News
Vanessa Porter: new CD BETTER ME
On 15 May 2026, the percussionists Vanessa Porter and Emil Kuyumcuyan will release their first duo-album BETTER ME on the Label Neos. BETTER ME exclusively presents compositions by both artists that move between contemporary music, electronic sound art, and performative energy. At its core is a wider understanding of percussion: noises, resonances, and impulses become as important as harmony, melody, and rhythm. The electronics don’t function as add-on, but as an equal musical partner. A defining element of the album is the tension between control and openness. Composed passages seamlessly transition into improvisational spaces where decisions are made in the moment. Thus, listening itself becomes a process - characterized by movement, intensification, and dissolution. The album invites the listener to delve into details while simultaneously perceiving larger sonic movements. Thematically, the project reflects central questions of our time: the desire for self-determination, identity, and visibility. BETTER ME deliberately remains open—as music in the making, between acoustic physicality and electronic expansion, between presence and possibility.
(published on 5 May 2026)
Daniel Gloger: World Premiere in Berlin
On 3 May 2026, the countertenor Daniel Gloger will sing the world premiere of Alexandra Filonenko‘s Les Autres for high soprano, baritone/countertenor and ensemble on lyrics by Bertolt Brecht at the Konzerthaus Berlin with the Ensemble United Berlin. As additional piece of the programme which will be presented in the concert series //interfaces/, the ensemble will also perform Edison Denisov’s Das Blaue Heft for soprano, narrator and ensemble, on the occasion of the composer’s 30th death anniversary. Fedor Rudin, the grandson of Edison Denisov, will lead the Ensemble and the other soloists Ramina Abdulla-Zadè (soprano) and Maxim Suchanow (narrator). Les Autres is aesthetically inspired by 1930s Berlin cabaret and combines historical elements with contemporary music. The work offers a mix of vocal and instrumental numbers as well as spoken and performed texts by Brecht, Müller, Shakespeare, Hendrik Jackson, and others. Berlin itself, especially its music and singing culture of the 1930s, forms the central setting. Musicians also take on acting roles, creating a multifaceted, grotesquely humorous, and increasingly serious narrative style (here a short statement by the composer).
(published on 29 April 2026)
Sofia Jernberg: New solo album VOICE
The vocal artist Sofia Jernberg has just released her first solo album VOICE (label Smalltown Supersound) on Vinyl and MP3 presenting the wide range of her vocal artistry: the voice's scope as an experimental instrument. Using unconventional techniques and sounds like non-verbal vocalisation, split tones, toneless singing and distortion, she creates new sounds, colours, noises and emotions, leaving the listener amazed. Pieces on the recording include her outstanding composition One Pitch, the impressive and experimental works Multiphonic I-III as well as Gurgle, Inhale Exhale, Birds, Mouth Synthesizer, Whistle Pitch and Throat. VOICE gives a proper jolt to the senses and is an overall experience par excellence.
(published on 28 April 2026)
Anu Komsi: Debut at La Monnaie
On 5 May 2026, the soprano Anu Komsi will make her debut at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie/ De Munt in Brussels performing the role of High Priestess in the world premiere of Iain Bell’s opera Medusa. The production will also be presented on 7/9/12/15/17/19 May 2026 at La Monnaie and will be directed by Lydia Steier, teaming up with Flurin Borg Madsen for set design and Katharina Schlipf for costume design. Michiel Delanghe will lead the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The main role will be sung by Claudia Boyle and further colleagues on stage will be Angela Denoke (Stheno), Josh Lovelli (Perseus), Paula Murrihy (Euryale), Konstantin Gorny (Poseidon), Mary Elisabeth Williams (Athena) and Marie-Juliette Ghazarian (Danaë). Medusa, the iconic figure in Greek mythology, has inspired Iain Bell to this new opera, which will also be livestreamed at OperaVision on 15 May 2026.
(published on 24 April 2026)
Deutsch