Jakob Ullmann and Ernstalbrecht Stiebler have much in common, beginning with their approaches to time and the deep concentration and immersion inherent in their music. Although the curators of the contemporary music series Kontraklang and the CTM Festival arrive at these composers from different angles, this cooperation represents an intersection of their interests.

As a composer in the GDR whom John Cage respected and who, like Cage, wished to free sounds from intentionality and social semantics, Jakob Ullmann was perpetually in conflict with the presiding system. After holding various teaching positions in the subjects of medieval and contemporary music in the GDR, the conscientious objector to the National People's Army (NVA) obtained a position at the Basel conservatory. Ullmann's quiet music gives listeners the opportunity to listen more deeply. His scores are background texts, which must be unravelled; they often suggest a palimpsest whose layers have been rubbed out or overwritten and require an intense reading on the part of performers.

As one of the first German composers involved with minimalism, Ernstalbrecht Stiebler belongs to the pioneers of reductive, repetitive, sound-oriented music. Stiebler's compositional works are noteworthy above all for their concentration of resources, sound spaces in which single tones blossom and intertwine. Stiebler studied composition and piano at the Hamburg conservatory, is a member of the Akademie der Künste Berlin, and has received many prizes. The 2013 CTM Festival dedicated an evening to his music, and the Berlin record label m=minimal has released a number of his pieces, steps toward developing a new and wider reception of his work.

→ Feature Article on Ernstalbrecht Stiebler

Programme

Jakob Ullmann

Solo I, for flute (1992/93 - 2010)
Solo II, for bassoon (1992/93 - 2010)
Solo IV, for low string instrument (2013/14)
Solo V, for piano (2013/2014)

Performed by:
Erik Drescher – flute
Dafne Vicente-Sandoval – bassoon
Ellen Fallowfield – cello
Jane Dickson – piano

Ernstalbrecht Stiebler

Im Raum, for Viola and Violoncello (world premiere)
Performed by: Biliana Voutchkova – viola, Andreas Voss – cello

Quart solo, for piano (1998)
Performed by: Ernstalbrecht Stiebler – piano

Duo 3, for violin and piano (2005)
I. Alterationen; II. Unschärfen; III. Stillstand
Performed by: Biliana Voutchkova – violin, Ernstalbrecht Stiebler – piano

Tickets

→ Presale at Heimathafen Neukölln (no service charges), Mo. - Fr.: 10:00 - 17:00
Tel: 030. 56 82 13 33, Email: karten@remove-this.heimathafen-neukoelln.de

→ Presale online via Koka 36 (with service charges)

Jakob Ullman is supported by the SHAPE platform for emerging European artists, an initiative that is supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.