The »Elphi at Home« series was born in spring 2020. When the concert halls were closed to the public, the Elbphilharmonie invited artists to stream concerts live from the Elbphilharmonie.
The artists
As Ensemble in Residence in the Recital Hall, the Hamburg Ensemble Resonanz can regularly be heard at the Elbphilharmonie. With its artistic quality and the exceptional pleasure it takes in performing, the dynamic strings collective is one of the world's leading chamber music orchestras. Its programmes place old and new music together in interesting contexts, and create resonance between the works, the audience and the back stories. In its »Elphi at Home« concert, broadcast from an empty Recital Hall, the ensemble presents two pieces by the artist Bryce Dessner.
The Music :Bryce Dessner: »Aheym« and »Tenebre«
Bryce Dessner is a true all-round talent. His band »The National«, which he founded together with his brother Aaron in Ohio in 1999, has established itself as an absolute indie-rock institution. Dessner plays the guitar in the band and is its co-principal songwriter. And then he composes as well: his oeuvre features commissions from major names like Carnegie Hall, the Orchestre de Paris and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
The piece »Aheym« (»Going Home«) was commissioned for a festival in New York's Prospect Park. It focuses on the Jewish roots of Dessner's family – after they emigrated to the USA, his grandparents lived close to Prospect Park. The brute force that the piece radiates gives way in »Tenebre« to an almost ethereal counterpoint and spirituality.
Text: Anastasia Päßler, last updated: 17.4.2020
