Into The Open

Musical Program

• Alvin Lucier: Nothing is Real (Strawberry Fields) (1990)

• Philip Venables: Illusions for Nine Amplified Players and Video (Text by David Hoyle) (2017)

• Mauricio Kagel: Ludwig van – Hommage from Beethoven (1969)

  
  

Artists

Internationale Ensemble Modern AkademieInternationale Ensemble Modern Akademie

• Raimonda Skabeikaité, conductor

• Moritz Fischer, sound direction

Program concept: Illusions

Transcendence – nothing is as it seems! In the three pieces presented by the IEMA Ensemble 2023/24, seemingly well-defined material is questioned on diverse levels. Alvin Lucier's "Nothing is real (Strawberry Fields)" from 1990 for piano, teapot, cassette recorder, and miniature sound system gradually transforms the piano from a classical instrument into a resonating space. Philip Venables' "Illusions" (2015/2017) engages a video featuring performance artist David Hoyle, an icon in England's LGBTQIA+ movement, in dialogue with the live ensemble, intensifying and commenting on the "rant" even further. Finally, in Mauricio Kagel's "Ludwig van - Homage to Beethoven" from 1969, the ensemble is tasked with conceptualizing the work before the performance: original Beethoven quotations are collaged, and the instrumentation is entirely free. Thus, music history becomes a fleeting surface of reflection—each performance is unique!

Venue

The Kühlhaus Berlin is an industrial monument located in the heart of Berlin in the immediate vicinity of Potsdamer Platz, right next to the Technical Museum Berlin. Built at the turn of the century in 1900, it is now a universal cultural centre that hosts a wide variety of events throughout the year, from readings and concerts to fashion fairs and food markets. The Kühlhaus, with its 6 floors and the Kubus in the middle, provides the ideal setting for our festival and a place where experimentation and reflection are virtually forced upon us. The Kubus makes a wide variety of event formats possible; the musicians can play from hidden galleries, position themselves in the middle like at a boxing match or perform over several floors.

About the festival

Into the Open (ITO) is the music festival of the new generation. It connects - across national borders and genres. It brings together people who love classical music and want to experience it in a new way. And it connects different art forms. Outstanding young musicians from all over the world present classical music together with artists from other genres such as dance, theatre or visual arts. The result is a unique experience...!

Further information on the 2024 festival program can be found here: Visions - 2024Visions - 2024