Mikropolyphonie!

Description

The title of this program, "Mikropolyphonie," traces back to the Hungarian-Austrian composer György Ligeti. It refers to a compositional technique where a multitude of voices are woven so densely together that individual lines are no longer perceivable as melodies by the listeners. The program explores Ligeti's idea of sonic densification through minimalist processes to microtonal sound worlds of the present.
In the case of a piano duo, the possibilities are limited. Nevertheless, Ligeti managed, especially in the third movement, to create the illusion of a continuously pulsating mass of sound through overlapping thirty-second note runs in the resonance chamber of the sustain pedal. The resulting "sound cluster" acts like a living organism, expanding, contracting, and constantly changing its color. The second movement provides a striking contrast with a playful and humorous homage to the pioneers of American Minimal Music, Steve Reich and Terry Riley.
French composer Christophe Bertrand also draws on repetitive, interlocked sound patterns and phase shifts in his sextet "Satka," reminiscent of Steve Reich's minimal music and György Ligeti's Mikropolyphonie.
"Weak interaction plays an important role in the proton-proton reaction, with which hydrogen is converted into helium in the sun. The energy released in this process is the basis of the solar radiation reaching the Earth." (Georg Friedrich Haas)
Characteristic of Haas, the piece explores the microtonal inner world of sounds and translates this invisible but fundamental natural phenomenon into a highly sensitive, hypnotic sound fabric. The work was created in 2024 as a commission for the Israeli "Meitar Ensemble" and premiered in 2025 under the direction of Pierre-André Valade at the "Ultraschall Berlin" festival.
German violinist and composer Friedemann Treiber, concertmaster of this program, draws on the tradition of the Second Viennese School in his compositional work. Influenced by his teacher Hansheinz Schneeberger and his admiration for Alban Berg, his music moves between dodecaphony, limited aleatoricism, and free tonality and atonality. Despite its structural complexity, it always exhibits an immediate emotional expressiveness. Participants and additional information:
Ensemble Phoenix Basel; Jürg Henneberger (musical direction)

Highlights

• Performance by Ensemble Phoenix Basel
• Focus on Ligeti's Mikropolyphonie
• Contrast between Minimal Music and modern sound worlds

General Information

The concert takes place at Gare du Nord in Basel and highlights György Ligeti's compositional technique of Mikropolyphonie. In addition to Ligeti, works by Christophe Bertrand are also presented, dealing with repetitive sound patterns and phase shifts.

Location

Schwarzwaldallee 200, 4058 Basel, Switzerland

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