ALPENGLOW : INTERNATIONAL IMPROVISED MUSIC SUMMIT

FRI 24, SAT 25, SUN 26

September 2010

Times : 8pm

Tickets : £12 Festival Pass

(all concerts, advance only)

Alpenglow is an international improvised music summit mixing leading players from Styria in Austria with a wide range of top-draw musicians from the UK. Embracing a true spirit of experimentation, this extended weekend of performance will mix many artists who, until now, have never shared a stage together to create unexpected and unpredictable results.

Emerging from late 60s US and European free jazz and contemporary classical music scenes, freely improvised music has at its disposal the full spectrum of sonic experience from total noise to near absolute silence, from frenetic activity to glacial stillness and from focused solo performance to large group freakout. Just as in relationships between groups and individuals there is the potential for danger and conflict as well as for concord and harmony. First time encounters can be particularly unpredictable. Alpenglow is conceived as a volatile experiment and as a meeting of players speaking many musical tongues, those sounding with Apollonian poise, and those convulsing in Dionysian ecstasy. It sets forth with the ecumenical verve of an interstellar missionary collaboration between the Society of Friends and the Ranters. The fate of this expedition will be resolved before the public gaze.

As well as suckling comedy politician and seven time Mr Olympia winner Arnold Schwarzenegger, Styria, a state of Austria surrounding its capital Graz, has produced a dynamic and, as yet, unknown in UK circles, breed of experimental musicians. Alpenglow will bring these players en mass to London for a head-to-head with the best of our free improvisers. This event celebrates the common bonds this band of players share through the creation of spontaneous music.

Alpenglow takes place in Dalston, North London at the city’s hub for experimental music Café Oto, and the capital’s world-renowned jazz club The Vortex. British pianist and composer Veryan Weston and Austrian vocalist Annette Giesriegl, two of the leading figures in improvised music in their respective countries, have selected the artists performing over the weekend. The event will bring together 30 players drawn from across the spectrum of current approaches to improvised music performance in small group contexts and a large improvising orchestra lead by the celebrated UK musician Steve Beresford.

Artists performing at Alpenglow:

Annette Giesriegl, Steve Beresford, Allison Blunt, Gail Brand, Angharad Davies, Jane Dickson, James Dunn, Elisabeth Harnik, Seppo Gründler, Josef Klammer, Katherina Klement, Caroline Kraabel, Peter Lackner, Klaus Lang, Hannah Marshall, Hugh Metcalfe, Maggie Nicols, Lee Patterson, Michael Pinter-Koschell, Armin Pokorn, Heimo Puschnigg, John Russell, Henrik Sande, Chuang Se-Lien, Manfred Stern, Rowland Sutherland, Christian Tschinkel, Gernot Tutner, Mark Wastell, Andreas Weixler, Veryan Weston, Mia Zabelka, Martin Zrost

Partners:

Sound and Music promotes fresh and challenging new music and sound through a range of live events, learning projects and digital content. Its focus is on the growing stature and appreciation of contemporary music, and its significant scale enables it to make a major impact on public perceptions. www.soundandmusic.org

V:NM is an association for the promotion an dissemination of new music based in Graz in Styria, Austria. All of the musicians that travel to London for Alpenglow are currently living or were born in Styria. http://vnm.mur.at

Established In North London for over 20 years, The Vortex is a beacon for contemporary jazz in the capital. With seven evening performances a week the Vortex programmes cutting-edge jazz alongside contemporary folk and world music.

Café OTO opened in April 2008 with the aim of providing a home for creative new music that exists outside of the mainstream. It is London’s leading venue for underground sounds and a vital hub for the city’s experimental music scene.

PLEASE NOTE THE FESTIVAL PASS GAINS YOU ENTRY TO EVENTS ON ALL 3 EVENINGS. ALL EVENINGS START AT THE VORTEX (6.00PM - 8.30PM) AND THEN MOVE ON TO CAFE OTO (9.00PM ONWARDS)