Max E. Keller
* 19.03.1947
Max E. Keller was one of the first free jazz musicians in Switzerland. From 1966 until 1973 he followed his own concept performing free jazz and improvised music on the piano and electronic instruments in concerts or for radio recordings in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Since 1973 Keller has produced over 90 compositions for various forces including electronic music. He often sets texts to music, examples include his ‘Gesänge II’ (Erich Fried); ‘Gesänge III’ (Jürg Weibel) and ‘Gesänge IV’ (Kurt Marti); ‘Konfigurationen’ (I, II and III – various authors); ‘Deformationen’ (self-written texts); the feature-length cantata ‘Fontamara’ (Ignazio Silone), the mini-opera ‘Egon – aus dem Leben eines Bankbeamten’ (Hans Suter) and the chamber opera ‘Die Axt’ after Max Frisch’s ‘Graf Öderland’ (2004-2006), a commission for the Komischen Oper Berlin. Performances and radio broadcasts in the whole of Europe, Australia, North and South America, Russia, Mongolia, Korea and Azerbaijan are a part of his career history. Keller began improvising again after 1985 and since 1985 is responsible for the programme and organisation of contemporary music and jazz concerts at the ‘Theater am Gleis’ in Winterthur.
1985 - Swiss representative at the biennale in Berlin
1991 - Swiss representative at the IGNM Weltmusiktagen in Zurich
1993 - Swiss representative in Mexico
1997 - Art prize of the Carl-Heinrich-Ernst-Foundation in Winterthur
1999 - Berlin stipend
2001 - Project contribution (commission from the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich)
2003 - Contribution to the artistic work of the Aargauer Kuratorium
‘Sicher sein ...’ (speaker and electronic tape) and ‘Repetitionen I-V’ (harpsichord) were recorded onto LP and ‘Pentalog’ (orchestra) and ‘Sie’ (speaker and electronic tape) onto CD; two CDs (col legno and Jecklin Edition) are dedicated solely to his chamber musical works, a third CD (Grammont-Portrait) containing five chamber musical works and one orchestral work (Tonhalle-Orchester conducted by David Zinman) was released in 2003.
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Max E.
Keller Stockenerstr. 30 CH-8405 Winterthur Fon: +41 (0)52 232 74 11 Fax: +41 (0)52 232 74 11 E-mail: max.e.keller@gmx.ch Web: www.max-e-keller.ch |
Scores
Friedenslied eines Oboisten (1983)
Order No: 2644, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Poem by Burkhard Glaetzner.
Karikaturen (1987)
Order No: 2649, sFr. 29.00, € 22.00
aushalten und bewegen (1988)
Order No: 2650, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
All procedures, with the exception of a few free figures, are derived from the contrast between recumbent sound (endure) and rhythmically structured repetitions of sound (move). The title also focuses to all intents and purposes on the ‘extramusical’.
Erinnerungen V (1988)
Order No: 2651, sFr. 21.00, € 16.00
Ausharren im Grauen (1988)
Order No: 2652, sFr. 21.00, € 16.00
"A trio-piece of coagulate sound, quasi-captivated nerviness with bursts of desperate fury" (Frank Schneider on the world premiere).
Kreisen in den Tiefen (1988)
Order No: 2653, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
Composed after the idea of monophonic lines with nuances in colour such as rotary movement and superimposition of rhythmical and melodic sequences.
Konfigurationen II (1989)
Order No: 2605, sFr. 39.00, € 30.00
Texts: Franz Hohler, Hansjörg Schneider, Jürg Schmied, Sascha Anderson, Max E. Keller Eight texts, different in kind ranging from poetry to excerpts from military regulations. Theme: order fetishism as a contrast to a chaotic, self-destructive world. Authors: Franz Hohler, Hansjorg Schneider, Jürg Schmied, Sascha Anderson, Max E. Keller.
senza e con (1989)
Order No: 2655, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
Das ganze Leben (1989/90)
(2.2.2(2bcl).2/2.2.1.0/perc/7.7.4.4.2)
Order No: 2606, sFr. 44.00, € 34.00
To explore the whole of vastness is the utopic aim, and yet the whole can only be seen in part. Dialectic between part and whole is expressed in terms of the exploration to extremities of a dimension and the freezing of other parameters. A simple orchestral part with aleatoric passages in which each individual plays independently.
Zuflucht (1990)
Order No: 2673, sFr. 13.00, € 10.00
8th text of the 'Konfigurationen II' in a reduction for Alto and piano.
Swissfiction (1990)
for four actors(esses), four musicians (fl.ob.cl.vn) and a four-channel tape
Order No: 2656, sFr. 34.00, € 26.00
Text: Alex Gfeller Based on Alex Gfellers story 'Das Komitee'.The cities of Switzerland are contaminated, be it with poison or radioactivity, the ozone layer is depleted many paths leading to destruction have long been foreseen. Only few have survived and sit vegetating in their shelters underneath the ruins of earlier prosperity. Some have already mutated, others live in a world of delusion.
Konfigurationen III - January 1991 (1991)
Order No: 2657, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
The musicians also perform scenic actions and speak a couple of sentences.
Mozmax (1991)
for strings
Order No: 2658, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
Strich-Punkt-Strich (1992)
Order No: 2607, sFr. 26.00, € 20.00
The title identifies the structure cells from which the composition is deduced, both in the large and small: Sustained tone - shorter tone - sustained tone. A rich sound world blooms from this modest idea.
Gesänge IV - 10 Gedichte von Kurt Marti (1992)
Order No: 2608, sFr. 23.00, € 18.00
Text: Kurt Marti The poems are taken from different collections to form a cycle, the inner and outer components of which convey particularly Swiss characteristics: weighty burden, efficiency, precision as a substitute for happiness and indifference. The soprano's phraseology encompasses both recitative and flamboyant melodies.
zerblasen (1992/93)
Order No: 2609, sFr. 26.00, € 20.00
An obsessive, pulsating sequence is stopped down again and again and shortened whenever some sound fields establish themselves in the interstitial. A new multifaceted music replaces the worn down rhythm.
Neungestalt (1993)
Order No: 2610, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
A musical form of nine groups with nine variations in which one of the nine membranophones is featured. Drum kit, containing two bass drums (with pedals).
Vier Klavierstücke (four piano pieces) (1993)
Each piece (which can also be performed separately) starts with a simple, spontaneous idea, developed more extensively in an improvised manner and then contrasted. No. 1 and 2 are easy, No. 3 more difficult, while No. 4 contains quickly repeating and rapidly changing chords.
Es ist kalt (1993)
Order No: 2659, sFr. 13.00, € 10.00
Konstellationen (1993/94)
Order No: 2660, sFr. 21.00, € 16.00
A dense, permanently shifting net of relations between instruments: one instrument acts ‘equal’ ‘similar’, ‘contrary’ or ‘concomitant’ to another.
Walk-Music (1994)
Order No: 2661, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Each of the musicians follows his/her own course, whereby each independently repeats and varies a single sequence: Isolation, without contact, narcissism - sign of the times…
2. Streichquartett (2nd string quartet) (1995)
5 Improvisationsmodelle für Jugendliche (5 improvisation models for youths) (1995)
Order No: 2663, sFr. 13.00, € 10.00
In N°s 2-5 performers lacking instrumental knowledge can use their voices, sounding objects or simple flutes and horns.
Ritardando (1995)
Order No: 2664, sFr. 13.00, € 10.00
Siebensang (1995)
Order No: 2665, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Seven sections, each one of which places a different musical dimension (e.g. colour, rhythm, duration, dynamics, repetition, pulse) at its centre: intensive fathoming, probing search, insistent depiction.
Pentalog (1995/96)
Order No: 2612, sFr. 31.00, € 24.00
This work uses material by W. Bärtschi, U. Gasser, M. Sigrist and P. Wettstein written especially by them for the project ‘Kreuzende Wege’. Every movement of the material places a different colleague at the centre of attention.
Solitario (1996)
Order No: 2613, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Each instrument builds its own world using eight elementary figures; each goes its own way yet parallels are shown to exist. Relationships form and the dialectic of the controlled ‘own way’ and random combination begin to play.
Nononono (1996)
Order No: 2614, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Seven elements are developed into a combination according to the pattern A, AB, ABC,... and then once again reduced. This simple process is superposed and counterpointed with other structures in which dynamic and differentiation are of particular importance.
les pompiers (souvenir de Berlin) (1996)
Order No: 2666, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Contains a large improvised portion - works humorously with the fire brigade-fourth. Simple pitch shifting and echoplex (quasi belt sander with a duration of 20 seconds).
weniger und mehr (1996)
Order No: 2674, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
This composition rotates around the thought that less on one level allows for more on another and vice versa - and this not only in music.
aufflackern und verlöschen (1997)
Order No: 2675, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Eight elements are gradually built up and dismantled again. Within this simple complete-form occur numerous momentary flares and douses. This work uses polyphonics, the fingerings of which are notated and extensively extracted from Daniel Kientzy’s "Les sons multiples aux saxophones".
Deformationen (1998)
Order No: 2677, sFr. 23.00, € 18.00
Text: Max E. Keller, E. Galeano The setting to music of four of my own texts: Globalisation as worldwide exploitation of people and nature; freedon as unlimited and uninhibited profit maximisation; Education as manipulative conformation. The 5th text comes from Eduardo Galeano from Uruguay: repress how the rich countries accumulate their riches.
Integration I (1998)
Order No: 2678, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
This work leaves behind the identity of the classical tradition and its strengths (string quartet is widely notated; frequent free improvisation from the jazz tio (saxophone, piano and percussion)) and brings them together only there where real points of contact exist. Integration II and III are conceived in a similar way.
Miniatur (1998)
Order No: 2679, sFr. 13.00, € 10.00
For Heinrich Keller and the 100th concert of his "Musica Riservata". Virtuosic with numerous sound effects.
agieren und reagieren (1999)
Order No: 2680, sFr. 23.00, € 18.00
The player of the popular sound modulator reacts not only passively to the piano sounds but acts also actively like the piano itself.
Mondlandschaft (1999)
Order No: 2681, sFr. 42.00, € 32.00
The musical procedure is, on the one hand side, reduced to the contrast between long and quiet rather than short and loud, on the light/dark of the barren moon surface; on the other hand side, it is formed with great subtlety in sound and structure.
Rotondo (1999)
Order No: 2682, sFr. 122.00, € 94.00
A composition in cooperation with Werner Bärtschi, Ulrich Gasser, Max Eugen Keller, Martin Sigrist and Peter Wettstein ('Komponistensekretariat' Zurich) with sixty segments, each fifty seconds long. Cyclic composition.
Food (1999)
Order No: 2684, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
This piece is to be played on six plates, three glasses, pan lids, small bowls (and other things) while being seated at a table. The percussionist also sings. Eating as a celebrated ritual - in a world of famine.
Skizzen (1999)
Order No: 2685, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
Integration II (1999)
Order No: 2686, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Integration III (1999)
Order No: 2687, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Dialogfelder (2000)
Order No: 2689, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
The instruments form a dialogue on fields of varying length, either in harmony or in contrast; differentiated rubbing noises play an important part in the adaptation. The percussion uses only two toms, two bongos, a cymbal, a thunder sheet and two woodblocks.
insieme, a coppie, indipendente (2000)
Order No: 2690, sFr. 21.00, € 16.00
This work is composed of a series of seven basic, quasi-archetypal structures that are repeated varyingly and are up to four times superposed: roll, punctual field, fade outs, pulse etc..
25/250.orch (2000)
Order No: 2691, sFr. 47.00, € 36.00
The regular beat is one initial point of departure, on the one hand side, as a reference to the 'Winterthurer Musikfestwochen', a 25 year-young rock and pop festival and on the other, a reference to J.S Bach who died 250 years ago. The second point of departure is the fugal principle, in this instance, however, the fugal theme consists not of single tones but of total structures: clusters, sound surfaces, figures, punctual fields etc..
Three lines (2000)
Order No: 2683, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
A composition created in cooperation with Werner Bärtschi and Martin Sigrist. A homage to J.S. Bach. Three very different strata combine to form surprising sounds.
Zwillinge (2001)
Order No: 2688, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
This work is based on the interactions of the instruments in such a manner that the very close combination of twos (twins) are at the centre and with which one, two or no ‘free’ instruments can consort. The musical process is born of a dialectic between the above mentioned network and its realisation through three almost archetypal musical base models.
Sans cesse (2001)
Order No: 2692, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
Fern(seh) - Mitleid (2001)
Order No: 2693, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Text: Max E. Keller A contribution to the 'Zepernicker Liederbuch', 2001.
tenuto, battuto, fulminante (2001)
Order No: 2694, sFr. 52.00, € 40.00
This work centres on the pulse and the tension between it and its opposite: sustained tone or sound. Both poles of the musical process are shaped with a maximum colour and tonal spectrum. A third basic element is brisk, loud walking movements, which fly down unexpectedly like a bolt from the blue. Commissioned by the ‘Aargauer Kuratorium’ for the ‘Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich’.
Farbenfahrten (2001)
Order No: 2695, sFr. 21.00, € 16.00
Purely from our notation it is apparent that pitch and rhythm are primary in the European tradition: dynamic is already an auxiliary. ‘Farbenfahrten’ quasi-inverses these priorities: a sequence of six colours form the basis of the composition and remain present even when other dimensions of the music emerge more dominant.
Schnitt-Muster (2002)
Order No: 2697, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
Sometimes completely different musical types or structural samples are set aside each other in a similar way to the effect achieved while zapping through television channels, sharp cuts which seem at first random are intentional. Even the other meaning of ‘cut-sample’, the prefabrication of something based on a template or the stereotypical also receives acknowledgement through the mimicry of musical styles. In this manner, various fields of popular music are touched upon - even contemporary music cannot escape.
Unione e tremolo (2002)
Order No: 2698, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Conceived for a world premiere in the Gobi desert, this piece must be extremely desert-proof. Unisono and octavel sound doubling forms the initial starting point. This, on the one hand side, turns a contemporary music taboo into material and brings the sound and the drifting apart of the duo into play on the other.
Inseln (2002)
Order No: 2699, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
World premiere: October 2002 in Reutlingen.
Wie ein Kanon (2002)
Order No: 26100, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
World premiere: October 2002 in Berlin.
Le Croce (2002)
Order No: 26101, sFr. 21.00, € 16.00
Created as a commission for the Swiss Expo 02, this piece takes the Swiss cross, apparent as pitch structures in the form of crosses, and places it at the centre of the composition. Initially as an interval-cross in quasi-negative form, it later appears manifold and differentiated in positive form.
Vom Grunde (2003)
Order No: 26102, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Texts: Barbara Köhler One can accept or rebel against tradition, for once I have accepted it and, without dislocation, composed a poem. Barbara Köhler wrote texts about the river Elbe - quiet, melancholic and with a pinch of antidote, particularly nice in the poems chosen by me.
Uf Ärde (2003)
Order No: 26103, sFr. 13.00, € 10.00
Composed for the Roaring Hoofs in Mongolia, this short solo piece is an inverted variation on the lied ‘S Vreneli ab em Guggisbärg’, which begins vastly removed from the folksong but gradually approaches it until the original finally sounds.
3. Streichquartett (3rd string quartet) (2003)
Five simple, quasi-archetypal structures form the basis of this work: accents with differentiated final notes, punctual and cliché fields, sound surfaces, repetitions and pulse. It offers, with simple clarity, an opportunity for the listener to follow the musical process and, more particularly, the form which it supports.
Changements (2003)
Order No: 26105, sFr. 21.00, € 16.00
Changements - between various instrumental groups, between natural and transformed sound, between calm and hectic, between cut and transition, between air and tone, between pulse and free rhythm, between repetition and progress, between sound and noise, between…
Verschmelzungen (2003)
Order No: 26106, sFr. 26.00, € 20.00
There is rarely a greater difference noted between two instruments regarding sound generation, volume, appearance and aura than between the piano and the recorder. To compose fusions of these two instruments was a challenge, which is relayed to the performers who must reach out to the very limits of playability.
calmo e furioso (2003/04)
Order No: 26107, sFr. 26.00, € 20.00
The initial point of departure for this composition is the contrast between calm and hectic, unfolded in transitions and tempo cuts on nine basic figures which, with time, develop a rich life of their own. The initial impetus provokes processes on other levels - almost like in real life.
Kalkül und Emotion (2004)
Order No: 26108, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
This work forms the intertwining, togetherness and conflict of the two quartets with calculated emotional intention. The security net provided by the rational prearrangements allows greater freedom and confidence in the emotional decisions made regarding concrete sounds, instruments, complexity and developments.
Löwen Löwen (2004)
Order No: 26109, sFr. 21.00, € 16.00
Text: Klaus Merz In laconic, melancholic and simultaneously playfully poetic miniatures Klaus Merz mirrors in ‘Löwen Löwen’ surprising facets of the much praised lagunal city of Venice. Profound ambiguity is the point of departure for this musicalisation which partly proceeds as if on two levels before reuniting unawares.
Graduale (2005)
Order No: 26110, sFr. 18.00, € 14.00
(Including clarinet part)
Text: Silja Walter
Selbstgespräche (2006)
Order No: 26111, sFr. 23.00, € 18.00
These days, a machine is increasingly the conversational partner of humans and so it is in "Selbstgespräche". A small digital apparatus is positioned directly onto the piano and is operated predominantly by the pianist using two foot pedals. The apparatus changes, morphs or repeats that which is played by the pianist, who in turn reintervenes in this transformed sound.
nel pomeriggio (2006)
Order No: 26112, sFr. 23.00, € 18.00
(Parts available from the composer)
A comfortable afternoon in a dusty café: As in times past, a string quartet plays a waltz that nobody listens to, a never-ending, continuously repetitive violin melody and an almost imperceptibly shifting accompaniment. Added to this is a completely inappropriate baritone saxophone - sometimes blending in, sometimes detached and sometimes obstinately defiant. Suddenly a bang! And everything collapses into shadowy ruins.
Eingriffe (2006)
Order No: 26113, sFr. 34.00, € 26.00
(Parts available from the composer)
The initial material consists of two melodies and two rhythmical sequences; these can be varied causing their superpositions to result in a countless number of related musical forms. The recurring formal idea is the "undampered clew": a dense, wide mesh that thins out then squeezes itself into the centre of the sound space. In this clear, goal-orientated process, diversity is encroached upon: three instruments temporarily break out of the process, colourful accents engage with the continuous mezzo forte, the process stops momentarily, the residual viola tips over into the realms of noise etc.
Schlaglichter (2006)
Order No: 26114, sFr. 21.00, € 16.00
These three miniatures are the reshaping of the structure and instrumentation of three laconic parts of my opera "Die Axt" after "Graf Öderland" by Max Frisch, which I composed as a commission for the Komischen Oper Berlin. Schlaglicht I is taken from the end of the 2nd act. In Schlaglicht II, the wind instrumentalists play excerpts from the three trumpets in the 1st act, while the percussion and double bass develop a new oppositional layer. Schlaglicht III transposes almost the entire 5th act where the bassoon and oboe intonate the duet between the central character and his partner, while the clarinet and double bass play the accompanying trumpet and tuba and the percussion brings in a new line.
gebündelt und ausfasernd (2007)
Order No: 26115, sFr. 26.00, € 20.00
"gebündelt" (clustered) initially means the bringing together of different chords of varying duration, which then either die out, collapse or very quietly drift ("ausfasern"), that is to say dissolve in short, soft movements. The chords are in the forte range and vary throughout the composition with respect to dynamics and internal movement, repeating rhythms and timbral changes. The drifting ("ausfasern"), is also formed in a multifarious manner, but always remains in the quiet range.
Les sons perdus (2007)
Order No: 26116, sFr. 21.00, € 16.00
Since the emancipation of dissonance and the break with tonal music, the third has largely become a taboo, a lost sound. For centuries the foundation of harmony and even today a primary component of popular music, it has been dismissed in art music as the symbol of a pseudo-ideal world. "les sons perdus" attempts to encounter and thematise this impoverishing constraint of sound by using a major third together with a variable additional interval to establish the structure of six formal components.
12-06-07 (2007)
Order No: 26117, sFr. 34.00, € 26.00
A text about statistically the most frequent causes of death in Switzerland takes its course and is interspersed by ten extremely varied newsflashes from real life, all of them objets trouvés from two daily newspaper of 12th June, 2007. The statistical information is set to music in a recitative manner with very few, primarily sustained notes. This is in contrast to the ten newsflashes whose music is composed with lively movements and a tangible pulse in various structures. The somewhat macabre text montage reflects the apparent phenomenon of the sometimes-grotesque contrast of various themes and texts, which seems to magically attract humans.
concertare e improvvisare (2007)
Order No: 26118, sFr. 26.00, € 20.00
This work contrasts notated music with improvised music. The sextet is extensively notated; the piano merely has several verbal suggestions. There are, however, also moments of improvisation in the sextet where, for example, each instrument initially and independently of the others repeats a phrase, which gradually changes following verbal instructions. Each begins this process with great intensity, playing as loud and as quickly as possible – very much in the style of early free jazz.
allemal (2007)
Order No: 26119, sFr. 29.00, € 22.00
Text: Georg Christoph Lichtenberg "It is almost impossible to carry the torch of truth through a crowd without singing somebody's beard." One of ten aphorisms written by Lichtenberg more than two hundred years ago - and still surprisingly relevant today. This musical version attempts to transpose the concise, acuminate formulation into succinct, very divergent miniatures.
Wie Kraut und Rüben (2008)
for oboe, bassoon, guitar and viola
Order No: 26120, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
In the painting "Wie Kraut und Rüben" by Paul Klee transparent white dots are spread over a red background in irregular rows and create thereby a subtle pulsation within a regular grid. By painting over the dots with the brush, these dots turn into lines, spots and signs. This technique, which Klee called "pointillate", has been transposed to dots of sound, arranged in rows, superimposed in irregular, free rhythms by the four instruments.
Cinque (2008)
Order No: 26121, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
How can a quartet arrive at the title "Cinque" (five)? The form is made up of five basic structures, which are repeated in sequence a total of five times. The temporal structure overlying this form comprises five different durations, which occur quasi-on average five times. Only the outer pattern of the music is thus written, the 'barrel' so to speak. What the wine has to offer is only apparent while drinking it. And as the 4 bassoons work intensely together, something new is created, from the four comes a fifth.
Schwein gha! (2008)
for children's voice and piano accompaniment
Order No: 26122, sFr. 13.00, € 10.00
Texts: Mex E. Keller The text is based on short essays by 9 year-old pupils and reflects their personal experiences of the theme "being lucky". The song presents three such experiences in three strophes. The melody is slightly modal, set in a 32-beat song form and terminated by a refrain.
"Fünf Improvisationsmodelle für Jugendliche" sowie "In Regen, Blitz und Donner" (2008)
Order No: 26123, sFr. 21.00, € 16.00
The improvisational models "Kartenspiel", "Zündschnur", "Sonntagnachmittag", "Wasserfall" and "Gewitter" are first and foremost to be understood as individual concepts. Duration and instrumentation remain open. The pieces can be realised using normal instruments or everyday objects (plastic bags, paper, pan lids, table tops, pieces of wood, pieces of metal, cutlery, crockery etc.). "Wasserfall" and "Kartenspiel" are possible exceptions as the graphics require pitch and pitch modulation, but even this can be realised using carnival market instruments, lotus flutes or the voice as well as conventional instruments. "Gewitter" can also be the framework of a whole form: One of the other concepts can be played during a stop under a balcony etc.. "In Regen, Blitz und Donner" is ultimately a through-composed version of the preceding possibility where three further instruments are added.
accent - figure - layer (2008)
for bass clarinet/tenor saxophone, percussion, piano, violin, viola and double bass
Order No: 26124, sFr. 26.00, € 20.00
The wide scope between improvisation and composition is calibrated. There are, however, no long notated passages but form sequences, short notated phrases as starting points, verbal instructions and graphics - right through to improvisation as one extreme. The musical material is based on the archetypal elements 'accent', 'figure' and 'layer' as mentioned in the title. The through-composed parts "unione e tremolo" for violin and viola (movement II) and the violin solo "NONONONO" (movement VII) are inserted between the six movements as the other extreme.
hasten und warten (2008)
Order No: 26125, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
The volatile and varying movements of everyday life, a little like the "stop and go" of traffic, provides the basic feeling of tempo for modern times. Irregular rhythms in music are a reflection of this. In "Hasten und Warten", this is taken as the model for the form. The change between stop and go is regular, however, the duration of each section is irregular, ranging from 1 second to 83 seconds. The violin and electronics do not always ride parallel but also in opposition: the violin remains static and the electronics give the impulse or vice versa. The movement contrast does not appear thus in succession but also contrapuntal in simultaneity.
Dialogues (2008)
Order No: 26126, sFr. 16.00, € 12.00
Both partners are handled equally. The electronics do not only remain passive but also take the initiative. Sometimes the guitar remains on a percussive sample and the electronics answer with increasingly hectic movements, at other times both partners move with varying pulse, as though on two levels, at other times still, the guitar gives the impulse, occasionally there is an intensive improvised interaction with rapid and spontaneous role changes.
Discs
Festival L'art pour l'Aar - November 2003
Hans Eugen Frischknecht: Vier Stücke für Schlagzeugensemble
Hans Eugen Frischknecht: Streichquartett
Max E. Keller: insieme, a coppie, indipendente
Jean-Luc Darbellay: Shadows
Jean-Luc Darbellay: Ecumes
Heinz Marti: Passages
Jürg Wyttenbach: verScherztes
Jost Meier: Thème et variations
Katrin Frauchiger: Es ist alles anders
Ursula Gut: Aquamarin
Daniel Andres: Cinq pièces
Gérard Zinsstag: Fragmente
Alfred Schweizer: Glasfarben-Musik
(Leipziger Hornquartett, Leipziger Schlagzeugensemble, ensemble bern modern, Ensemble l'Itinéraire)
ROTONDO oder "Die Kunst des Fügens"
(Ensemble Aventure)
Max E. Keller
Klingen im Gegenwind
Erinnerungen IV
Gesänge IV
Neungestalt
zerblasen
aushalten und bewegen
(Hänggin; Bovet; Anzelotti; Brunner; Ensemble Opera Nova; Ensemble Aventure; Wulf)
Kreuzende Wege - Komponistensekretariat Zürich
Max E. Keller: Pentalog
Werner Bärtschi: Federkopf
Ulrich Gasser: Pasticchio
Martin Sigrist: Incrociando
(Sinfonietta Wetzikon; Howard Griffiths)
Max E. Keller
Mondlandschaft
(Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich; David Zinman)
Dialogfelder
(Johannes Nied; Victoria Ifrim)
Progressionen
(Gruppa Musica Insieme di Cremona)
agieren und reagieren
(Susanne Stelzenbach; Ralf Hoyer)
Deformationen
(Eiko Morikawa; Sarah Hornsby; Daniel Göritz)
2. Streichquartett
(Schlesisches Streichquartett)
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automatically generated. last update: 24.01.2012 / 2004 Theo Lustenberger