Concerts featuring Josef Anton Riedl’s Glasspiele

The project Glasspiele – Sound, Space, Light by the ensemble der/gelbe/klang revives one of the most radical sets of instruments from the European postwar avant-garde: Josef Anton Riedl’s light and sound installation Glasspiele, developed between 1974 and 1977. To mark the 100th anniversary of his birth, the work—which has not been publicly performed since 1982—is being fully reconstructed for the first time and, at the same time, artistically reimagined.

The instrument consists of glass tubes, rods, and plates of various dimensions and surface textures and requires a performance area of approximately 10 x 8 meters. Ten performers play the suspended and horizontal glass elements; the resulting sounds are captured via contact and overhead microphones, amplified, and projected through a speaker system distributed throughout the space. Light was already an integral part of the original concept: strategically placed spotlights create visual “light glissandos” and make sonic movements spatially perceptible. Music, space, material, and technology form an inseparable unity.

In 2027, the Glasspiele will be presented at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich both as a concert instrument and as a walk-through sound installation. In an exhibition format, the instrument will be accessible via an interactive experience design: Using touchpads and transducers, visitors can cause the glass itself to vibrate and understand elementary sound processes. In this way, the installation becomes both a performative instrument and a participatory sound sculpture.

The concerts featuring Josef Anton Riedl’s Glasspiele are made possible by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further information:
dergelbeklang.de

Dates

June 11, 12, & 13, 2027
July 30 & 31, 2027
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich