shut up and listen! 2011
Interdisciplinary Festival for Music and Sound Art
December 10th, 2011, 19.30
Amr Okba (EG), Yoav Pasovsky (IL)
Works for Harp - Gabriela Mossyrsch, Harp (AUT)
Gabriela Mossyrsch
Gabriela Mossyrsch was born in Vienna and grew up in a multicultural home. She studied harp in the class of
Ludwig Poduschka at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Graz. There she obtained her
concert diploma at the age of 18. She continued her studies at the Conservatoire National de la Région de
Paris under Brigitte Sylvestre and graduated with the Premier Prix à l’unanimité. Since 1987 she has been a
solo harpist at the Orchestra Volksoper Wien. Encounters with contemporary music and composers are of
great importance to her. Therefore she has played with the “Ensemble Modern Frankfurt” since 1997. As
soloist she performed with the “Klangforum Wien”, the “Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen”, the
“Ensemble Wiener Collage” at the Salzburg Festival, the Ensemble “Die Reihe” at the Wiener Konzerthaus.
As chamber musician she played many concerts in Europe, America and Asia.
Amr Okba: Solo for Harp
A tranquil dialogue with the inner voice...
Amr Okba
Amr Okba is an Egyptian Austrian composer born in 1972. He started his musical education with piano and
music theory lessons at the Institute of Arabic Music and Faculty of Music Education. He joined the Cairo
Conservatoire (Department of Composition and Conducting), where he graduated with distinction. In 1998,
Amr obtained his Bachelor in Composition, and short after he was awarded with the Rome Prize-State Prize
for Artistic Creation (Composition), which allowed him to spend one year and a half in Italy. In 2003,
through the Egyptian-Austrian Cultural Exchange Programme (ÖAD), Amr obtained a scholarship that
allowed him to continue with his musical career. In Austria, he studied Composition at both „Mozarteum
Universität Salzburg“ and „Wien Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst“ with Reinhard Febel
(Composition) and with Dieter Kaufmann (Electronic and Experimental Composition). In 2006, Amr
premiered his first Opera, „The book of going forth by day“, which was commissioned by „Musik der
Jahrhunderte“, for the ISCM opening concert in Stuttgart. This brought him international recognition,
followed by a series of engagements, projects, commissions and concerts with prestigious festivals and
organizations, such as „Salzburg Biennale“ and „Bregenzer Festspiele“. In 2008, Amr obtained the Austrian
State Stipend for Composition, and in 2009, the Salzburg Annual Stipend for Music. Amr’s music was
performed by several prestigious Orchestras and Ensembles such as Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra
(Conductor, Lukas Vis), Mozarteum University Orchestra (Conductor, Dennis Russell Davies), The BBC
Symphony Orchestra, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Collage Ensemble, OENM Ensemble (Conductor,
Johannes Kalitzke, Arturo Tamayo), the composer Ensemble, and London Sinfonietta (Conductor: Diego
Masson - Queen Elizabeth Hall). Amr’s music has also been broadcasted by several European Radio stations
such as SWR (Germany), ORF/Ö1 (Austria), Radio Classica (Spain) and Radio Denmark.
http://www.amrokba.com
Yoav Pasovsky: Opus sectile
Opus sectile (Latin for "cut/divided Work") refers to a popular artistic technique in ancient Rome, where
different materials are cut into pieces (crustae) and placed in walls or floors, in order to form an image or
a pattern. Unlike mosaic, which consists of many small pieces of uniform size, the pieces in opus sectile are
much larger and may already represent a large part of the design. The piece consists of 56 small parts that
are related in different ways to each other. Although I've already written all the parts, the piece is not
entirely "composed" yet (compōnere Latin for "put together, arrange"). While studying and rehearsing the
piece, the performer must take that final step and compose the fragments together, thereby dissolving the
boundaries between the composer and the performer. Using opus sectile as an analogy, one can imagine the
interpreter as an archaeologist digging at a musical excavation site, trying to put many small fragments of
some relic back together. Even though these fragments are only a couple of years old (they date back to
March 2009), some of them are lost forever. In order to make it easier on the performer, and also so that I
can retain more control over the design of the piece, I have imposed some constraints on the ways the
piece should be structured. Nevertheless, the interpreter still has about two hundred million (8!⋅7!)
possible combinations to choose from. Today you will be hearing one of them.
(Yoav Pasovsky)
Yoav Pasovsky
Yoav Pasovsky was born in 1980 in Israel. He began playing the piano at an early age, and started composing
shortly after. In the following years he produced mainly electronic music. Since 2001 his creative focus
shifted more and more towards acoustic music. Pasovsky studied composition with Daniel Ott and Walter
Zimmermann in the University of the Arts Berlin, where he is currently teaching. Pasovsky's works have
been performed in numerous festivals in Europe, North America and Asia. He has worked with ensembles
such as Ensemble Adapter, Ensemble U3, United Berlin, Red Light New Music, Asian Art Ensemble, Quartet
New Generation, Ensemble Zafraan, and the Ensemble Modern Academy. Pasovsky was composer in
residence of the spanish ensemble Taller Sonoro in 2008. Recepient of the Elsa-Neumann-Stipend 2011,
Pasovsky's music will be featured at the upcoming Ultraschall Festival Berlin, Munich Biennale 2012 and at
the Donaueschingen Music Festival 2012.
ABOUT PROGRAMME SUAL AWARD PRESS IMPRESSUM SUAL HOME
Ludwig Poduschka at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Graz. There she obtained her
concert diploma at the age of 18. She continued her studies at the Conservatoire National de la Région de
Paris under Brigitte Sylvestre and graduated with the Premier Prix à l’unanimité. Since 1987 she has been a
solo harpist at the Orchestra Volksoper Wien. Encounters with contemporary music and composers are of
great importance to her. Therefore she has played with the “Ensemble Modern Frankfurt” since 1997. As
soloist she performed with the “Klangforum Wien”, the “Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen”, the
“Ensemble Wiener Collage” at the Salzburg Festival, the Ensemble “Die Reihe” at the Wiener Konzerthaus.
As chamber musician she played many concerts in Europe, America and Asia.
Amr Okba: Solo for Harp
A tranquil dialogue with the inner voice...
Amr Okba
Amr Okba is an Egyptian Austrian composer born in 1972. He started his musical education with piano and
music theory lessons at the Institute of Arabic Music and Faculty of Music Education. He joined the Cairo
Conservatoire (Department of Composition and Conducting), where he graduated with distinction. In 1998,
Amr obtained his Bachelor in Composition, and short after he was awarded with the Rome Prize-State Prize
for Artistic Creation (Composition), which allowed him to spend one year and a half in Italy. In 2003,
through the Egyptian-Austrian Cultural Exchange Programme (ÖAD), Amr obtained a scholarship that
allowed him to continue with his musical career. In Austria, he studied Composition at both „Mozarteum
Universität Salzburg“ and „Wien Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst“ with Reinhard Febel
(Composition) and with Dieter Kaufmann (Electronic and Experimental Composition). In 2006, Amr
premiered his first Opera, „The book of going forth by day“, which was commissioned by „Musik der
Jahrhunderte“, for the ISCM opening concert in Stuttgart. This brought him international recognition,
followed by a series of engagements, projects, commissions and concerts with prestigious festivals and
organizations, such as „Salzburg Biennale“ and „Bregenzer Festspiele“. In 2008, Amr obtained the Austrian
State Stipend for Composition, and in 2009, the Salzburg Annual Stipend for Music. Amr’s music was
performed by several prestigious Orchestras and Ensembles such as Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra
(Conductor, Lukas Vis), Mozarteum University Orchestra (Conductor, Dennis Russell Davies), The BBC
Symphony Orchestra, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Collage Ensemble, OENM Ensemble (Conductor,
Johannes Kalitzke, Arturo Tamayo), the composer Ensemble, and London Sinfonietta (Conductor: Diego
Masson - Queen Elizabeth Hall). Amr’s music has also been broadcasted by several European Radio stations
such as SWR (Germany), ORF/Ö1 (Austria), Radio Classica (Spain) and Radio Denmark.
http://www.amrokba.com
Yoav Pasovsky: Opus sectile
Opus sectile (Latin for "cut/divided Work") refers to a popular artistic technique in ancient Rome, where
different materials are cut into pieces (crustae) and placed in walls or floors, in order to form an image or
a pattern. Unlike mosaic, which consists of many small pieces of uniform size, the pieces in opus sectile are
much larger and may already represent a large part of the design. The piece consists of 56 small parts that
are related in different ways to each other. Although I've already written all the parts, the piece is not
entirely "composed" yet (compōnere Latin for "put together, arrange"). While studying and rehearsing the
piece, the performer must take that final step and compose the fragments together, thereby dissolving the
boundaries between the composer and the performer. Using opus sectile as an analogy, one can imagine the
interpreter as an archaeologist digging at a musical excavation site, trying to put many small fragments of
some relic back together. Even though these fragments are only a couple of years old (they date back to
March 2009), some of them are lost forever. In order to make it easier on the performer, and also so that I
can retain more control over the design of the piece, I have imposed some constraints on the ways the
piece should be structured. Nevertheless, the interpreter still has about two hundred million (8!⋅7!)
possible combinations to choose from. Today you will be hearing one of them.
(Yoav Pasovsky)
Yoav Pasovsky
Yoav Pasovsky was born in 1980 in Israel. He began playing the piano at an early age, and started composing
shortly after. In the following years he produced mainly electronic music. Since 2001 his creative focus
shifted more and more towards acoustic music. Pasovsky studied composition with Daniel Ott and Walter
Zimmermann in the University of the Arts Berlin, where he is currently teaching. Pasovsky's works have
been performed in numerous festivals in Europe, North America and Asia. He has worked with ensembles
such as Ensemble Adapter, Ensemble U3, United Berlin, Red Light New Music, Asian Art Ensemble, Quartet
New Generation, Ensemble Zafraan, and the Ensemble Modern Academy. Pasovsky was composer in
residence of the spanish ensemble Taller Sonoro in 2008. Recepient of the Elsa-Neumann-Stipend 2011,
Pasovsky's music will be featured at the upcoming Ultraschall Festival Berlin, Munich Biennale 2012 and at
the Donaueschingen Music Festival 2012.
ABOUT PROGRAMME SUAL AWARD PRESS IMPRESSUM SUAL HOME