34th Festival “Zeit für Neue Musik” – Music and Text

am 14.03.2021 bis 20.03.2021, 0:00
Preis: Admission 18 €

Festival in Bayreuth | Direction: Dr. Wolfram Graf

14th and 15th March 2021

“Christ as a Butterfly’s Trunk” – chamber music theatre performance for two performers, piano, flute and percussion

Directed by Maximilian Ponader, concept music by Maximilian Ponader and Wolfram Graf

Scenic-musical fantasy about an episode in the first year of the Bayreuth Festival in 1876, when Friedrich Nietzsche and the Wagner tenor Adolf Wallnöfer happened to be stranded in the Wendelhöfen district lunatic asylum, where a patient gave them the poem “Christ as a Butterfly’s Trunk”, which he had written himself. In this bizarre incident, the far-reaching tensions of that time in this place are condensed, living Christ and dead God, delirium and sharp mind, the struggle for the (super)human and the artwork of the future. With which butterfly’s trunk does one reach the hidden nectar of knowledge?

 

19th March 2021

“Encounters”

Concert in cooperation with the Tonkünstlerverband Bayreuth – Johannes Neuner, saxophone and Michael Starke, piano

There is a body of instrumental music that is obviously or even unconsciously inspired by texts. For example, the popular piece “Scaramouche” by Milhaud is inspired by the clown figure of the same name from the “Commedia de’l arte”. The Azerbaijani composer Babayan named his duo composition “Mantra”, thus building a bridge to the sacred words in Far Eastern religions. Starke’s piano cycle “Trois visions” draws on biblical texts. Despite their modern tonal language, Graf’s “Trois nocturnes” are in the tradition of Romantic nocturnes, a term used in the literature of the time for short eerie narratives. The concert will also feature works that have emerged from an exploration of folklore and popular music.

 

20th March 2021

Piano Night – Three Concerts from 19.30 to 22.30

Michael Herrschel, recitation, Simon Vincent, piano and electronics, Wolfram Graf, piano

With pieces by Michael Herrschel, Yulim Kim, Simon Vincent, Carson Cooman, Wolfram Graf and others.

In the meantime, the Piano Night has become an integral part of the “Zeit für Neue Musik”. Also in 2021, three concerts of the most varied nature will take place on the Steingraeber grand pianos in one evening.

Start: 7.30 p.m. – In the first part of the programme, the author and reciter Michael Herrschel will read from his drama “Katharina.Schatten.Spiel.” which is about Katharina von Bora and her escape from the monastery. Interludes with new music by Yulim Kim will provide a concise supplement to his literary scenes.

Start: 8.45 p.m. – In the second part, Simon Vincent will perform his compositions using electronic means, which he has dedicated to the memory of the festival founder Helmut Bieler. This part of the concert, which had already been announced for 2020, will now be performed in 2021.

Start: 9.30 p.m. – Eventually, Wolfram Graf will play piano music of the 20th and 21st centuries, among others, which has a reference to literary models. Works by Leopold van der Pals, Carson Cooman and Graf himself will be performed.

Admission 18 € (14 € in advance). Under 14 years accompanied by an adult. Admission free for under 14 years accompanied by an adult. Under 25 years €5 each