Composer Slam

On the third day of »Greatest Hits«, the festival for contemporary music at Kampnagel and the Elbphilharmonie, the Composer Slam transfers the principle of the popular poetry slam to music. In both cases, it’s up to the audience to applaud an artist into the finale – the only difference here being that the participants will be judged by their own compositions, and not by their choice of words. And the compositions pack a punch: each of the four composers has taken inspiration from the menagerie of self-made instruments by American Harry Partch, who is the main focus of this year’s »Greatest Hits« festival. The rising stars don’t take the stage with customary musical instruments such as violins, guitars and Co., but instead bring along their elaborately reconstructed instruments that elicit unusual, never-heard-before sounds.