New Music By Karlheinz Essl

juncTions was inspired by the Toronto-based keyboard collective junctQín. In 2009, junctQín asked me to write a piece for three pianists performing on one piano. Their request triggered several interesting questions for me: What can be achieved on a piano if one person plays the instrument in a traditional way (pressing the keys and pedals) while a second one is playing the inside (with an e-bow and a tone bar, tools more commonly used by guitar players) and a third musician is operating a computer program that creates an immersive maelstrom of sounds by processing the sonorities of the two piano players? The inside and outside sound worlds of the piano confront and connect with each other. For example, connections are intentionally achieved when one player creates a glissando by sliding a piece of metal along the very strings which are excited, hit by the hammers the second player has activated. At first glance the score may look pretty sparse. However, those delicate sound processes that are created by th

Karlheinz Essls „blurred“ ist eine sehr geschickt komponierte, zum Teil zart und zerbrechlich wirkende 15-minütige Komposition, die sicher zum Besten gehört, was ich an Musik aus dem 21. Jahrhundert bislang gehört habe. Es ist teilweise wahrhaft atemberaubend, wie der Komponist aus nur drei Instrumenten (Flöte, Vibraphon und Violoncello) sowie Live-Elektronik (die der Komponist bei der Aufnahme selbst bediente) ein vermeintlich „großes“ Ensemble erstehen lässt und wie sich daraus ein Gespinst aus Klängen formt. (Rainer Aschemaier, CD Review 2012) Live recording, performed by exxj (dir. Peter Burwik) and Karlheinz Essl, produced by Karlheinz Essl. Info: http://www.essl.at/works/blurred.html

Jeremy Woodruff interviews Karlheinz Essl about his recent interdisciplinary sound works in collaboration with other artists including his sound installation on the grounds of the Humboldt University science campus in Berlin-Adlershof with Stefan Krüskemper. Produced for the Berlin-based web radio "Lautstrom" in 2011. http://www.essl.at/bibliogr/essl-woodruff.html

Free improvised interpretation of Agnes Heginger's poem "Auf Reisen" by the improvisation duo OUT OF THE BLUE with Agnes Heginger (voice) and Karlheinz Essl (live-electronics). Performed live at Klangturm St. Pölten on 1 Oct 2011. http://www.essl.at/div/outoftheblue.html

Performed by Amy Horvey (trumpet) and Karlheinz Essl (live-electronics)at the Concordia University, Montreal on 23 Sep 2011. Sequitur is a series of 14 compositions for various solo instruments and live-electronics written for outstanding soloists. Somehow it can be seen as a reference to Luciano Berio's famous Sequenze cycle of solo pieces which focus on specific playing techniques of the respective instrument. Essl's Sequitur cycle includes pieces for orchestral instruments like flute and violin, but also for voice, electric guitar, toy piano or kalimba. All Sequitur composition use a software written in MaxMSP which creates an electronic accompaniment from the instrument’s live input; the player is confronted with his own playing, and this creates a situation like moving in a house of mirrors where the identities becomes blurred. The Sequitur software generates a complex canon on the fly, the temporal structure and density of which being controlled by random operations. This yields different results ev

Free improvisation based on Ingeborg Bachmann's poem "Silben im Oleander", performed live at Atelier Johann Feilacher (26 Jun 2011).

Free improvisation on the lyrics of Falco's "Einzelhaft" by Agnes Heginger (vocals) and Karlheinz Essl (live-electronics, performed live at Walzengravieranstalt Guntramsdorf on May 20th, 2011. http://www.essl.at/div/outoftheblue.html

A generative sound environment for the art installation DOUBLE COATED IP CAPSULE by Guido Kucsko, presented at the Kunstforum Bank Austria (Vienna) in January 2011. Noises from our surrounding environment, bodies and machines are algorithmically morphed with the chant of a female, extracted from Karlheinz Essl's composition Sequitur IX for mezzo soprano and live-electronics. http://www.essl.at/works/proper-ties.html

Aufgenommen am 27. November 2010 im ZKM_Kubus in Karlsruhe (D) mit Mike Svoboda (Posaune) und Karlheinz Essl (Live-Elektronik). Seit 2008 arbeitet Karlheinz Essl an dem 14-teiligen Zyklus „Sequitur“ für unterschiedlichste Soloinstrumente und Live-Elektronik, der an die berühmten „Sequenze“ von Luciano Berio anknüpft. Hatte dieser einst prototypische Solostücke geschaffen, in denen die jeweiligen Instrumente mit all ihren klanglichen Finessen virtuos in Szene gesetzt werden, so geht es Essl um die Erweiterung dieses Ansatzes unter Einbeziehung der Live-Elektronik: Ein penibel auskomponierter und live gespielter Solopart wird via Mikrophon in ein eigens dafür geschaffenes Computerprogramm eingespeist, das daraus in Echtzeit einen elektronisches Klang-Environment generiert. Diese „Begleitung“ wird ausschließlich vom Input des Soloinstruments bestimmt, das mit sich selbst in vielfache Beziehung tritt. Wie in einem Spiegelkabinett lösen sich die ursprünglichen Identitäten auf und erzeugen ein komplexes Beziehungs

Recorded live with Barbara Lüneburg (electric violon and live-electronics) on 30 Oct 2010 in Vienna. Sequitur is a series of 14 compositions for various solo instruments and live-electronics written for outstanding soloists. Somehow it can be seen as a reference to Luciano Berio's famous Sequenze cycle of solo pieces which focus on specific playing techniques of the respective instrument. Essl's Sequitur cycle includes pieces for orchestral instruments like flute and violin, but also for voice, electric guitar, toy piano or kalimba. All Sequitur composition use a software written in MaxMSP which creates an electronic accompaniment from the instrument’s live input; the player is confronted with his own playing, and this creates a situation like moving in a house of mirrors where the identities becomes blurred. Info: http://www.essl.at/works/sequitur/sequitur-3.html

Performed by Hugo Wolf Quartet at the Hofburg Chapel Vienna on 20 Oct 2010. In seiner Erzählung “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” berichtet der argentinische Schriftsteller Jorge Luis Borges von einer fiktiven Kultur, deren Sprache keinerlei Hauptwörter kennt: “Es gibt kein Wort, das dem Wort 'Mond' entspricht, aber es gibt ein Verbum, das im Lateinischen 'lunare' oder bei uns 'monden' lauten würde. Der Mond ging über dem Fluß auf lautet: blör u fang axaxcas mlö oder in genauer Wortfolge: 'Empor hinter dauer-fließen mondet'es (Xul Solar übersetzt in knapper Form: upa tras perfluyue lunó. Upward, behind the onstreaming it mooned).” Einfachste Aussagen lassen sich in dieser Sprache nur durch komplizierte grammatikalische Konstruktionen ausdrücken, die jedoch voller Poesie und Zauber sind, wie im oben zitierten Beispiel, dem mein Quartett seinen Titel verdankt. Das Streichquartett gilt seit jeher als Königsdisziplin der Komposition und Ort musikalischer Experimente: Vier gleichberechtigte Individuen – verkörpert

Performed by Goska Isphording (harpsichord) and Karlheinz Essl (live-electronics) at NatLab Eindhoven (NL) on 10 Sep 2010. In this composition, the harpsichord is played in a highly unconventional manner. Except for the end of the piece, no keys are touched. Instead, the sound board and the lowest string of the instrument are excited in different manners. A contact microphone mounted on the sound board acts like an acoustic lense that amplifies sounds that are normally inaudible. The interaction between the harpsichordist and the live-electronics creates a kind of meta-instrument. Its novel sounds and expressions purposely avoid the typical percussive sound of the harpsichord, which is only heard at the end of the piece as a quotation. By preparing the instrument with a thin nylon thread, sustained "drone" sounds can be produced as an antitheses to the needle-sharp and rapidly decaying harpsichord attacks. Info: http://www.essl.at/works/sequitur/sequitur-12.html

Recorded live on 9 June 2010 at the Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg by Tzenka Dianova (piano) and Karlheinz Essl (live-electronics). Karlheinz Essl's “Sequitur XIII” (2009/2013) for extended piano and live electronics is an innovative work in which the piano has been transformed into a super instrument thanks to a computer-based algorithmic system. Turning the relatively simple instrumental material into an orchestral entity through various real-time harmonic and spectral alterations, the piece multiplies the functions of the original instruments by recording the musicians' performance and playing it together with its modified version (Maria Kallionpää, 2014) Info: http://www.essl.at/works/sequitur/sequitur-13.html

Performed by Stephan Froleyks (percussion) and Karlheinz Essl (live-electronics) at Stadtheater Münster during the KlangZeit Festival. el-emen' für Solo-Schlagzeug und Live-Elektronik entstand in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Percussionisten Günter Meinhart. Vier unterschiedliche Familien von Schlaginstrumenten (Fell, Holz, Metall und Keramik), die den vier Elementen zugeordnet sind, werden über Mikrophone abgenommen und in ein eigens dafür entwickeltes Computerprogramm eingespeist, das die Klangpartikel wie ein akustischer Teilchenbeschleuniger im Raum verwirbelt. Der sich dabei aufbauende Klangstrudel wird zum Generator sich ständig verwandelnder Klanghybride – so, als würden chemische Elemente zu immer neuen Verbindungen verschmelzen. Damit erfüllt sich im Klanglichen der alte Traum von der Verwandlung der Elemente: die alchymische Hochzeit. Im kryptischen Werktitel findet sich der Hinweis auf jene elementaren Vorgänge; zugleich aber klingt darin auch die arabische Wortwurzel für Sicherheit, Ruhe, Frieden und

The onset reminds of the tuning of an orchestra: the oboe intonates the chamber pitch A, which is then gradually taken on by the strings in different registers. A broad octave sound emerges, reminding one of Mahler. This ideal world does not last for long. The clear sound is disturbed by strident multiphonics and oscillating intonations of the brass, which is finally conferred to the strings: the individual instruments slowly slide away from their tuning to finally end up in a 50-voice cluster. The the 'catastrophe': The strings collapse, a tam-tam joins in noisily and finally covers the whole orchestra, which suddenly breaks off. Now a melody fragment in the oboe emerges - shamefacedly - from the echo. This one-minute fragment for orchestra came into being on Pentecost Monday 2009, after I had dreamt this piece in the night before.

Sequitur XIV was written for the Hamburg-based pianist and performer Jennifer Hymer and sets the thumb piano in focus. This instrument, named ‘Mbira’ in Africa, was discovered in the middle of the 20th Century from the British ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey, who developed out of it a standardized western instrument named ‘kalimba’, and let it be produced industrially. In contrast to the African original, this western new construction is tuned diatonically. First I tried to approach the instrument like a child in that I pushed away all knowledge about the high art of Mbira-practice to the side. What did I see before me? A trapezoidal shaped wooden box with metal blades of differing lengths that were fastened over a sound hole in the middle. After I examined the sound possibilities of the kalimba’s body through rubbing, scratching and knocking, I attached a contact microphone to its surface and sent the sounds through the same computer program that I had developed for the other “Sequitur” compositions. Suddenly

Sound performance for computer & live-electronics, performed live at the 12th GlobArt Academy on Aug 20th, 2009 at Pernegg, Austria. Ausgangspunkt ist ein Ausschnitt aus einem Interview von Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno, in dem dieser über Anarchie spricht. Erst in feinste Einzelteile zerpflückt, lösen sich aus Rauschen die Worte heraus. „Es ist ein Garten, der gepflanzt ist, der ein Eigenleben hat. Die Aufführung ist ein Spaziergang durch den Garten, das kann auch ein Lauf sein, ein Verweilen, ein Sitzenbleiben“, umreißt Essl den grundsätzlichen Charakter einer Live-Performance. Zusätzlich spielen Spirituelle und Akustisches eine Rolle, die Magie des Augenblicks. Demensprechend muss bis zur jeweiligen Realisierung der Ausgang dieses aus der menschlichen Stimme entwickelten Stückes offen bleiben. Info: http://www.essl.at/works/demo-crazy.html

Recorded by Lars Mlekusch (alto sax) and Karlheinz Essl (live-electronics) at Studio kHz (18 Aug 2009). The Sequitur cycle consists of 14 different compositions for various solo instruments and live-electronics. It can be seen as a reference to Berio’s famous “Sequenze” cycle of solo pieces which focus on specific playing techniques of the respective instrument. All Sequitur composition use a software written in MaxMSP which creates an electronic accompaniment from the instrument’s live input; the player is confronted with his own playing, and this creates a situation like moving in a house of mirrors where the identities becomes blurred. The software generates a complex canon on the fly, the temporal structure and density of which being controlled by random operations. This yields different results every time the piece is performed. Although following a precisely notated score, there is always a good portion of surprise for the musician which emphasizes his awareness and attentiveness. Info: http://www.e

Generatives Klangenvironment zu einer Lichtinstallation von Rainer Gottemeier für das Projekt KunstLichtTore in Bochum. Das bekannte Steigerlied - die heimliche Hymne des Ruhrgebiets - dient Karlheinz Essl als Ausgangsmaterial für sein Klang-Environment zu BOCHUMSTEP. Einer Aufnahme des Chorstücks wird eine eigene Bearbeitung für lochkarten-gesteuerte Spieluhr entgegengesetzt. Diese beiden Klangsphären verweisen auf die zwei unterschiedlichen, aber aufeinander bezogenene Aspekte des Bergbaus: der Mensch (Bergmann) - repräsentiert durch den Gesang - und die Maschine (Werkzeug) - dargestellt durch die Mechanik des Glockenspiels. Mit einer eigens für dieses Projekt in MaxMSP entwickelten Software werden die beiden klanglichen Gegenwelten von Stimme und Spieluhr miteinander in Verbindung gebracht, in Form eines unendlichen Prozesses, der generativ in Echtzeit erfolgt. http://www.essl.at/works/bochumstep.html

Recorded by Anton Lukoszevieze (cello) and Karlheinz Essl (live-electronics) at the University of East Anglia (Norwich, UK)on 18 Sep 2008. The Sequitur cycle consists of 14 different compositions for various solo instruments and live-electronics. It can be seen as a reference to Berio’s famous “Sequenze” cycle of solo pieces which focus on specific playing techniques of the respective instrument. All Sequitur composition use a software written in MaxMSP which creates an electronic accompaniment from the instrument’s live input; the player is confronted with his own playing, and this creates a situation like moving in a house of mirrors where the identities becomes blurred. The software generates a complex canon on the fly, the temporal structure and density of which being controlled by random operations. This yields different results every time the piece is performed. Although following a precisely notated score, there is always a good portion of surprise for the musician which emphasizes his awareness and