Artist : Simon Steen-Andersen
[ concert ]
Time : 23.04 • 19:30 - 20:04 (34 min)
Location : Musikhuset Aarhus
A concerto for a quartet of Hammond organs and percussion that explores the inner mechanics of two large, iconic machines: The Leslie Speaker and the symphony orchestra.
Info about the piece
Having spent the last 10 years working primarily with multimedia, found material, and theatrical formats, Simon Steen-Andersen – who is turning 50 – wanted to focus on some of the sounds and musical ideas that often ended up in the background in service of broader concepts or theatrical elements. The idea of found material or readymades remains the starting point in grosso, but in terms of the musical and physical properties of specific instruments and objects, such as their pitch selection, layout, mechanics, timbre, and resonance. At the centre – almost as a fifth performer in the quartet – stands a Leslie speaker, the legendary double-rotary speaker system associated with the Hammond organ. Not just its signature pulsation and Doppler effect, but also the mechanical sounds of its inner workings are examined and followed as musical motifs. The piece is performed by Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and the New York ensemble Yarn/Wire, which will be performing in Denmark for the first time. The ensemble is a new music quartet dedicated to the promotion of creative, meaningful live musical experiences in the US and abroad. grosso is a co-commission from Donaueschinger Musiktage / SWR Orchestra, IRCAM / Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Aarhus Symphony Orchestra.
Kredit: Lars Svankjær
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Simon Steen-Andersen (1976) is a Danish, Berlin-based composer and stage director working at the intersection of music, performance, theatre, choreography, and film. Renowned for his transdisciplinary approach, Steen-Andersen’s works are performed regularly at major festivals and venues by leading ensembles, orchestras, and soloists. He studied composition with Karl Aage Rasmussen, Mathias Spahlinger, Gabriel Valverde, Bent Sørensen and Hans Abrahamsen in Aarhus, Freiburg, Buenos Aires, and Copenhagen from 1998 to 2006. Since 2018, Steen-Andersen has taught composition and music theatre at the University of the Arts Bern, Switzerland. Steen-Andersen has received the following prizes and awards: Reumert Award (2024), Carl Prize (2024, 2020, 2015), SWR Orchestra Prize (2019, 2014), Mauricio Kagel Music Prize (2017), Siemens Composer’s Prize (2017), Nordic Council Music Prize (2014), Carl Nielsen Honorary Award (2013), Kunstpreis from the Berlin, Academy of the Arts (2013), 1st Prize, International Rostrum of Composers (2010), DAAD Berlin Artist Residency (2010), Kranichsteiner Music Award (2008), Holmboe Prize (2000). Scored works are published by Edition-S / Copenhagen.
Kredit: Astrid Karger