Germany’s Excellent Orchestral Landscape

Ensemble Modern has commissioned seven female composers to write seven works for the Ensemble, thanks to the project ›Germany’s Excellent Orchestral Landscape‹ supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. The Ensemble will perform the new compositions in 2019 and 2020 in several concerts in Germany and abroad. This past January, the first to be premiered was ›de ente‹ by the German composer Birke Bertelsmeier. Its Latin title might be translated as ›On that which exists‹ or ›On Existence‹; the piece was inspired by ›de ente et essentia‹, an early work of the philosopher Thomas of Aquinas. On November 7, 2019 two further world premieres follow at the Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ in Amsterdam: in ›Fragmente einer Unzeit‹ by the German-Dutch composer Iris ter Schiphorst, the singer Sarah Maria Sun wanders through various »dream stages«, exploring texts by Donna Haraway, Hélène Cixous, Unica Zürn, Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson, Peggy Phelan and Della Pollock. The second world premiere is a new ensemble work by the composer Zeynep Gedizlioğlu, who was born in Turkey and lives in Berlin. It is her first commission from Ensemble Modern. György Ligeti’s Piano Concerto – with the solo part performed by Ueli Wiget, Ensemble Modern’s pianist – and the ensemble work ›Scherben‹ by Enno Poppe, who also conducts the concert, round out the programme. The concert will be repeated on November 8, 2019 at the festival ›November Music‹ in ’s-Hertogenbosch. Further works have been commissioned from Ashley Fure, Anna Korsun, Elena Mendoza and Shiva Feshareki and will be premiered in 2020.