Of course, there is no harmonica class there, but the unconventional musician made use of the infrastructure, taking lessons mainly from pianists and harmonica players worldwide. He completed his bachelor's degree with a concert that hardly left out any musical genre: whether classical, world music, film music, jazz or his own compositions: "As long as I play the harmonica, I feel closely connected." He sees his musical home most in jazz and is currently studying on the Dr. Langner Jazz Master's program at the HfMT.
As part of the Master Night on July 3, he can be heard with his duo partner - pianist Christoph Spangenberg - at the Theater im Zimmer. Here is a sample of the current CD Be sure to be enchanted!

For the second time this season, the university orchestra is putting a work by Helmut Lachenmann on its music stand and devoting itself to the accompanying, unconventional playing techniques of this now 83-year-old old master of contemporary German composition. Maria Weruchanowa, who plays violin in the orchestral piece Air for orchestra with solo percussion, talks about the preparations: "The playing techniques are actually so unusual that they cannot be represented in conventional notation. Each individual sound product requires a new notation, and therefore the individual voice - in this piece there are only solo voices - begins with a detailed legend. It is bowed over the scroll, plucked with the plectrum, the string is made to creak by pressing, the fingerboard is made to sound with the cockroach. In addition, there are complicated but precisely written-out rhythms and quite rapid changes between the different actions, so that overall you have to be very alert and concentrated." Conducting student Constantin Schiffner has ordered all the performers to work individually for an hour to get the basics right before the big picture is put together. Maria is very excited about the result, because at the moment it's all still very abstract. However, she thinks it is important not only to follow listening habits, but also to try out new things.
The concerts will take place on July 10 and 11 in the Forum of the HfMT. In addition to Air, the program includes a Haydn symphony and Harold in Italy by Hector Berlioz.

Francesco Cagnasso was born in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. After studying music theory with a major in trumpet at the Zurich University of the Arts, he began his conducting studies at the HfMT with Prof. Windfuhr and Prof. De Villiers in 2017. He will conduct the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra at the HfMT Forum on July 3. And now you are spoiled for choice, because Francesco recommends:

I recommend the organ concert on July 3 in the church of St. Johannis-Harvestehude. An incredibly virtuoso and great organist will be playing: Nicola Procaccini. Nicola is not a musician, Nicola is the music. He has an incredibly natural way of making music; he enchants every key he touches with an incredible musicality that comes to him instinctively. He also has a diverse program. From Johannes Sebastian Bach to Max Reger and Maurice Duruflé, played in the beautiful St. Johannis-Harvestehude church on the wonderful new Mühleisen/Marcussen organ. Missing a concert like this means missing out on unique music. Come in large numbers!