Performative concert on the subject of gravitational waves

In the fall of 2015, the first measurement of a gravitational wave – a dent in space-time – was made. And a sensation! Albert Einstein’s calculations were confirmed in reality. Scientists at Leibniz Universität Hannover are developing the highly sensitive technology for such measurements.

Composer Thorsten Encke spent two years visiting the laboratories of the geo-Q Collaborative Research Center. The atmosphere of concentrated “expectation” – whether of unpredictable events (measurement of a gravitational wave) or of the results of years of effort – forms the nutrient for his new piece:

“In the composition Waves, I attempt to expand the listener’s experience of time and space to include the dimension of “time memory”. Spatially arranged, not clearly localizable sounds and extremely stretched sections cancel out the conventional perception of space and sharpen the perception for the experience of a new, individual space/time level. It is an auditory journey into hidden worlds that are revealed through our senses and imagination.”

Alvin Lucier In Memoriam John Higgins (1984) for clarinet and wave oscillatorThorstenEncke Wellen (2024 – UA) for interacting voice, 3 flutes, 3 clarinets & ad hoc instruments

Viktoriia Vitrenko.
Singing/Performance – musica assoluta – Thorsten Encke.
Management

Photos: Fotos: Daniel und Jochen Wunder

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