Commission to Mauricio Sotelo

Nicolas Altstaedt and the Spanish saxophone quartet Kebyart met for the first time in 2021. Connected by their shared passion for exploring new musical paths, they have since come together in several concert projects to explore new worlds of sound in the combination of saxophone quartet and cello and to inspire each other. Both Nicolas Altstaedt and Kebyart are passionate interpreters of new creations. The encounter between Kebyart and Nicolas Altstaedt therefore seems predestined to inspire and motivate composers to create original compositions for these exciting sound worlds. In their endeavour to commission works from both young composers and established colleagues, Kebyart and Nicolas Altstaedt approached the renowned Spanish composer Mauricio Sotelo.

Sotelo’s works are regularly performed by renowned orchestras and soloists. As the creator of so-called ‘spectral flamenco’, famous flamenco voices also regularly dedicate themselves to his works. Mauricio Sotelo suggested to the musicians that they write a piece entitled Cantos de amor y muerte (Songs of Love and Death): “The piece draws its inspiration from two sources that were fundamental to me as a composer: Firstly, my long time in Vienna and my love of the music of Schubert and Alban Berg, and secondly, my deep connection to the roots of flamenco and its oral tradition (a connection fostered by my conversations with Luigi Nono),” says the composer. “The elegance, lyricism and deep sadness of some works by Schubert or Berg undoubtedly serve as a model for the elaboration of a tapestry of sound that in my work reflects both human pain and the light of joy and knowledge. The very recent tragic death of my mother in Vienna is an experience that lends intensity to every textural element of this new work.” The composition will be rehearsed in public rehearsals as part of the Lockenhaus Kammermusikfestival and premiered on 17 July 2024 in the Lockenhaus Pfarrkiche with a radio recording and published by Universal Edition.

The commission to Mauricio Sotelo is funded by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further information
kammermusikfest.at

Date

July 17, 2024
Pfarrkirche Lockenhaus