sounding D

At the midpoint of its programme in summer 2010, the New Music Network organized a national music programme titled “sounding D – A New Musical Experience in Germany” in cooperation with its 15 funded network projects.

With over 150 concerts and musical events by 70 professional and 30 school and youth ensembles with around 300 musicians, sounding D was the most extensive New Music project ever in Germany. The goal was to increase public awareness of New Music and its long tradition in Germany and make people more attuned to listening – in terms of both perceiving the sounds of daily life and the beauty of artistic music.

The Sounding D train travelled 3,375 kilometres on its two-and-a-half week tour through Germany. The Sound Train was part of an extensive “sounding D” composition written by the Canadian sound artist Robin Minard. As a sound-art exhibition itself, it served as a connecting element between each of the network locations. The train began its journey with a flash-mob kick-off concert in Dresden, after which it made stops in Berlin, Hamburg, Kiel, Oldenburg, Göttingen, Essen, Moers, Cologne, Mainz / Engers, Saarbrücken, Freiburg, Stuttgart, Augsburg, Passau and Eisenach. The 15 regional network projects in the New Music Network presented daily events featuring music, soundwalks, actions and concerts which created an impressive panorama of New Music in Germany. The concerts at train stations, public venues, factory halls, concert halls and churches presented New Music as an exciting, contemporary art form to more than20,000 visitors – not counting pedestrians and passers-by in public areas.

The three-day closing festival mittenDrin in Eisenach concluded the New Music project. In addition to musical actions in the city, visitors attended sound expeditions in the surrounding region and musical parades, directed by the Swiss composer Daniel Ott in cooperation with Erwin Stache, Kirsten Reese and Zoro Babel. Concerts at the church of St. George, the Wartburg banquet hall, the city castle and state theatre were performed by renowned New Music ensembles, such as the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Ensemble S from Hannover, KNM Berlin, Ensemble Marges from Weimar and Ensemble Modern. The programme included works by Schönberg, Stockhausen, Grisey, Xenakis, Dittrich and a world premiere by Benedict Mason.
A comprehensive documentation of “sounding D” can be found on the website www.sounding-D.net (external link, opens in a new window). Thanks to an integrated SoundMap and video blogs, visitors can relive the summer of New Music in Germany.

Dates and venues:
25 Aug. 2010 – 12 Sept. 2010 sounding D festival with Sound Train travelling through Germany with 15 stations
10 Sept. 2010 – 12 Sept. 2010 mittenDrin closing festival in Eisenach at the Wartburg, St. Georg Church, and other venues