PHOTO: © Jörg Baumann
Listen! Percussion X
In the organizer's words:
With the “Listen! Percussion” series, the percussion class at the HfMDK Frankfurt presents concert evenings in which percussion comes to life through the interplay of instruments from around the world, the body, space, and new media. The 10th concert brings together student performances in solo and ensemble formats, some with additional performative elements—featuring many drums, many sound objects, and a wide variety of aesthetic approaches.
PROGRAM
Steffen Krebber: “Sprechende Ohren”
Blurring the lines between drum set solo, vocal play, and performance art, “Sprechende Ohren” explores the transitions between sound, gesture, and articulation. Krebber, himself a percussionist and composer, conceives of the instrument not merely as a source of sound, but as a physical and theatrical counterpart.
Featuring: Stefan Kribs
Philippe Manoury: “Le Livre des Claviers: Movement VI. Sixxen”
Philippe Manoury is one of the defining voices of contemporary French music. In “Sixxen,” he turns his attention to a set of metal instruments developed by Iannis Xenakis, whose non-standard tuning opens up a raw, iridescent soundscape.
Featuring: João Fialho, Tingwei Jiang, Jaejun Lee, José Nóbrega Mendes, Sangmin Oh, Hsian-En Wang
Benjamin de la Fuente: “Flip”
“Flip” is music in a state of constant flux: brief impulses, abrupt shifts in direction, sudden intensifications. De la Fuente’s affinity for rock, improvisation, and contemporary composition is evident in the ensemble’s alert, physically direct energy.
Featuring: João Fialho, Patryk Szczechowski, Hsian-En Wang
Belenish Moreno-Gil / Óscar Escudero: “OST”
A soundscape that is also a visual space. “OST” combines percussion, electronics, and video into a hybrid form that blends concert, performance, and scenic installation. Moreno-Gil and Escudero explore the intersections of music theater, media art, and perception.
Featuring: Tingwei Jiang
Emil Kuyumcuyan: “Pilgrim Trance”
Through pulse, repetition, and collective energy, “Pilgrim Trance” creates a shared space of movement. The music combines percussive physicality with influences from ritual, groove, and contemporary sound language. Ten percussionists develop a sound process that grows increasingly dense.
Featuring: Lukas Butscher (Stella Vorarlberg, Feldkirch), Yi-Ling Cai, Elisa Lázaro Hernando (HfM Karlsruhe), Tingwei Jiang, Thibault Keith (HfM Karlsruhe), Ching-Yun Lin, Vanessa Porter (professor at HfM Karlsruhe), Philipp Roman (Stella Vorarlberg, Feldkirch), Patryk Szczechowski, Hsian-En Wang, Emil Kuyumcuyan
Intermission
John Cage: “Third Construction”
Composed in 1941, “Third Construction” remains one of the key works for percussion ensembles to this day. Cage expands the musical space through unusual instruments, precise rhythmic proportions, and an openness of listening that already foreshadows his later aesthetic.
Featuring: Yi-Ling Cai, Sangmin Oh, Patryk Szczechowski, Hsian-En Wang
Igor C. Silva: “Your Trash”
What is heard, what is overlooked, what is thrown away? “Your Trash” explores the themes of material, consumption, and perception. Silva frequently works with electronics, video, and social issues; here, everyday objects and media become musical actors.
Featuring: Hsian-En Wang
Thierry de Mey: “Pièce de gestes”
No instruments, no mallets: In “Pièce de gestes,” movement itself becomes the score. Belgian composer and filmmaker Thierry de Mey translates musical thought into visible rhythms and makes the body the actual vehicle of sound.
Featuring: João Fialho, Tingwei Jiang, Jaejun Lee, Miguel Martínez Pico, Yi-Ling Cai
Iannis Xenakis: “Peaux”
“Peaux,” the third movement from “Pléïades,” focuses on skin instruments. Xenakis—composer, architect, and mathematical thinker—combines archaic power with rigorous construction: music born of pressure, density, and physical presence.
Featuring: Yi-Ling Cai, João Fialho, Tingwei Jiang, Ching-Yun Lin, Ricardo Marques, Patryk Szczechowski
Georges Aperghis: “Conversation” from “Zig-Bang”
A brief scene of speech, reaction, and gesture: “Conversation” transforms communication into musical material. Aperghis, a central figure in contemporary music theater, turns speaking, interrupting, and listening into rhythmic form.
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Price information:
Online advance ticket sales begin 4 weeks before the event and end at 1:00 p.m. on the day of the event; for weekend events, sales end at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. Remaining tickets may be available at the Box Office. Please exchange your online ticket for an admission ticket on site. Reduced-price tickets: GFF members of the HfMDK, school students, college students, Frankfurt Pass holders, and holders of a severe disability ID (free companion ticket for holders with disability classification B; please contact kbb@hfmdk-frankfurt.de) 1-Euro tickets: Holders of the Kulturpass, Ehrenamtscard, university affiliates, and children up to age 14
