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Igor Stravinsky believed that a musical phenomenon consists of sound and time. Today, in the age of the internet, time is perceived differently, and the pandemic deepens this sense. Because of it, the daily rush stopped, streets became empty, and space was found for long-postponed activities. Meanwhile, time on the internet is governed by its own laws, it loses its linear structure, it lags, loops, skips. Do contemporary composers and compositrices respond to these changes? An attempt to answer will be the concert by Hashtag Ensemble, a cooperative specializing in contemporary music performance and improvisation.
The evening will begin with Faster by Anna Sowa. The title (Eng. faster) refers to the fast pace of life, which despite the pandemic stopped only for a moment. Frustration, lack of work results, collision with a new reality – all of this found reflection in the structure of the piece, which consists of two parts – acceleration and reduction and looping. Tempus Imperfectum by Zofia Dowgiałło, like Faster, had its premiere last year in streaming. The composer, under the influence of observing repetitive activities in her life, routine, but also coincidences, created a record of everyday life. In imperfect time. On disappointment with unfulfilled expectations speaks in turn Disappointment Diaries by Julia Mihály. An audiovisual collage of memories makes one dizzy and at the same time reminds us that even if something doesn’t work out, it rarely ends in the worst possible way. Slapstick humor will be introduced by music while waiting / music while working by Ricardo Eizirik. The piece perversely alludes to muzak, ways to kill time and the role of devices that accompany us every day.
[Wioleta Żochowska]
Performers:
Hashtag Ensemble:
Marta Grzywacz – voice
Ania Karpowicz – flute
Wojciech Psiuk – saxophone
Marta Piórkowska – violin
Aleksandra Demowska-Madejska – viola
Wojciech Błażejczyk – electric guitar, electronics
Hubert Zemler – percussion
Krzysztof Kozłowski – synthesizer
Aleksandra Kaca – electronics
Program:
Anna Sowa Faster for flute, percussion, electric guitar, voice, synthesizer and electronics
Zofia Dowgiałło Tempus Imperfectum for flute and electronics
Ricardo Eizirik music while waiting / music while working for four instrumentalists and three amplified performers
Julia Mihály Disappointment Diaries for flute, violin, viola, synthesizer, sampler, electronics and video
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