50 years of Phonos - program of concerts
50 years of Phonos - program of concerts
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Phonos (1974-2024), we present a program including the composers who have been part of Phonos in these years
As a space for creation, Phonos is and has been a place of proposals, of germinating ideas, of opposing projects driven only by each author's obsession. The reference of this center is aesthetic openness, which is a mirror, a tool, a choice of the moment and of contingency.
From the beginning and up to the present moment, the instrumental context is used or invented. Use is made of what sounds and resonates with thought, which is set into vibration and interacts. The idiosyncrasy of the composer carves a path with fluid forging, tension, pleasure, insistence, and necessity.
Expressive need passes through two essential nodes: genesis is the heartbeat of the author. The other node is what we call communication. In this complex journey, the temporal location, our time, is the coordinate that immerses us in reality.
Phonos is the result of will, certain chance events, and an intangible component. For inextricable reasons, with the coincidence of four key figures, an entity was invented and propelled what a few years later would become a center for creation, research, and discussion of ideas. Since the first Phonos laboratory, the history has been persistent and convoluted, and despite everything, the core of the ideas that were born there, which referred to a collective desire, remains.
Josep Maria Mestres Quadreny, who linked his music to semantics built from chance, laid the structure of the project, with Andrés Lewin-Richter, who brought the solid background of a laboratory, transmitted and developed it, also through his own composition. At the same time, Lluís Callejo i Creus advanced the project with a poetics of inventions where technique was mixed with his growing interest in composition. Gabriel Brncic, from his extensive career as a composer, catalyzed the group and created a collective of composers that grew and fed off each other.
The four factors were essential to creating this productive chance. We will have the opportunity to delve into concerts dedicated to each of these figures, all with valuable musical production. We will also talk about and perform concerts featuring devices created in its context, such as the Stokos IV and the Reactable, among others, or tools like Freesound.
A peculiarity of this laboratory is that for a long period, in addition to electronic and acoustic, Phonos was an interactive space of fertile dialogs. We can say that now we not only enjoy the echo initiated in the mythical era of Sarrià, but we continue composing new creations, inventing projects, and developing the framework for concerts, presentations, talks, and record productions. In this persistent continuity, the unavoidable figure of Andrés Lewin-Richter stands out.
To explain the resizing of the human legacy of the entity, introducing (and training) groups of composers who also gave rise to groups of performers, it is essential to recognize the crucial role of Gabriel Brncic. His participation as a musician also helped establish interpretative criteria that were exposed through discussion and analysis, essential for exploring paths of acoustic and electroacoustic musical creation.
This first series of concerts is a miscellany of history and new proposals. From next January, the 50 years of Phonos will continue with concerts of works by the composers who created the entity, along with projects that clearly indicate that the center is a place open to sound research and creation.
Jordi Rossinyol, curator of the 50 years of Phonos program.
50 years of Phonos (program 2024)
The whole program of 2024 will take place at Sala Aranyó (UPF Campus Poblenou, Barcelona). Free entry. The details of each concert will be published at the Phonos website soon.
22/10/2024: Jean-Baptiste Texier, cello and electronics
Works by Carlos Lupprian, Agustí Charles, Oriol Graus, Oriol Saladrigues, Gabriel Brncic
29/10/2024 (20:00h): Phonos archive: electronic works
Works by Doédano, el Ur; Josep Manuel Berenguer; Javier Navarrete; Àlex Martínez; Joan Saura; Karlheinz Stockhausen
05/11/2024 (20:00h): Kiev Portella, piano and electronics
Works by Josep Maria Mestres Quadreny, Mercè Capdevila, Anna Bofill, Josep Maria Guix, Jordi Rossinyol, Joan Moreno, Andrés Lewin-Richter
12/11/2024 (20:00h): Composers from the Grup Phonos (1981...)
With Marcos Sánchez, guitar and electric guitar, and Rafael Esteve, double bass. Works by Jordi Rossinyol, Oriol Graus, Jep Nuix, Joan Moreno, Jep Nuix, Àlex Martínez, Josep Manuel Berenguer
19/11/2024 (20:00h): José Pons Boils, trombone and electronics
Works by Voro García, Segio Fidemraizer, Alexandra Gardner, Jesús Villa-Rojo, Gabriel Brncic
26/11/2024 (20:00h): Bartolomé García-Plata, clarinet and electronics
Works by Joan Guinjoan, Lluís Callejo, Eduardo Polonio, Benjamin Davies, Cruz López de Rego, Albert Llanas, Andrés Lewin-Richter
50 years of Phonos
Electronic diffussion: Pablo Fredes
Program: Jordi Rossinyol
Direction: Andrés Lewin-Richter
Other collaborations:
Joventuts Musicals de Barcelona: 45th contest of yout composers, 2024 international award Frederic Mompou Barcelona
17/10/2024, Festival Mixtur - Phonos 50 años: 19:00h panel on Phonos 50 anniversary, 20:30h concert by Víctor de la Rosa
23/11/2024, Fundació ACA: Encontre Internacional de Compositors, concert by Rafael Esteve, tribute to Phonos
Supported by: