In the Black Room at the Inter Arts Center, Karlheinz Essl's installation piece, WebernUhrWerk will run from morning to evening. Every 15 minutes, a short musical phrase with Carillon sounds is generated which is based on Webern's last but unfinished composition. Hernandez and Östersjö will organize their day along with this installation. Starting with breakfast at 8:30 they will be improvising on violin and guitars throughout the day and into the evening. Anyone who wishes to take part is welcome to do so, either as listeners or as performers. The event will increasingly take on the character of a Swedish "gravöl" (funeral feast) towards the later end of the day.
Sep 15 will be the 70th anniversary of composer Anton Webern's accidental death, shot in Mittersill/Austria by an American GI after the end of the war while out for a smoke. My friend Karlheinz Essl has written a little software clock that chimes in a Webern series every quarter of an hour. I will sit and write and talk and compose, share Austrian food and wine and perhaps even go out for a smoke. At times, musician friends may visit me and improvise on Weberns melodies. Everyone is welcome to come and talk to me. Take a card on entry: conversation subjects can include anything from serial dodecaphony to military occupations, from cigarettes to compressed emotions, from art in dictatorships to the beautiful valley of Mittersill, where 11 years ago I composed two works you can also sometimes hear in the background, alternating with random remixes of Weberns Music. No action lasts longer than 15 minutes, all awkward turns will be saved by the bell.
One loudspeaker will be placed on a window of the town hall of Mittersill, sending Karlheinz Essls WebernUhrWerk every quarter of an hour on the 15th of September 2015 all over the town square of Mittersill to remind of the tragic death of Anton Webern 70 years ago in this town.
"Kunst in der Mariengasse“, ein Kulturformat von und mit Otto Brusatti und die Kulturabteilung der Stadtgemeinde Baden unterstützen mit World-Wide Webern eine weltweite Aktion zum 70. Todestag von Anton Webern. Für diese Initiative zeichnet Karlheinz Essl verantwortlich. Aus dem Theater am Steg, Johannesgasse 14 und aus dem Haus der Kunst, Kaiser Franz Ring 7 werden ab 7 Uhr, gleichzeitig mit dem Essl Museum in Klosterneuburg, spezielle kurze Glockenmelodien erklingen. Jeweils zu Beginn der Viertelstunden und über die Dauer von 5 Stunden dauert World-Wide Webern! Infomaterial finden Sie in den beiden Häusern.
Der Titel ist gleichzeitig der Auftrag unserer Mission. Am Ende von Gert Jonkes Novelle Geblendeter Augenblick. Anton Weberns Tod fordert der Erzähler den amerikanischen Soldaten auf, einen Moment innezuhalten:
"Hörst Du, Raymond, jetzt ruhig atmen, einmal noch einatmen und einmal noch ausatmen." In diesem Aufatmen, in dieser Geste liegt das Glück: Bell schießt nicht. Er heißt Webern wieder ins Haus treten und seinen Enkeln zeigen, wie man beim Zigarrenrauchen Rauchringe aus dem Mund bläst. "Das ist schon gleich was ganz anderes."
Jack Hauser & Sabina Holzer werden in der temporären Wohnung Miryam van Doren in Wien 15 eine 12-stündige fiktionautische Mission mit Karlheinz Essls WebernUhrWerk durchführen. Im Westen zwischen Hinterhof / Esche und im Osten zwischen Fenstervorhang / Anschützgasse.
"Today I gazed upon the city of Vienna from the top of Gasometer while listening to the generated chimes of Karlheinz Essl's WebernUhrWerk for World-Wide Webern. I was concurrently working on my own music, and every 15 minutes my work was brought to a halt by a very welcome carillon interruption.
One such interruption arrived while I was skyping with a friend in Dresden, and so the carillon sounded simultaneously in two places at once.
Taking part in World-Wide Webern reminded me of the importance of doing what we love in life."
Two loudspeakers are positioned on top of the Essl Museum's tower. From there, they are sending their bell sounds over the city of Klosterneuburg. Will this cause irritation? We don't know yet... The installation starts at 7:00 in the morning and plays continously until 18:00 in the evening.
One speaker will be placed in the foyer and seating area of WORM, playing Karlheinz Essl's WebernUhrWerk from noon to 8pm to commemorate Anton Webern - not only as a composer of music, but also as a major source of inspiration for serialist montage in experimental film.
Pieniny Mountains, Poland/Slovakia
Painted by Halina Montrey
The sound installation World-Wide Webern by Karlheinz Essl, which consists of playing random musical phrases based on the unfinished oeuvre of the Austrian composer Anton Webern (accidentally killed in 1945) is a poignant and multilayered metaphor. For a listener, it can be used as a persistent reminder that their life goes on, and I’d like to use it as such. On the 15th of September, I will carry the recording with me all day and during the times when the music sounds, I’ll mark my presence using the medium available to me at the moment, be it ink, paint, found objects, film etc. As a result, I should end up with spontaneously created pieces that are the ‘portraits’ of these moments in my life. These portraits, in turn, can be viewed as entities with their own ‘lives’ – lived in various circumstances and, invariably, unexpectedly ended, like the life of Anton Webern himself.
Krems an der Donau, Austria: Historic City
Conducted by Leone Strizik
A very personal and intimate rendering in memory of the composer / conductor Anton Webern: A private flat overlooking the historic center of Krems. An open window that emits bells sounds towards a highly frequented pedestrian area with lots of tourists. Flyers and posters for story telling. The rest is silence.
In the building where IEM is located (Inffeldgasse 10, 8020 Graz), WebernUhrWerk will run during daytime, distributed by the permanently installed loudspeakers in the staircase of this place.
"In my class today I played WebernUhrWerk to the students, and took a little moment to explain who Anton Webern was and why he was significant to me. And unbelievably, I noticed that not everyone knew who he was... so it was a good opportunity to make them a bit more civilized."
"Sie haben nachgefragt, was wir heute auf der Schallaburg gemacht haben. Natürlich auch Anton Weberns gedacht! Dazu haben wir am Nachmittag mit zwei Boxen den Hof des Renaissanceschlosses Schallaburg mit Ihrer Komposition beschallt und die Gäste mit Aufstellern und über unsere Mitarbeiter/innen (Kassa, Restaurant, Garderobe, Aufsichten) über die Aktion informiert."
The northernmost performance (probably) of the Webern Clock happens today at subarctic Red Paint Lake in Northern Manitoba at the margins of the boreal forest. Because the have shaky internet, she sent the patch there on a USB key, and they have been playing it since 6am their time (Central Daylight Time = -8hrs from Central Europe Time) and different people will interact with it, musicians and singers in the Dene community will come in and play with the bell sounds ! Photos and reports will come back also only via USB key... Let us see!
Maria Enzersdorf - das Fenster meines Arbeitszimmers ist geöffnet - 2 Lautsprecher eingeschaltet. Es ertönen Glockentöne zum Gedenken für Anton von Weberns Todestag. Wir befinden uns nur 20 Gehminuten entfernt vom Haus „Im Auholz“, Weberns Wohnsitz in Maria Enzersdorf.
Die Tangente Klosterneuburg - Maria Enzersdorf - Baden sowie an verschiedenen Stellen auf der ganzen Welt. Kunst hat keine Grenzen... Wie schön gerade jetzt !!!
Gedanken, Impulse alle 15 Minuten, sehr kurze Intervalle 5 Stunden lang
WEBERNUHRWERK by Karlheinz Essl. Ich will Skizzen zu den Glockentönen machen - malen - zeichnen - schreiben.
„Es entsteht ein Raum in dem die alltäglichen Gewohnheiten und Trösterln verschwinden, ein Raum den man kennt, aber selten betritt.“ (I.E.C.- Gedanken beim Hören von A.v.Webern – Nacht 04-09-10)
Wie wahr jetzt.
„Er drang mit einer derartigen genialen Vollkommenheit durch die Geheimnisse des göttlichen“ Nadelöhrs“, dass er nie mehr zur Welt zurückfand“. (Aus dem Katalog Anton Webern zum 100. Geburtstag von Sandor Szokoly)
Ein Gedanke taucht auf, verfestigt sich: War dieser schreckliche Schuss am 15.9.1945 nicht nur “Ich bin getroffen, es ist aus“ --- sondern ebenso Startschuss... Dies gilt auch für mich - „der schwierige Umgang mit den Ahnen“ (Kapp-Ofenbauer).
I performed Karlheinz Essl's WebernUhrWerk in an environment that does not usually function as a stage for classical music performance. I placed the speakers on the balcony, pointing towards the street and let the passersby absorb music that they would otherwise perhaps never have a chance to listen.
