An Other 2023

"A few years ago I composed a large-scale piano piece for László Borbély, entitled Schmuÿle & Samuel Goldenberg. The piece refers to the movement of the same title from Mussorgsky's well-known piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition. Mussorgsky depicts two Jewish figures of very different characters, the driving force of his work being the juxtaposition of musical material inspired by them. This is the only concept I myself have taken as a starting point: a personal, parlando rubato, declamatory musical material and a pronounced, decisive, energetic, chorale-like movement confronted with each other. My resulting piece is thus akin to the Mussorgsky piece through the programme in the background, through the institution of the 'common ancestor'. In later years, it occurred to me to compose the other "Mussorgsky Pictures" accordingly, and to do so in pairs, by combining one Mussorgsky movement with another – starting from the musical conflict of my Schmuÿle movement. I have christened the series I have thus created "Memories of an Exhibition".

Schizofrantik were formed in 1998 and have been playing and writing music ever since, but their first release was in 2008. They have since been signed to the label Gentle Art of Music, who released their first label-backed CD, "Oddities" in 2011.
Their music is characterized by tons of time signatures, endless breaks, virtuosic performances and numerous tempo changes, sometimes impossible to be followed by the listener due to the constant changing climates, nevertheless their approach is really impressive, although too technical for the average ear. The other side of the group relies on a more atmospheric Heavy Prog attitude with more emphasis on vocals and containing some slight psychedelic vibes.

The latest from Pulitzer Prize-winner Henry Threadgill, The Other One, is comprised of a three-movement composition entitled “Of Valence” that was the musical component of a large multimedia work performed and recorded live at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, New York in May, 2022. Written for a 12-piece ensemble – made up of an unusual instrumental combination of three saxophones, violin, viola, two cellos, tuba, percussion, piano and two bassoons – The New York Times described the performance as possessing “a galvanic sense of swing,” and “in lock-step with his every surprise rhythmic feint — producing an obliquely danceable, straightforwardly joyous Threadgillian energy.”