Xilin Wang: Music by a Survivor

With their exceptionally spirited playing and high artistic quality, Ensemble Resonanz is one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras. In their concert programmes, the musicians juxtapose early music and modern works in a lively setting, sometimes incorporating literature as well, and evolve individual readings and gripping new versions of classics such as Schubert’s »Winterreise« or Bach’s »Christmas Oratorio«. The 18-piece string orchestra is organised along democratic lines without a regular conductor, but takes on different artistic partners for individual projects.

Since the summer of 2018, a longstanding friend has been the ensemble’s »Artist in Residence« in the shape of Riccardo Minasi, and they have already produced many concerts and CDs together. Ensemble Resonanz also has close connections with partners like the violist Tabea Zimmermann, violinist Isabelle Faust and cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras.

Another driving force behind Ensemble Resonanz’s work is their collaboration with composers and the development of a new repertoire. In Hamburg they appear at two very different venues; the Elbphilharmonie and the resonanzraum in St. Pauli. Their residency at the Elbphilharmonie consists first and foremost of the concert series »resonanzen«, but in addition the ensemble puts on lively presentations of music both classical and contemporary in concerts for children and at a variety of festivals. In the last few months, too, music lovers were able to enjoy unusual concert streams from both the Recital Hall and the Grand Hall.

In the resonanzraum in the bunker that towers over the St. Pauli district, Ensemble Resonanz also puts on its award-winning concert series »urban string« once a month: the members of the ensemble design the concept, which is then presented in a dialogue with the music of international DJs.

Johannes Kalitzke has played a role in the world of avant-garde music for some 40 years now. As a conductor he regularly leads important first performances such as the world premiere of Chaya Czernowi's opera »Heart Chamber« at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2019, and he also appears at major festivals like the Darmstadt vacation courses for contemporary music. As a co-founder of the successful ensemble Musikfabrik, the Cologne native made a name for himself in the contemporary music scene at a young age, and he has since maintained a close connection with several modern-music formations, such as Klangforum Wien and the Ensemble Modern.

He made his breakthrough as a composer in 1996 with his first opera »Bericht vom Tod des Musikers Jack Tiergarten« at the Munich Biennale. In the years that followed, his works enjoyed successful premieres at the Bremen Opera, the Heidelberg Theatre and the Theater an der Wien. The award-winning musician also writes orchestral scores for Expressionist silent films – »complex sounds that get under one's skin«, as one Austrian reviewer wrote.

In addition to his work as a conductor and composer, Johannes Kalitzke is also involved in music education and supporting young artists. He teaches at the colleges of music in Essen and Hanover and at the Salzburg Mozarteum, and also at various master courses and festivals such as the Salzburg Summer Academy.