Only a handful of specially chosen, virtuosic professional musicians and exceptional talents can play new music – “Spielbar” – strives to change this widespread prejudice towards the playability of contemporary music.
As a matter of fact, composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, Earle Brown, Vinko Globokar and James Tenney have occupied themselves with alternative notations systems that use not only musical instruments to create sounds, but also place everyday objects, such as branches, stones and paper, the voice, or the individual‘s body, in the center of their works. Even though written with the intention to create art or „serious“ music, the ability to read music or play an instrument is not an absolute necessity to perform these pieces.
Based on these works, participants in Spielbar are encouraged to develop creative and intellectual musical skills, as opposed to playing technique. Under the direction of international young composers, coached by the ensemble soloists, amateur and hobby musicians, as well as musical novices, come together during the workshops for a musical collaboration. All the works that are rehearsed in the sessions have a very open conception, and give the participants the possibility to become deeply involved in the process of compositional development and in their own creativity.
One of the defining backgrounds of the workshops is the connection of aesthetic education with social exchange. Spielbar is not only a place to try out the unusual, but also a meeting place to round off a day of new experiences with new friends.