projects

Randomness and composition (2019)

The random generation by computer is not only done to save time – rolling the dice 1000 times and noting down the result will definitely take a while – but also due to the fact that any human influence can be ruled out. As soon as skill – or any other kind of influence - has an influence on the result, one of the bases for the definition of coincidence is no longer given. It follows that the terminological distinction between “real” (e.g. by manual coin tossing) and “pseudo” (by computer) coincidences mainly relates to the procedure (how it is generated) and not necessarily to the quality of the result itself.

Dance ≡

Drifting Layers (2001)

dance symbols
Her sketches, which the choreographer Rose Breuss showed me at the beginning of our collaboration, were a major inspiration for me to establish a content-related connection between the two levels of dance and music. The symbols for the dance formations became, so to speak, gestural elements for the music. This even went so far that the basic symbols of the dance script became an integral part of the composition method I developed.

dance music
Originally, in addition to the instruments flute, saxophone, trumpet and horn, I also planned two drummers, which I then replaced with two pianos. I felt too strongly the danger of using drums to serve a cliché: that the music only becomes “suitable for dancing” in connection with dance through a catchy or comprehensible rhythm. Metrics and rhythm were designed in “Drifting” according to piece-immanent criteria, so that one does not dance according to a “rhythm”, but rather two levels (dance and music) meet and their interaction should clarify the perception of movement with music.

Drift (2002)

Drift means to move towards something and get a new direction by a second acting force. If your own movement stops, there is no standstill, but you are carried further. If you try to see your own direction of movement as an absolute standard, then you prevent the development of a dynamic of two forces acting on each other. A dynamic that carries you further than your own strength can ever do.

Research and laboratory are common terms in contemporary dance, which point to a new positioning of dance as an art discipline. Is the dance now autonomous - i. H. music is not required as a prerequisite - it seems to me that a resumption of the dialogue between dance and music is an exciting basic theme for this project.

A project is interdisciplinary when the individual disciplines (music and dance) can assert themselves. This also requires a certain amount of practical experience in order to not only find new approaches in theory or on paper. The realization of “Drifting” - a 15-minute piece for four dancers, eight musicians and live electronics, premiered as part of the “Hörgänge 2001” festival - and a workshop in the Tanzquartier Wien (“Hörgänge 2002”), where the musicians from Klangforum Wien were able to gain direct experience together with dancers.

For me, the concept of form/material is essentially shaped by various current developments in dance and by an intensive exchange of ideas with the choreographer Rose Breuss. The sound material I use is presented in sections using a given time structure: individual sounds are brought to the center of attention until another sound suddenly takes over this role. Musical criteria do not determine this change, but a form section corresponds to a time window within which we can observe a sound for a while.

hear dance. see music. Listen to music. see dance. dance music allow dance. hide music shape dance. write music. interpret dance. write dance. develop music. speed up dance. phrase music. slow down dance. alienate music. freeze dance. Music. Dance.

Wolfgang Suppan

Composer

Computer assisted composition (CAO) ≡

Dance ≡

Music for Young Musicians ≡