Zauberburg by Max Andrzejewski
“Zauberburg” was commissioned by PODIUM Festival Esslingen. It is the first release from Max Andrzejewski in which his only role is that of composer.
It premiered in October 2020 at PODIUM Festival shortly before Germany went into its second, pandemic lockdown and was presented as a staged concert with multi channel electronics and one actor.
Apropos of our time, Zauberburg deals with the topic of illness and questions the value of the human body. The compositions are based on several sources-- interviews with citizens from Esslingen about their views on illness, inner-growth and death; excerpts from Thomas Mann’s “Magic Mountain”; PDFs of hospital statistics; medical questionnaires filled out by ensemble members; and organic processes such as breathing.
Tracklist
| 1. | Röntgen | 5:10 |
| 2. | Schatten | 4:21 |
| 3. | Atmen / Weiten | 4:58 |
| 4. | An dieser Erfahrung auch zu wachsen | 7:40 |
| 5. | BW 2017 | 5:11 |
| 6. | Tage mehr Leben geben | 1:02 |
| 7. | DG | 5:54 |
| 8. | Questionnaire Interlude | 1:35 |
| 9. | Liebe | 5:55 |
Credits
#1, #2, #4, #5, #6, #8, #10 recorded by Martin Ruch
#3, #7, #9 and the choir recorded by Jonas Hinz
Mixed and mastered by Martin Ruch, Control Room Berlin in fall and winter 2020/2021
Artwork by Ragnar Jonsson
Moritz Ter-Nedden– violin I
Florian Willeitner – violin II, soulfiddle
Nina Kazourian – viola
Ragnar Jonsson – violoncello
Hugo Rodríguez Herrero – clarinet, bass clarinet
Lisa Ströckens – soprano
Isaac Shaw – french horn
Maria Schneider – drums, mallets
Arne Braun – guitars
Esslinger Vocalensemble - choir
Gerrit Netzlaff – musical assistance and effects operator
Max Andrzejewski - composition and electronics
Lyrics of „Röntgen“ by Thomas Mann (Der Zauberberg, Fischer Verlag)
Lyrics of "Lisa" and „Liebe" by Jeffrey Döring
Lyrics of „An dieser Erfahrung auch zu wachsen“ and „Tage mehr Leben geben“ are from interviews with people from the project partners in Esslingen, edited by Max Andrzejewski
Zauberburg was funded by the Landesministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst Baden-Württemberg and their program »Gesellschaftlicher Zusammenhalt – Förderung von künstlerischen und kulturellen Projekten« and by the Karl Schlecht Stiftung.
Thanks to all interview partners, the project partners: Esslinger Klinikum, Sozialstation Esslingen, Hospiz Esslingen, KOMMA Esslingen, Esslinger Vocalensemble, Steven Walter, Wiebke Rademacher, Pamina Rottok, Brigitte Russ-Scherer, Gerrit Netzlaff, and the fantastic musicians.
