“nero su nero” (black on black), the latest orchestral composition by Siemens prizewinner Beat Furrer premiered in June in Vienna, is concerned with the nuancing of light: a continuum of sound from darkness to light builds up an immense tension by the most subtly differentiated means. The Swiss premiere takes place in Basel on 16 September 2018 conducted by Baldur Brönnimann with the Basel Sinfonietta, and the German premiere on 27 October 2018 with the Essen Philharmonic under the baton of Johannes Kalitzke.

Beat Furrer is to be awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize 2018 for his life’s work. The award ceremony takes place on 3 May 2018 in the Prinzregententheater Munich.

His work as a composer, organist, musicologist and culture manager makes Thomas Daniel Schlee one of the most versatile personalities in musical life today. Olivier Messiaen gave his former pupil a brilliant endorsement: “Thomas Daniel Schlee is an open spirit and a cultured man. He loves music passionately. He is an outstanding organist and an extremely gifted composer. His works reflect a high intellectual striving and a true originality with regard to their ‘écriture’ and sound colours.” His forthcoming 60th birthday on 26 october is marked by numerous performances of his compositions, including the Austrian premiere of  Spes unica op. 72 by the RSO Vienna under Cornelius Meister on 19.10.2017 in the Konzerthaus Wien, and the first performance of his Suite op. 82 on 24.10.2017 in the Musikverein Vienna as well as Bis by the Bamberg Symphony under Manfred Honeck on 18. and 19.11.2017.

Charlotte Seither’s Oculi for women’s voices are a musical reflection on covetousness.  The Guardini Foundation’s “Decalogue” is devoted to the Ten Commandments in a cycle which has extended over several years. For its conclusion, Charlotte Seither has composed a commission on the Tenth Commandment. The first performance takes place on 13./16.10.2017 in the Kulturkirche St. Matthäi in Berlin with the Frauenvokalensemble Berlin under the direction of Lothar Knappe.

Music for strings is a continuous field of experimentation for Miroslav Srnka, one in which he explores complex structures. He has again written his new String Quartet for the Quatuor Diotima, which premieres the work at the “Biennale de Quatuors à cordes” in Paris. In this work, Srnka analyses the traditional roles of the structure of the musicians’ parts. He calls it future family, a hint about the conception of the work: “Are the instruments in the string quartet just voices and the musicians just roles? Can the musicians become voices and the instruments take roles?” The première on 15 January is followed by further territorial premieres on 24/25 January in Brussels and at the String Quartet Festival Heidelberg.

In 1958 Jean Barraqué composed music for a project for the ‘Theatre of the Absurd’ which never made it to the stage. 60 years later it is now finally receiving its première in Vienna.

Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini has composed his first String Quartet for the Quatuor Diotima. The Swiss composer, a genuine dramatist who has concentrated on music theatre and vocal music in his work to date, has conceived his quartet as a musical narrative. The first performance takes place on 24.10.2017 in Basel in the Oekolampad Church with the Quatuor Diotima, followed by performances in Orléans, Arras and Bern. Before that, on 15.10.2017, Scartazzini’s ensemble work Kassiopeia receives its German premiere in the Philharmonie Cologne, given by the Ensemble Modern conducted by Paul Daniel.