cresc... 2024

We are all familiar with them from our childhood. They are parlour games around the world, going by names such as ›Cat’s Cradle‹ or ›Coyotes Running Opposite Ways‹. String figures. They are among the oldest games known to mankind, but they have always been more than that: shaped by strings and hands, their mythical, imaginative patterns emulated constellations in the sky, making them more concrete and palpable. They aided communication between peoples, as fragile works of art and cosmological performances.

String figures are the networks of early modern times. Today, they are acknowledged as subjects of research, offering inspiration and impulses for the arts, music, science and philosophy. They are symbols of scientific, creative and social processes: sharing ideas or theories with others in order to create something new together.

cresc… 2024 from February 16 to 25, 2024 is dedicated to the subject of STRING FIGURES, featuring new compositions and thematically related music and artistic formats. String figures become a source of inspiration for current musical contributions, joint playfulness and the creative process of creating and experiencing.

In addition to the festival presenters Ensemble Modern and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra as well as the Frankfurt Radion Big Band and the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA), the festival includes the installation artist Yasuhiro Chida, the conductors Sylvain Cambreling and Stefan Asbury, the violist Lawrence Power, the composer Rebecca Saunders, the choreographer Rafaële Giovanola and the dance company CocoonDance, the sound and media artist Ryoji Ikeda as well as the young international musicians, conductors and composers of the 2023/24 IEMA Ensemble, the ensemble NEKO3 and the International Composer & Conductor Seminars.