Ensemble Modern

Heinz Holliger has never really been interested in mainstream music. Instead, what fascinates him is the offbeat. That which takes place away from the usual in the niches of new music. To mark his 85th birthday, he is coming to Frankfurt with an exquisite programme that highlights precisely this facet. With works by Klaus Huber and Bernd Alois Zimmermann, the programme features rarely heard music by two of Holliger's close companions. They are accompanied by the colourful musical anagram ‘ensmo - omnes’ by the composer Holliger, the first movement of which was written to mark the 40th anniversary of Ensemble Modern. The programme concludes with texts by Hölderlin, one of Holliger's poetic idols. His poem ‘Mnemosyne’ enjoys cult status among connoisseurs and has also inspired the Swiss composer Stefan Wirth to write his new Hölderlin setting.