Montreal-Hannover evening concerts
New music encounters coming together in performance in Résonance croisée – part 2 with the Vivier
On April 15th and 16th, Quasar Saxophone Quartet and the Quatuor Bozzini will be sharing the stage of Espace Orange in the Wilder Building with two German contemporary music ensembles for Montreal-Hannover evening concerts, presented in Part 2 of Résonance croisée, a project initiated by the Vivier Group.
Montreal-Hannover reflects a creative dialogue, an exchange, between Quasar, the Quatuor Bozzini and the musicians of ur.werk and Flex Ensemble, from Hannover. For the event, works were commissioned from Canadian and German composers by each of the ensembles. With six international premieres and three Canadian premieres on the programme, Montreal-Hannover will be a showcase for the newest and most innovative works of contemporary music and a celebration of the immeasurable value of creative exchange and of collaborations between artists and the public.
On Friday, April 15th, beginning at 7:30 PM, Quasar and Flex Ensemble will kick things off with two concerts highlighting the contrasting sounds of the two ensembles. Anna Szulc-Kapala of Flex ensemble will join Quasar for the performance of a work by George Aphergis for saxophone quartet and viola in which one receives the impression of listening to a pack of animals facing their prey, the latter of which is manifestly the viola.
On the following evening, Saturday April 16th, it will be the turn for the Quatuor Bozzini and the ur.werk ensemble to take to the stage with two impressive programmes of variable geometries. Virtuoso accordionist Snezana Nesić will join the Quartet for the Canadian premiere of the Gordon Williamson quintet, fragile reconstructions. Benjamin Scheuer's music: playful and clamorous, will transport us into a dreamlike and surreal world, while the fragility of ecosystems is evoked by the works of Michael Oesterle. The evening will also mark the launch of Quatuor Bozzini's latest album on the QB Collection, dedicated to the quartets of Michael Oesterle.
“More than ever, we are aware of the importance of getting closer, of exchanging and collaborating with our colleagues and friends on the international scene. Montreal-Hannover is part of a fraternal artistic approach based on dialogue between musicians, composers, the public and all the people who make these exchanges possible.” Marie-Chantal Leclair, artistic director and saxophonist, Quasar Saxophone Quartet and Stéphanie Bozzini, violist, Quatuor Bozzini
Following the two concerts taking place in Montreal, Quasar and the Quatuor Bozzini will renew their partnership with ur.werk and Flex Ensemble on the other side of the Atlantic in May 2022, to continue this exciting collaboration
The Montreal-Hannover evenings will be held on Friday April 15th and Saturday April 16th at 7:30 pm in the Espace Orange of the Wilder Building and via webcast, as part of Résonance Croisée.
Pass Prices
Résonance croisée Pass: 80$
Reduced Pass: 50$
Individual tickets
Advance: 30$
Regular: 40$
Reduced: 20$
PROGRAMME
Friday April 15, 2022
Quasar
Friction Sounds (2021) – Tjarbe Björkson
Création (2022) – Snezana Nesic
Breathing Room (2019, rev. 2021) – Gordon Williamson
Crosswind (1997) – George Aperghis
Flex Ensemble
Mes béatitudes (1995) – Gérard Pesson
Baba O’Riley (2022) (premiere) – Michael Oesterle
Vier Aquarelle für Klavierquartett (2022) – Márton Illés
Spinning Wheels of Death and Paradox for piano quartet (2022) (premiere)– Andrew Staniland
Saturday April, 2022
Quatuor Bozzini
Three Pieces for String Quartet (2016) – Michael Oesterle
fragile reconstructions (2017) – Gordon Williamson
Schleifen (2017) – Benjamin Scheuer
ur.werk
Marcia Funebre (2021) (premiere) – Jean Lesage
Oréade (2009) – Johannes Schöllhorn
Journal n°6 – Annette Schlunz
The Patterns of Light and Darkness (2011-2021) – Snezana Nesic
Création (2021-2022) – Ofer Pelz
About Résonance croisée – Part 2
A major international event for new music initiated by the Vivier Group, Résonance croisée – Part 2 – running from from April 11 to 16, 2022 - offers a week full of concerts, masterclasses and encounters devoted to new musical creations from Switzerland, France Italy, Austria, France, Germany and Quebec. Résonance croisée is a co-production of Le Vivier and the Montreal group of cultural institutes from member countries of the European Union EUNIC (European National Institutes for Culture). The project has benefited from the generous support of the Fonds culturel franco-allemand, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Goethe-Institute Montreal, the Consulate General of France in Quebec, the Consulate General of Switzerland, the Italian Cultural Institute of Montreal, the Embassy of Spain in Canada and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Ottawa.
About the Vivier Group
Founded in 2007, the Vivier Group is a specialized promotional an organizational group focused on new music comprise of sixty artists and musical ensembles. Their mission is to promote the development of new music and to offer everyone, through the distribution of quality works, a vista onto culture. Winner of the OPUS prize in 2020 for specialized broadcaster of the year, the Vivier Group is considered as a reference in the world of contemporary music creation.
About Quatuor Bozzini
Alissa Cheung – violin
Clemens Merkel – violin
Stéphanie Bozzini – viola
Isabelle Bozzini – cello
Quatuor Bozzini has been an original voice and strong advocate in new, experimental and classical music since 1999. Driving the hyper-creative Montréal scene and beyond, the quartet cultivates an ethos of risk-taking, experimentation, and collaboration, venturing boldly off the beaten track. With a rigorous eye for quality, they have nurtured a rich and diverse repertoire, regardless of trends. This has led to over 400 commissioned pieces, and some 500 premiered works. Their open, collaborative, artist-led approach has resulted in the realization of numerous innovative and highly-praised productions, including inter-disciplinary projects with video, theatre and dance.
Facebook : @QuatuorBozzini / Instagram : @QuatuorBozzini / Twitter : @QuatuorBozzini
About the Flex Ensemble
Kana Sugimura – violin
Anna Szulc-Kapala – viola
Martha Bijlsma – cello
Johannes Nies – piano
Recognized for their energized, refined performances, the musicians of Flex Ensemble have been performing as an ensemble for more than ten years. Their varied repertoire ranges from the classical and romantic eras to new music, and includes a number of commissioned works from significant composers on the contemporary music scene, including Márton Illés, Johannes Schöllhorn, Gérard Pesson, Gordon Williamson and Pawel Mykietyn.
In recent years, the Flex Ensemble has engaged in more interdisciplinary collaborations with dance, theatre and the visual arts combined with contemporary creations by Hartke, Pärt, Frey or Nesic. The ensemble founded the Chamber Music Fest Rheinhessen in 2014: an annual festival that also holds a composition competition. In 2016, they also founded the imPULS concert series in Hannover.
Facebook : @FlexEnsemble / Instagram : @flex.ensemble
About ur.werk
Anne Bischof – flute
Martin Abendroth – clarinet, bass clarinet
Yuliia Van – violin
Martha Bijlsma – cello
Ashley Hribar – piano
Snezana Nesić – accordion, artistic direction
Saša Davidović – musical direction
The ur.werk ensemble is dedicated to new music and innovation in the field of interdisciplinarity. World-wide creation of contemporary pieces is their priority. The ensemble is also active in the field of musical theatre and has, notably, presented world premieres of works by Vinko Globokar, Fabio Nieder and Daria Andovska at the Belgrade International Theatre Festival, and then recording them in collaboration with Deutschlandradio. Instrumental and electroacoustic music are also parts of their formidable arsenal. With the Quantum Music: #Hannover Session project, co-produced by ur.werk, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and Oxford University, the ensemble presented pieces by composers Ana Sokolović, Jean Lesage, Joachim Heintz, Fabien Lévy, Andre Bartetzki, Gordon Williamson and Sebastian Wendt.