Frankfurt Lab

The percussion class of HfMDK Frankfurt creates in the series „Listen! Percussion“ concerts, which allow you to experience percussion as an interplay of instruments from all over the world, body, space and new media. The 10th concert will present contributions from the students, both solo and in larger ensemble formations, sometimes with additional performances, and with many drums, various sound objects and extremely diverse aesthetic directions.

PROGRAMME

Georges Aperghis (1945): “Le Corps à corps” (1978)

“Le Corps à corps” is regarded as one of the landmark works of the contemporary percussion repertoire. Written for a percussionist and a zarb (tombak), it merges voice, rhythm, and movement into a musical performance. The performer is both narrator and protagonist – in the imaginary duel, the struggle with the instrument and with one’s own breath is reflected.

Performed by: Yi-Ling Cai

Philippe Manoury (1952): “Le Livre des Claviers – VI. Sixxen” (2008)

“Le Livre des Claviers” was composed for Les Percussions de Strasbourg. At the centre of the sixth movement is the Sixxen, developed by Iannis Xenakis, whose inharmonic sound inspired Philippe Manoury to create a distinctive musical language. Polyrhythms, complex temporal structures, and shimmering timbres shape this work.

Performed by: João Fialho, Tingwei Jiang, Jaejun Lee, José Nóbrega Mendes, Sangmin Oh, Hsiang-En Wang

Benjamin de la Fuente (1969): “Flip”

“Flip” is music in a state of constant transformation: brief impulses, abrupt changes of direction, and sudden accumulations meet the energy of rock, improvisation, and contemporary music. The result is an ensemble work of great rhythmic precision and immediate physical presence.

Performed by: João Fialho, Patryk Szczechowski, Hsiang-En Wang

Belenish Moreno-Gil (1993) / Óscar Escudero (1992): “OST”

“OST” combines percussion, electronics, and video in a hybrid form between concert, performance, and media art. Sound and image develop a multilayered narrative together, opening a space between acoustic and visual perception.

Performed by: Tingwei Jiang

Emil Kuyumcuyan (1993): “Pilgrim Trance” (2025)

In “Pilgrim Trance”, a continuous sonic process unfolds from pulse and repetition. Rhythmic patterns and the interplay of ten percussionists create a multilayered musical texture in which individual voices merge into a shared sound.

Performed by: Lukas Butscher (Stella Vorarlberg Private University of Music, Feldkirch), Yi-Ling Cai, Elisa Lázaro Hernando (Karlsruhe University of Music), Tingwei Jiang, Thibault Keith (Karlsruhe University of Music), Ching-Yun Lin, Prof. Vanessa Porter (Karlsruhe University of Music), Philipp Roman (Stella Vorarlberg Private University of Music, Feldkirch), Patryk Szczechowski, Hsiang-En Wang, Emil Kuyumcuyan

intermission

John Cage (1912–1992): “Third Construction” (1941)

With “Third Construction”, John Cage created one of the most influential works for percussion ensemble. Unusual instruments, precise rhythmic proportions, and an extraordinary variety of timbres have made the work a milestone of modern percussion literature.

Performed by: Yi-Ling Cai, Sangmin Oh, Patryk Szczechowski, Hsiang-En Wang

Igor C. Silva (1996): “Your Trash” (2024)

“Your Trash” is an ironic reflection on the digital clutter we accumulate on our computers and smartphones. The performer personalizes the work using their own photographs and videos, making each performance a unique portrait of memory, identity, and everyday digital life.

Performed by: Hsiang-En Wang

Thierry de Mey (1956): “Pièce de gestes” (1983)

In “Pièce de gestes”, the body itself becomes the instrument. Without instruments, movement, precision, and synchronization generate visible rhythms and musical forms – a work at the intersection of music, choreography, and performance.

Performed by: João Fialho, Tingwei Jiang, Jaejun Lee, Miguel Martínez Pico, Yi-Ling Cai

Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001): “Peaux aus Pléïades” (1978)

“Peaux”, der dritte Satz aus Pléïades, ist ausschließlich den Fellinstrumenten gewidmet. Archaische Energie, mathematische Präzision und enorme rhythmische Dichte verbinden sich zu einer der bedeutendsten Kompositionen für Schlagzeugensemble des 20. Jahrhunderts.

Performed by: Yi-Ling Cai, João Fialho, Tingwei Jiang, Ching-Yun Lin, José Nóbrega Mendes, Patryk Szczechowski

Georges Aperghis (1945): “Conversation aus Zig-Bang” (2001)

In “Conversation”, language, gesture, and rhythm become musical material. Communication is transformed into a precisely choreographed interplay of sound, movement, and reaction – a characteristic example of Aperghis’s unique music theatre.

Performed by: Lukas Butscher (Stella Vorarlberg Private University of Music, Feldkirch), Yi-Ling Cai, Leonhard Eickermann, João Fialho, Elisa Lázaro Hernando (Karlsruhe University of Music), Tingwei Jiang, Thibault Keith (Karlsruhe University of Music), Emil Kuyumcuyan, Jaejun Lee, Ching-Yun Lin, José Nóbrega Mendes, Sangmin Oh, Prof. Vanessa Porter (Karlsruhe University of Music), Miguel Martínez Pico, Philipp Roman (Stella Vorarlberg Private University of Music, Feldkirch), Patryk Szczechowski, Hsiang-En Wang