Christmas with Xmess
(December 12 – 17, 2002)

Gerhard Stäbler´s composition Xmess for voices, instruments, action and kitsch is inspired by the commercial exploitation of Christmas-season. A collage of Christmas-songs, that are sung all over the world the interpreters are entering the stage with christmas make up and glamour. Günther Albers, director of the Opern Studio of the Deutschen Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf-Duisburg will direct the premiere of Xmess on December 1. Numerous performances will follow.

Dec 4 Theater Foyer Duisburg. Dec 5 Opernfoyer Düsseldorf. Dec 12 Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf. Dec 13 Glaserei Bongartz in Duisburg Rumeln-Kaldenhausen. Dec 15 Theater Foyer Duisburg. Dec 17 Haniel-Akademie Duisburg. Dec 18 Partica-Saal, Robert-Schumann-Hochschule Düsseldorf.

 

American Premiere of Gift.Gelb
(November 23, 2002)

The experimental Duo Interzone Perceptible is going to play Gerhard Stäbler´sGift.Gelb for electrified accordion, e-bass and tape in the United States for the first time. Gift.Gelb, composed in winter 2001/02, represents a cynical allegory to the war in Afghanistan. Apart from Stäbler´s work Interzone Perceptible are interpreting a piece from Michael Rook (Kollaps/Relaps (wormhole), Premiere of a new piece) and Hans-Joachim Hespos (kaleidoskopes luftsilber).

November 23: "hard edged music", The Vogue (Seattle)1516 11th Ave, Capitol Hill

 

Irish premiere of Karas.Krähen
(November 17, 2002)

In Karas.Krähen Stäbler connected themes from Asian mythology with threatening dangers of modern civilization. Ten suns existed in ancient china, nine of them were shot down by the legendary archer Yi. After that a crow beared the tenth sun. From the modern civilizations point of view the function of this crow has become quite negative: temperatures on earth are rising dramatically, our "artificial suns", the atombomb and nuclear power stations are threatening. Here the crow is not a positive life spender but more a "bringer of death".
In this ambivalence between orient and occident Stäbler is composing his Karas.Krähen. The Irish Crash Ensemble, mostly concentrating on multimedia and experimental works, is now performing the composition in the version for voice, keyboard, double bass, percussion and CD. Further composition are being played from Steven Gardner, Michael Meierhof, David Lang, Eva Beglarian and Julia Wolfe.

Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, November 17

 

Hart auf Hart in Norway
(November 11, 2002)

The portrait concert of music by Gerhard Stäbler; and Kunsu Shim left an impression on the musicians of the Bodoe Sinfonietta. They are determined to perform this work again in a Bodoe church on November 11. On the programme, a large ensemble consisting of 5 strings, 5 winds, trumpet, trombone, piano, and percussion, will mainly play the works of Norwegian composers: three pieces by Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen, as well as two works by Sigmund Lillebjerka.

 

futuressence^xxx and Hommage á Nam June Paik in New York 
(November 7/8, 2002)

At the end of their North-American tournee Kunsu Shim and Gerhard Stäbler are invited by the festival-organisator ThreeTwo. The two composers will present two interdisiplinary evenings: On November 7 they will perform their Futurism-Hommage futuressencexxx with the German theatre-group GeVis & Schnee and artists, which participated at the premiere in San Francisco 2000 (Kattt Sammon, Peggy de Coursey).
On November 8, Stäbler and Shim are dealing with Nam June Paik; they will show their performance Hommage á Nam June Paik, other works from George Brecht or Kurt Schwitters are performed as well. The artists will include Jörg Detmold and Thomas Meczele from GeVis & Schnee and Sammon and de Coursey again.

Sanford Meisner Theater New York, 164, 11th Avenue: November 7: Futuressencexxx. 
Sanford Meisner Theater New York, 164, 11th Avenue: November 8: Hommage á Nam June Paik.

 

EarPort is represented
(November 3 – 9, 2002)

After a performance night with the Taipei-born composer Chao-Ming Tung and the Berlin resident Hartmut Wohleber on October 30, there will be a week-long (November 3-10) interdisciplinary artistic week. The pianist Jongah Yoon will inaugurate the events on Saturday, playing piano works by Morten Feldman, as well as Gerhard Stäbler's Dali;. Afterwards, every day there will be five performances featuring Jörg Detmold, Thomas Meczele, Victoria Smits, and Kunsu Shim. After a conversation evening with the assembled artists on Friday, November 9, the pianist Jongah Yoon will end the event-rich week with piano works by Galina Ustvolskaya and Kunsu Shim. Parallel with the named events, there will also be an exhibition featuring the art of the Frankfurt-based painter Mirna Hudobec Bauer. Entrance to all events is free of charge.

November 3-10, EarPort Duisburg, Philosophenweg 17a / 47051 Duisburg (for inquiries: earportDU@aol.com)

 

Workshops, Lectures and Concerts at University of Toronto
(October 29 – November 1, 2002)

After the residence with Kore-ensemble in Montréal both composers will give some lectures, where they talk about their work to the students. Theoretical discussion are followed by practical cooperations with the universities "Contemporary Music Ensemble". Stäbler´s Warnung mit Liebeslied for harp, accordion and glass-percussion will be performed here. On the third and last day there will be a more extensive concert with performances and pieces from Stäbler and Kunsu: The composer´s Hommage á Nam June Paik, Shim´s piece japonais and Paiks Simplefrom 1962 are performances, Shim´s positive spaces and Stäbler´s Red and Whiteensemble works: Graphic notations will be the point of departure for training improvisation with the students. Stäbler´s experimental study for voice, Rosenkranz and Shims inserting music for tape, which will be played 13 seconds at any time in the concert, are completing the programme.

October 29th: Lecture in the University's Composers' Forum
October 30th: Concert with the University's Contemporary Music Ensemble
Nov. 1st: Lobby Concert with students

 

Gerhard Stäbler and Kunsu Shim - Composer in Residence with the Canadian Kore-Ensemble
(October 25 – 27, 2002)

In the frame of a Canada-tournée Gerhard Stäbler and Kunsu Shim will be composers in residence in Montréal. At the beginning of the residence McGill percussion quartet will perform two percussion pieces from Shim and Stäbler, after the composers had introduced the musicians to their works. After that, three concerts will present the music of the two composers: On October 25 the auditorium will be introduced to Kunsu Shim´s discreet and very elegant music by the Bozzini string quartet. The musicians will concentrate on Shim´s recently composed chamber-music for strings: two places for violin solo (1998), wäre ich ein vogel, ein wasser und ein wind for string-quartet (2002) and luftrand (für klaus und dirk) (2000). On the next day this concert is followed by an evening with the Motion-ensemble and Stäbler´s and Shim´s Hommage To Nam June Paik, Stäbler´s Winter, Blumen in a solo-version for double-bass, Shim´s before for double bass and his in zwei Teilen for ensemble. The last concert of Kore-Ensemble and the musicians Jonathan Goldman (accordion) und Andrew Miller (double-bass) is concentrating on Stäbler´s Oeuvre: Die Nacht sitzt am Tisch for voice, clarinet, bassclarinet and smells and KARAS.KRÄHEN for voice, ensemble and tape, Spurenfor saxophone-quartet are going to be interpreted.

All dates: Kunsu Shim Portrait October 25: Studio 303, 372 Ste-Catherine Ouest
Gerhard Stäbler / Kunsu Shim Double-portrait October 26: Studio 303, 372 Ste-Catherine Ouest
Gerhard Stäbler Portrait October 27: Sala Rossa 4848 boul. St-Laurent

On invitation and with support of Goethe Institute Montréal

 

Premiere in Chiasso (Switzerland): m·sks·m
(October 19, 2002)

In the theatre of Chiasso the New-music concert-organization "Oggimusica" is going to celebrate its 25 th. anniversary. 12 composers sent compositions, among them Gerhard Stäbler, who is presenting his m·sks·m - U-turn for three wind players, percussion and drums. Like other compositions from, for example, D. Cojacaru (Montreal), G. F. Haas (Vienna), M. Schmidt (Freiburg), M. Smolka (Prague), D. Weissberg und H. Wüthrich (Basle), this compositions is - analogue to the baroque tradition - dealing with the theme "musical mask". The interpreters will be Frederic Rzewski (piano) and ensemble Oggimusica.

Teatro Chiasso, October 19

 

Journal 9´1119 in Berlin
(September 29, 2002)

The percussionist Dirk Rothbrust and the flute-player Dietmar Wiesner are going to perform Journal 9´1119 for percussion, flute, tape and smells in Berlin. Stäbler recorded earlier written pieces on tape (e.g. Strike the ear (1987/88) for string-quartet and the 1972 composed drüber... for eight active screamers) and combined them with flute and percussion sounds from filled water bottles and metal bowls. The composition is performed in a programme with works from Tom Johnson (Rational Melodies for flute-solo) and Bernd Thewes (Subcode for pasteboard-drum).

September 29, Berlin - Pfefferberg at Schönhauser Allee.

  

Duo Archaeopteryx performing Journal 9´1119 in Saarbrücken
(August 14, 2002)

1996 Gerhard Stäbler composed Journal 9´1119 for the experimental Duo Archaeopteryx. Now the musicians will perform the work for flutes, drums, tape and smells for the first time. Stäbler composed the piece with rows of numbers he took from Philip Johnson-Laird´s book "Computer in head". Like in his Internet-cycle the composers cites fragments of own works like strike the ear and drüber....
Scenic elements play an important role in Journal 9´1119: Lots of plastic garbage is placed in the centre of the percussion. The performance will largely take place on stage, but at the end the piece will be concluded behind the audience with unusual instruments like metal-bowls or bottles filled with water. Before Stäblers work is performed Duo Archaeoteryx will play works by Dieter Mack (temu, 2001) and Palle Dahlstedt (Anakolut, 2000, awarded with first prize from Gaudeamus competition 2001).

Saarland Museum Saarbrücken Vortragssaal, Bismarckstr. 11, 14.08.

  

Dalí´s premiere in Japan
(July 20, 2002)

The first performance of Gerhard Stäblers Dalí, musica mágica will be given in Japan by the Japanese pianist Kazue Nakamura. Dalí, musica mágica for piano was written in 1995/96. The work reflects Stäblers impressions in the Dalí-museum in Figueres. Stäbler was especially attracted by the painters controverse, excentric character and the strange, but fascinating nature surrounding Dalí.
51 passages each containing 33-crotchets (exclusive an extensive pause) are influenced by Schuberts piano music, that went beyound musical conventions in the early 19. century. The artificial text to Dalí, musica mágica is based on Walter Benjamins famous essay "Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit" (Works of art in the age of technical reproduction). This essay is dealing with the problem of art-reception, that is dominated by new medias (photo, film) concentrated on reproduction. Nakamura will play Dalí in a programme with works by Jo Kondo, Sadayuki Kaminaga an Hiroyuki Yamamoto.

Mon-naka Tenjo Hall, Tokyo, July 20

 

Musik Welten III
(June 21, 2002)

Three extensive Stäbler-portraits at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Duisburg Theatre and Tonhalle Düsseldorf are followed by a night called "Musik Welten III" (Music worlds III) at June 21. The programme is concentrating on Stäblers works for voice. All of the four Belfast Breakfast songs, Stäbler composed in Belfast 1996, are interpreted. These songs are dominated by extremes in many respects: tempi should sometimes be "as fast as possible", dynamics are changing rapidly from extreme forte to whispering. In the foreword of the score Stäbler writes: "Every hint of mediocrity is unfavourable to the interpretation of the compositions." 
Apart from works for voice (Secrets (1998) - songs based on poems by Wolf Wondratschek, Rosenkranz (1995), secret score for a vocalist) instrumental works are being presented as well: Krusten/Crusts for cello (1998), Traum 1/9/92 (1992) for ensemble, eilig.dressiert (2000) for three flutes, Hart auf Hart (1996) for ensemble. One work from Kunsu Shim (Three Pieces for Cello, 1992) and Modest Mussorsky (Without sun, songs I - III for singer and piano) are also presented.

Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf, June 21, Foyer, 10 Euro. Solisten der Deutschen Oper am Rhein, Interpreters: Armand Angster (clarinet), Jean-Marc Foltz (bass-clarinet), Anton Lukoszevieze (cello), Roland Techet (piano), Ensemble il tempo suono (flutes), Gerhard Stäbler (performance), soloists from Deutsche Oper am Rhein

 

Müllfahrer von San Francisco and Die Reise (The voyage) in the Netherlands(May 5 – 15, 2002)

The well known Dutch Ives Ensemble interpretes two works of Gerhard Stäbler in 4 concerts. The "Stäbler Ensemble-Hit" Die Müllfahrer von San Francisco will be performed in the small version, Michael Oesterle had arranged. As Die Müllfahrer will be a Dutch premiere, Die Reise for clarinet, trumpet, trombone, cello, piano, drums and tape will be performed for the first time worldwide. Stäbler produced the tape with Christian Venghaus from Zentrum für Kunst- und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe. It contains tram-sounds recorded in Gdansk (Danzig) for Avi Kaisers dance-theatre Endstation Zaspa. The score shows numerous tutti-actions and is characterized by hard dynamic contrasts, scenic actions dominate as well: Passages, in which the instrumentalists have to produce quiet, but striking sounds on unusual sound generators are interpolated. Apart from Stäblers works Marginal Way, composed by Michael Oesterle, and Kolchis, Kalt from Wolfgang Rihm are being played.

All concert dates: Sunday May 5, 20.30 Muziekcentrum 's Hertogenbosch, Prins Bernhardstraat 4, 's Hertogenbosch ; Tuesday May 7, 20.30 Paradiso Amsterdam (in PROMS series), Weteringschans 6-8, Amsterdam ; Wednesday May 8, 20.30 Lantaren/Venster Rotterdam, Gouvernestraat 133, Rotterdam ; Wednesday May 15, 20.15 Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht Vredenburgpassage 77

 

Madame la Peste - Stäblers new music-theatre
(April 26, 2002)

On April 26 the the premiere of Gerhard Stäblers new music theatre Madame la Peste will take place at Theatre Duisburg. Matthias Kaiser, director and dramaturge of the opera in Saarbrücken, wrote the libretto, which is based on two novels: On Edgar Allan Poes gothic novel "The decline of house Usher" from 1839, and on the polish writer Bruno Jasienskis futuristic novel "Plague in Paris". (1928).
The music theatre is dealing with the question, if "human" systems can be installed in a society. After the plague has murdered most people in Paris, some survivors in a prison try to establish a new "socialistic" system. In the end they fail, and the question remains, if a system without ideology is possible.

Theatre Duisburg 19.30, Musical direction: Günther Albers, stage-production: Elmar Fulda, stage and costumes: Gottfried Pilz, choir: Gerhard Michalski, interpreters/singers: P´an/Poe - Christopher Lincoln, Professor/Roderick - Stephen Bronk, Lady Madelaine/Pest - Hanne Järvinen, Eleasar ben Zwi (Rabbi) - Sami Luttinen, Solomin - Torsten Hoffmann, Tschen (chinese girl) - Anke Krabbe, Mr. Lingslay (Media-chief) - Bruce Rankin, Jeanatte Lecoque (Republic-people) - Lisa Griffith, Laval (republican mercenarties) - Heikki Kilpeläinen

 

Another portrait at Theatre Duisburg
(April 19, 2002)

A week before the premiere of Stäbler´s new opera Madame la Peste theatre Duisburg will give a workshop with Stäbler, since he is composer in residence in Düsseldorf (the cooperator of Duisburg theatre). In the evening there will be a portrait concert with several pieces of the 80´s and 90´s, such as: Warnung mit Liebeslied (1986) for harp, accordion and glass, Hai! (1991) for tuba solo with periphere instruments, Mit wachen Sinnen (1986/87) for speaker with mouth-organ, FallZeit (1997) for drums, Ungaretti-Lieder (1990) for Mezzosopran and percussion, the Performance X - for catches (1994) and fallen, fallen... und liegen und fallen, songs for poems of Paul Celan for mezzosoprano, accordion, tuba and four channel tape (1988/89).

Theater Duisburg, 19.30

 

Portrait-concert in Düsseldorf
(March 8, 2002)

In the context of the premiere of Stäbler's new opera Madame la Peste Tonhalle Düsseldorf will present an extensive concert with numerous works. Bigger Ensemble works such as Den Müllfahrern von San Francisco or Strafkolonie/Spatial Ayres will be played by MusikFabrik Nordrhein Westfalen. A new chorus-piece with the title XXL-Great! will be directed by Frieder Bernius and performed by Chorwerk Ruhr. A second premiere in Düsseldorf will be Spices (3) for three drummers and tapes.
Experimental Forms, an important branch of Stäbler´s Oeuvre since 1970, are also presented: O Muro for soprano, drums, metal, wood, glass and ice or Rachengold, consisting of gargle sounds. The percussionist Dirk Rothbrust will play hyacinth-liquid.scents and O Muro, singers of Chorwerk Ruhr will scream one of Stäbler´s early works, the well known drüber... for eight active screamers.
The representative portrait is "spiced" with pieces of other composers, who had an influence on Stäbler: Hanns Eislers Gegen den Krieg, Hans Leo Hasslers Psalm 119, Kunsu Shims Ikebana und Stilleben and Nam June Paiks fresh Fluxus-action Simple are performed as well.

Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Ehrenhof 1, 8. March 2002, 19 Uhr (other, not mentioned interpreters: Annette Robbert - Sopran, Martin Lindsay - Bariton, Ensemble für Improvisation und aleatorische Musik - Ltg. Paulo Alvares)

 

Peter Veale´s concerts with Radierung in the states
(March 5/12, 2002)

On 5.th of March 2002 and 12.th of March 2002 Peter Veale, a worldwide concert-giving oboist and member of Ensemble SurPlus, is giving concerts with Radierung. Stäbler´s work for oboe solo was composed in 1995 and it is characterized by abrupt changes of multiphonic- with more homophonic passages. Radierung is dedicated to the English composer James Clarke.

5.3.2002, Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music, University of Washington 19.30 Uhr. 12.03.2002, "New Music Made In Germany", Villa 
Aurora, Los Angeles 20 Uhr (this concert is curated by Daniel Rothman and sponsored by the Goethe Institute Los Angeles)