ZWERM & Stefan Prins: Modes of Interference

In der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts entwickelte sich die Gitarre wohl zu einem Symbol des Underground, der Revolution und low culture. Erst in jüngerer Zeit wurde sie auch im zeitgenössisch komponierten Bereich präsenter. Das vorliegende Programm analysiert den ikonografischen Wert der Gitarre, ihre Verwendung im Kompositionskontext, typische Aspekte der Elektrogitarre (wie etwa Feedback) und auch den Einsatz externer Effekte in Relation zu Live-Elektronik.

Das E-Gitarrenquartett ZWERM sieht sich selbst an der Schnittstelle von komponierter, improvisierter, experimenteller und performativer Musik, von high- and low-culture. Alle vier Musiker sind klassisch ausgebildete Gitarristen (u. a. Studium bei Tom Pauwels) und heute solistisch und in Ensembles (u.a. Champ d´Action, Collectief Reflexible, Brussels Philharmonic) tätig. Der Schwerpunkt ihrer Arbeit liegt dabei auf zeitgenössischer Musik. Stefan Prins wiederum ist Komponist und Live-Performer mit Schwerpunkt Elektronik und neue Technologien.

ZWERM is an electric guitar quartet, with musicians from Belgium and The Netherlands respectively Germany. The starting point is their common interest for new music: composed, improvised, experimental and performative, high and low culture. The awareness of the similarities between these different elements and the challenge of presenting them in a meaningful way is very important. In the twentieth century the electric guitar has proved to be the instrument of low culture and underground music. Nevertheless, it has found its way to composed music only very recently. The gap between low culture/improvised music and contemporary/composed music is still big. In this context we want ZWERM to be a group that is able to work in both directions. A group which links things, uses/abuses traditions and navigates between the many styles, conceptions and stages which are representative for the music today.

One of the goals is to build up a repertoire which can be played in different scenes, from rocknoise clubs to contemporary music festivals. This way very diverse programs will be brought to life. The central issue is the need of living new music where novelty isn't the main goal but rather the result of working with people, situations and means of our time. Another is a constant search for different stages, different presentation forms and different audiences as well as collaboration with other musicians, composers and artists.

Performing contemporary and free improvised music (prepared piano, objects & live-electronics) and composing are the main directions in Stefan Prins's musical evolution. The motor behind this is a constant questioning of existing mechanisms, structures and ways-of-thinking. His goal is to search for contemporary relations between composer, score, performer, technology, audience and society through the medium of music.

Stefan Prins started to play the piano when he was seven. After graduating at the Music School, he began studying engineering. Graduated as an engineering-physicist in 2002, he took up further musical studies and studied piano and composition at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp and Music Technology at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. For a specialisation at the Sonology-department of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (2004-2005), he received a scholarship from the Flemish Government. His interest in contemporary technology (such as computer-driven sound processing and algorithmic composition), its possibilities and impossibilities in musical contexts has been growing since then and his compositions and improvisations often include the use of contemporary technology.

He received several commissions from the Flemish Government, has been played by (a.o.) Champ d´Action, Ictus Ensemble, Nadar Ensemble, Prometheus Ensemble, the Ensor String Quartet, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Matthias Koole, Frederik Croene and has collaborated closely with a.o. Serge Verstockt, Richard Barrett, Karlheinz Essl & Mark Applebaum. He performs as an improviser in Belgium and abroad, with a.o. collectief reFLEXible, which he co-founded, his duo with Horacio Curti, and duo´s with Richard Barrett & Peter Jacquemyn using (prepared) piano, amplified objects and live-electronics, in projects with dance, video, film, plastic arts and performance. He was awarded several prices for his compositions (a.o. KBC Aquarius Price for Young Composers 2001; Week of Contemporary Music Composition Award (2nd) 2006, Music@venture competition) and has been selected by ISCM Flanders for the World Music Days in 2007, 2008 and 2009. His compositions have been played at such festivals as Musica Electronica Nova, Ars Musica, Transit Festival, Novembermusic, Week of the Contemporary Music and Music.

zwerm (Modes of Interference III von Agostino di Scipio) auf

Konzertphotos von Faraidoon Mohiden [größeres Photo mit click]

          

Konzertphotos von Ludwig Sik [größeres Photo mit click]