Concert series Absences

Description

The series of concerts Absences begins in CentroCentro

-Curated by the Desclasificados collective, Lucia Arnaud and Baldur Brönnimann, it will have eight concerts between February and November

-It will feature international performers such as soprano Juliet Fraser, Trio O3, percussionist Vanessa Porter, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, the Austrian ensemble 1,2, Trio, Attaca Quartet and Victor Tréscoli

Madrid, February 10, 2023

Next February 22 begins in the CentroCentro auditorium, space of the Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Madrid City Council, the new cycle of concerts Absences, curated by Desclasificados, a collective formed by Lucía Arnaud and Baldur Brönnimann. CentroCentro and Desclasificados share the objectives of disseminating, promoting and supporting contemporary music, and after previous collaborations in cycles such as Viaje de invierno (2021) and Open your ears (2022), this year they present this new proposal that will invoke and convene artists and programs of current music that relates to what is not heard.

Since its inception, music has tried to give voice to those least heard and also to forgotten or silenced sounds, which are not usually common in concert halls. With these absent voices we want to contribute to balancing that balance with repertoires and works that revolve around the unheard, the forgotten, both in a musical, philosophical and political sense. The English soprano Juliet Fraser will begin the cycle and will interpret one of the most relevant and interesting works for the female voice of the 20th century. Three Voices (1982) by the American composer Morton Feldman (1926-1987) is articulated around three voices that represent two of his great friends, the poet Frank O'Hara, the painter Philip Guston, and Feldman himself. On stage there is a live voice and two voices recorded by the same singer, which represent the two friends, dead at the time of its composition. Voices that are not there but that are present in the work.

The O3 Trio (Ingar Zach, percussion, Alessandra Rombolà, flute and Esteban Algora, accordion) combines written works with the most ephemeral of musical arts in their programs: free improvisation. One of the works that they will perform at their concert on March 29, Sobre terreno inólito, will be Snefru by Alejandro Posadas.

Referring to the first pharaoh who built pyramids in ancient Egypt, Posadas recovers his memory through music, using the measurements of the pyramids he built. In addition, the concert will present two Spanish premieres, Répétitions II by the Norwegian composer Jan Martin Smørdal, commissioned by Alessandra Rombolà and The Vibrating Drum III by ingar Zach. Versatility is one of the characteristics that identifies the action of the German percussionist Vanessa Porter, an artist with a wide range that combines improvisation with electronics and performing arts and who will be at CentroCentro on April 19.

Iranian harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, also a BBC presenter, will perform works by two exiled Iranian composers, Arsia Samsaminia and Annahita Abbasi, at his concert on May 31, making visible the reality of freedom of expression and women's rights in their land native.

The concert Longing for 1, 2, Trio will perform works by Rebecca Saunders and Klaus Lang on June 28, highlighting the world premiere of a piece composed by Georg Friedrich Haas for the ensemble's clarinetist, Bernhard Zachhuber. In the second part of the year, Absences will feature the international ensemble Attaca Quartet and the toy piano player Victor Tréscoli. Tickets for the concerts can be purchased through the CentroCentro website, and are priced at €5.