German Federal Cultural Foundation - Kulturstiftung des Bundes

Hybrid Music for humans and machines

What is so fascinating about electronically produced music and how does it differ from human sounds?

The project Hybrid Music looks for answers to these questions. It includes a unique human-machine combination including the renowned Chamber Ensemble for New Music Berlin (KNM), six soloists, seven music machines and two music installations by the English artist Martin Riches, whose acoustic works are typically displayed in art exhibitions.

In a joint concert, the players perform works especially composed for such an ensemble. In various works, the composers, including Masahiro Miwa (Japan) and Roland Pfrengle, contrast music and technology and examine the specific character of each machine. Sometimes the musicians' performance corresponds with that of the machines, and at other times, they contradict or even imitate the machines' peculiarities and functions. Conversely, the machines are humanized and programmed to play too fast, too slow or too quietly. The ironic aspect of this interaction culminates in Riches' music machines which are inspired by the automata of the 18th century, but are controlled by modern computer technology. The concert was first performed in Germany on the 26th October 2013 at the Philharmonie, Essen, and will be presented in February 2014 in Japan in Nagoya and Tokyo.

Concept: Martin Riches, Roland Pfrengle

Composers: Roland Pfrengle, Masahiro Miwa (JP), Dirk Reith, Günter Steinke, Thomas Neuhaus; Soloists: Katia Guedes, Lesley Olson; with the Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, conductor Titus Engel.

With special thanks to Hanns Zischler who presented the project to the jury of the Kulturstiftung that made the project possible.