New Music by Karlheinz Essl

Im Gespräch mit der trans-Art Künstlerin Astrid Rieder spricht Karlheinz Essl über die Zeit, „Zufall und Notwendigkeit“ (Jacques Monod), über die Dialektik von Gemütlichkeit und Unbequemlichkeit in der kollektiven Performance und die Improvisation als Rettung. Nach langjähriger Erfahrung mit digitalen Werkzeugen experimentiert Karlheinz Essl seit einiger Zeit mit einem hochempfindlichen analogen modularen Synthesizer namens 0-COAST, den er in Interaktion mit der Zeichnerin und trans-Art Performerin Astrid Rieder allein aus den Schwingungen des Geräts zum Klingen bringt. Hier die Transkription dieses Interviews: https://essl.at/bibliogr/essl-rieder_3.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Brno, Czech Republic on Feb 6th, 2025: 1) A walk through Brno's main station 2) Garbage collection in the morning 3) Soundcheck on the stage of Divadlo na Orli with Karlheinz playing the toy piano 4) Listening to cars and trams from above Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Free improvisation on a MakeNoise 0-COAST modular synthesizer in three parts: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. Performed live at Studio kHz on Dec 20th, 2024. No overdubs, no edits. https://essl.at/works/coastlines.html

Free improvisation on a MakeNoise 0-COAST modular synthesizer in four parts, dedicated to the four seasons. Performed live at Studio kHz on Dec 19th, 2024. No overdubs, no MIDI, no sequencer, no arpeggiator - just manual control in real time! Watch: https://youtu.be/Htd_AuqimMk https://www.essl.at/works/coastlines.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Rome, Italy between November 29-30, 2024: 1) A street demonstration during the general strike 2) At the bar of a popular café near S. Maria Maggiore 3) In the archives of the Isabella Scelsi Foundation 4) A nun decorating the altar of the Basilica Quattro Coronati Released: 14 Dec 2024

First encounter between the organist Jeremy Joseph and the composer Karlheinz Essl on his 0-COAST modular synth on 2 December 2024. We met in St. Ursula, a beautiful baroque church in Vienna which houses three fine organs, one of which - a sublime 7-rank Italian instrument from the 18th century - is used on this track. There were no preconceived musical ideas or any kind of preparatory sketches for the improvisation. It is simply an atmospheric late-night ‘jam session' recorded in the darkness of the sanctuary. It captures us getting to know each other, finding one another and it illustrates the process of musical consolidation through improvisation. https://essl.at/div/becoming-one.html

Soundtrack for a stop-motion movie by Hervé Bacquet, performed on a 0-COAST modular synthesizer. Produced at Studio kHz 2024. Watch the film: https://youtu.be/1kp6zm9oWSY

V.A.N.N. (Viewing A Nasty Neigbourhood) - BINAURAL by Karlheinz Essl

In dieser Folge des Podcasts "Warum Klassik?" porträtiert Leonard Eröd den Composer/Performer Karlheinz Essl, der nicht nur die Grenzen zwischen den Kunstdisziplinen, sondern auch die Grenze zwischen Komponist und Interpret aufhebt. Veröffentlicht am 23.10.2024. Der vollständige Beitrag kann hier abgerufen werden: https://sound.orf.at/podcast/oe1/warum-klassik/punk-und-sprayer Webfassung: https://essl.at/bibliogr/essl_warum-klassik.html

Binaural rendering of a 6-channel version from 2017 with REAPER and dearVR (Studio kHz, 18 Oct 2024). Generative sound environment for an art installation by Beat Zoder, written in MaxMSP. In 2006, Swiss artist Beat Zoderer and Austrian composer Karlheinz Essl were commissioned to create a collaborative work for the music festival Stanser Musiktage. In an abandoned repository situated in the heart of the Swiss alps, both artists were setting up a room installation made of sewer pipes. Those plastic parts of different lengths were equipped with funnel speakers driven by a customized computer program written in MaxMSP by Karlheinz Essl. Utilizing realtime composition algorithms which the composers develops since 1985, his software created an ever-changing sonic environment which never repeated itself. Seen from outside, the structure resembled a giant jackstraw heap which invited the public to explore the space. Sounds that were projected from the loudspeakers through the pipes commuted through the air, creating a mysterious atmosphere as if some hidden creatures were talking to each other in an incomprehensible, yet compelling language. Info: https://essl.at/works/hirsch-roehren.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! In tempore belli... Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Mantua, Italy between September 10-14, 2024: 1) A walk through the historical center of Mantua 2) A gelataria with the best ice cream in town 3) Inside the Basilica di Sant'Andrea 4) A rehearsal of the ensemble "nova ars cantandi" in the Basilica Palatina di Santa Barbara, singing "Dona Nobis Pacem" from an unknown mass by Antonio Nola (1642-1715). Released: Sep 23rd, 2024 Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Krems, Horn and Gars/Kamp between August 31st and September 1st, 2024. Dedicated to my friend Gerhard Eckel: 1) At the Taffa creek near Horn 2) Gerhard Eckel and Jack Hauser performing under a resonant bridge 3) A train ride along the river Kamp 4) Sound from MONOCOLOR's audio-visual installation SCREEN—SPACE at the NÖ Landesgalerie Krems Released: Sep 2nd, 2024 https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded at various locations of Salzburg in July 2024: 1) Mirabell Garden with church bells ringing at noon 2) On the shore of the lake St. Wolfgang 3) In the pedestrian zone of the city center of Salzburg 4) The main train station of Salzburg Released: August 4th, 2024 Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Sound performance with a MakeNoise MATH function generator controlling the VCO and VCF of a Doepfer DARK ENERGY synthesizer. Performed live at Studio kHz on July 25th, 2024. Have a look at at the video: https://youtu.be/M-QavH4j5xk

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Gars/Kamp between July 5th and 6th, 2024: 1) the audience at the opening of the "Temple of Sound" in Gars, the first museum for electroacoustic music 2) Karlheinz Essl's "Gesualdo-Fragmente", performed there 3) forest next to a country road 4) the river Kamp flowing through the city of Gars Released: July 7th, 2024 Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Excerpt of a live performance on Wed 12 June 2024 at the Jesuit Church in Vienna during a rehearsal for the world première of "Verkündigung" on June 26th, 2024. Performed on an 0-COAST modular synth played through a BOSE L1 speaker. https://essl.at/works/verkuendigung.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded at the Volkskundemuseum Vienna (the former Schönborn Palace) on June 4, 2024 during the Vienna Festival project "Haus der Republik": 1) in the garden 2) Cider bar in the courtyard 3) Walking through the exhibition 4) People walking up the main staircase Released: June 5th, 2024 Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw) on 24 May 2024 before and during a concert of Luigi Nono's last compositions: 1) setup in the library 2) sound check 3) excerpts from "Lontananza" for violin and tape feat. Youngseo Kim and Karlheinz Essl 4) excerpts from "Hay que caminar soñando" for two violins feat. Youngseo Kim and Reina Yoshioka

Free improvisation on a MakeNoise 0-COAST modular synthesizer controlled by a Doepfer A-174-4 joystick. Performed live at Studio kHz on May 9th, 2024. No edits, no overdubs, no MIDI, no sequencer, no arpeggiator - just manual control in real time! https://www.essl.at/works/coastlines.html

Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Dresden (Germany) in April 2024: 1) People inside the Frauenkirche 2) Café Algarotti of the famous Gemäldegalerie 3) The main station of Dresden 4) At the Albertinum art museum where refugees meet and kids play table tennis Released: April 24, 2024 Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

The Maelstrom is a gigantic vortex in the North Sea, described by Edgar Allan Poe in his short story "A Descent into the Maelstrom" (published in 1841). Its power is so great that it can suck in even large ships and crush them to pulp. For my piece, I constructed a kind of Maelstrom mechanism with Granular Synthesis, written in MaxMSP. It pulverizes sounds and recombines them into new sonic structures that can be controlled during a live performance. The underlying sound material comes from an improvisation on my MakeNoise 0-COAST modular synth, which is also used as a sound device in this piece. https://essl.at/works/maelstrom.html The premiere took place on March 22, 2024 during my portrait concert at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, performed by myself.

Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Monte (Madeira) on February 20th, 2024: 1) Kids playing Futebol 2) Monte Toboggan sleigh ride 3) Japanese pond in the Monte Palace Tropical Garden 4) Gardener at work in the park Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Free improvisation on a Make Noise 0-coast analog synth, patched as a generative non-linear system. No edits, no overdubs, no MIDI, no sequencer, no arpeggiator - only manual control in real time! Recorded live at Studio kHz on 7 Mar 2024 in preparation to my solo performance at Alte Schmiede the next day. Filmed with iPhone 15, sound recorded with Zoom F3. Produced in REAPER (Ozone Imager, BREVERB)

Free improvisation on a MakeNoise 0-COAST. Performed live at Studio kHz on Feb 27, 2024. No MIDI, no sequencer, no overdubs, no edits. Part of the work-in-progress "Coastlines" (2020 ff.): https://essl.at/works/coastlines.html

Im Gespräch mit der transArt Künstlerin Astrid Rieder - aufgenommen am 11.11.2023 im Kunstraum Ewigkeitsgasse in Wien - spreche ich über einige zentrale Themen in meinem künstlerischen Schaffen: • Wie mich die deutsche Krautrocktruppe CAN zu Karlheinz Stockhausen und zur elektronischen Musik geführt hat. • Über die Dialektik von Ordnung und Zufall. • Die Faszination chaotischer Systeme, die sich mit modularen Analogsynthesizern so herrlich modellieren lassen. • Warum Improvisation und Komposition zwei unterschiedliche Paar Schuhe sind. Transkript: https://essl.at/bibliogr/essl-rieder_2.html

A new addition to my no-input mixer project that I started in 2023. Performed live with a MACKIE 802 mixing desk on Feb 8th, 2024 at Studio kHz. No edits, no overdubs. https://www.essl.at/works/studies-NIM.html

Der Komponist Karlheinz Essl über seine Erfahrungen mit analogen Modularsynthesizern und No-Input-Mixern nach Jahrzehnten digitalen Musikmachens mit Computern und selbstgeschriebener Software. Veröffentlicht Januar 2024 auf der Plattform SoundingFuture. https://www.soundingfuture.com/de/artikel/von-digital-nach-analog

Composer Karlheinz Essl on his recent experiences and experiments with analog modular synthesizers and no-input mixer after decades of digital music making. Published in January 2024 on the platform SoundingFuture. https://www.soundingfuture.com/en/article/digital-analog

Free improvisation on a MakeNoise 0-COAST modular synthesizer connected to a Doepfer ring modulator with two MATH function generators and a MakeNoise WobbleBug using frequency, amplitude and ring modulation. Performed live at Studio kHz on Jan 16, 2023.

Free improvised live performance on a MakeNoise 0-COAST modular synth, two function generators (MATH) and a ring modulator (Doepfer A114). Recorded at Studio kHz on 4 January, 2024. No MIDI, no sequencer, no overdubs, no edits. Part of the work-in-progress "Coastlines" (2020 ff.): https://essl.at/works/coastlines.html

Generative sound environment based on the paradigm of biorhythm: three independent temporal processes in the ratio of 23 : 28 : 33 change the level of three sound files with a recording of the famous Christmas carol "Silent Night" (Stille Nacht), which are time-stretched according to the same proportions. https://essl.at/works/nachtstille.html Written in Max with Karlheinz Essl's "Realtime Composition Library".

Radiofeature von Jörg Duit über das Improvisationsduo OUT OF THE BLUE mit Agnes Heginger (Stimme) und Karlheinz Essl (Live-Elektronik). Erstsendung am 20.3.2018 im Zeit-Ton auf Ö1. https://www.essl.at/bibliogr/duit-sommerwellen.html Die charismatische Sängerin Agnes Heginger und der kongeniale Komponist und Elektroniker Karlheinz Essl nehmen Gedichte als Ausgangspunkt für ihre Performances, die von beiden aus dem Moment heraus vertont werden. Das Offene und Unerwartete steht im Zentrum dieses Prozesses. Dabei reagieren sie auf den entstehenden Raum/Klang, die Zuhörerschaft, die gesprochenen und gesungenen Worte, die Soundscapes und Geräusche, die hörbaren oder nur gedachten Gedanken. Hinter diesem sich fortwährend transformierenden Gespinnst wird etwas Neues sichtbar. Erleben Sie ein fesselndes Experiment, in dem liebevoll ausgewählte Text- und Klangfragmente zu Spielbällen werden, mit denen Agnes Heginger und Karlheinz Essl virtuos jonglieren.

A granular de/reconstruction of two late madrigals by Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613), who murdered his wife and her lover "in flagranti". Soundtrack for a live performance with the actor Markus Hering, premiered at the Basilika Sonntagberg on October 28, 2023. Commissioned by the festival Klangraum Waidhofen. https://essl.at/works/gesualdo-fragmente.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Graz, Austria on October 7, 2023 during the Steirischer Herbst festival: 1) Carillon of the Glockenspielplatz 2) Visitors of the Landhaus 3) Main square in the evening with many trams 4) A tram ride with Line 6 Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

This composition is a transformation of the original piano piece "Trois Cent Notes", in which the resonances of the sympathetic strings of the grand piano are simulated by electronic means. The toy piano becomes a new instrument with an artificial sustain pedal. https://www.essl.at/works/TCD.html

Since 2005 I have written a number of solo compositions for the toy piano, some of them together with (live) electronics. In my piece "under wood" I am confronting the toy piano with conventional instruments for the first time. It is used as an exceptional solo instrument but also as some sort of exotic percussion. For this purpose I deconstructed one of the two instruments and prepared it in order to produce a variety of interesting percussive sounds. Finally, both instruments are amplified - not only to make them louder, but also to enable the player for creating delicate noises inside the instrument. The title "under wood" refers to a mechanical typewriter of the same name with its characteristic hammering sound. Besides, it can also be interpreted as the attempt to look behind the surfaces and to investigate the fascinating complexity that one discovers in the woods by changing the viewing perspective from the trees down to the earth: an almost impenetrable cosmos of independent, yet secretly connected gestures and movements of little creatures which one cannot see but only hear. https://www.essl.at/works/underwood.html

In this piece, Essl uses the inside of the toy piano for the first time. A contact microphone is attached to the instrument and connected to a custom-made computer program which acts as a kind of sonic ‘particle accelerator'. During their voyage through the piece, the performer not only scratches and knocks on the sound board, but also has to stamp their feet (the source of the rhythm is later revealed) and make use of some special gadgets. A spinning top is played on the soundboard, and a thimble produces beautiful glissandos on the metal rods of the toy piano. At certain moments notes are also played on the keys in a conventional manner, but even these sounds burst into explosive glissandos. At the very end, a small music box enters the scene. Mounted on the soundboard, this little instrument plays the melody of the well known song, ‘Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will be, Will be)', from the Hitchcock movie "The Man Who Knew Too Much". The magic of this piece probably also has to do with the fact that everything that is heard before the entry of this beautiful melody – all rhythmic cells, melodic motives, even the harmonic structures – are in fact derived from this very melody. https://essl.at/works/whatever.html

Palindromic-canonic variations of the most famous Christmas carol "Silent Night"; the score was punched into a tape that could be played in different directions on a mechanical musical clock. It has been adapted for toy piano and organ. It contains four parts, the titles of which are anagrams of the name "Silent Night": Tingle Hints - inversion Shingle Tint - retrograde Lent in Sight - inversion of retrograde Silent Night - prime form https://www.essl.at/works/listen-thing.html

Concert version of Pandora's Secret, a sound performance that Karlheinz wrote for Isabel Ettenauer's "Circus Lebasi", a music circus for the festival Linz09, when Linz was the European capital of culture. Scored for punch-tape-controlled music box and live electronics. https://www.essl.at/works/pandoras-secret.html

On September 15, 1945, Anton Webern was shot by an American occupation soldier in alleged self-defense in Mittersill, where he had taken refuge from the approaching Red Army. Thus ended the life of one of the most influential composers of the modern era in an inconceivable and tragic way. 60 years later - on September 15, 2005 - two commemorative events for Anton Webern will take place within the framework of the 10th Composers' Forum Mittersill: for an event in public space, Karlheinz Essl has created the algorithmic sound installation WebernUhrWerk for computer-controlled Carillon. For the subsequent commemorative concert in St. Anna's Church, he wrote WebernSpielWerk for Toy Piano, which is a kind of projection of the Carillon music onto a toy piano. The pervasive character of the carillon, which filled the whole place in the afternoon, is reduced to the "poor" sound world of a toy piano, whose sound produced by struck metal rods resembles that of a bell - but is much more restrained and intimate. This composition was written in the last days of August 2005 and is dedicated to Isabel Ettenauer, who premiered this work on September 15, 2005. It consists of four movements: I. espressivo – mit einem gewissen sprechenden Ausdruck II. molto rubato III. Gemessenen Schritts (wie Totenglocken) IV. sehr frei – molto intenso https://www.essl.at/works/webernspielwerk.html

Sequitur XIV was written for the Hamburg-based pianist and performer Jennifer Hymer and sets the thumb piano in focus. This instrument, named ‘Mbira' in Africa, was discovered in the middle of the 20th Century from the British ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey, who developed out of it a standardized western instrument named ‘kalimba', and let it be produced industrially. In contrast to the African original, this western new construction is tuned diatonically. First I tried to approach the instrument like a child in that I pushed away all knowledge about the high art of Mbira-practice to the side. What did I see before me? A trapezoidal shaped wooden box with metal blades of differing lengths that were fastened over a sound hole in the middle. After I examined the sound possibilities of the kalimba's body through rubbing, scratching and knocking, I attached a contact microphone to its surface and sent the sounds through the same computer program that I had developed for the other “Sequitur” compositions. Suddenly everything became enchanted: the canonic layering of my knocking and scraping noises compressed themselves into a polyrhythmic layering and I felt myself being transported to the south of Africa where the African musicians play this instrument in ensemble and thereby produce a highly complex polyphony which the Viennese musicologist Gerhard Kubik described as “inherent patterns.” Only later I dedicated myself to the metal tines and through the help of live electronic manipulation found means and ways to dig out an ongoing diatonic. After many months of free experimenting, I was finally able to write a concisely written score for Jennifer Hymer, which turned my summing-ups of this instrument into a sound journey. https://www.essl.at/works/sequitur/sequitur-14.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Piran (Slovenia) in 2021 and 2023: 1) stroll through the alleys of the old town 2) lively atmosphere of Piazza Tartini, where people meet in the afternoon 3) North coast with sea surf 4) beach scene with mother and child Part of the work-in-progress H.E.A.D. https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in libraries and bookstores in 2018 and 2023: 1) reading hall of the Austrian National Library in Vienna 2) a bookstore in Berlin, Moritzplatz 3) turning the pages of giant folios in the Klosterneuburg Abbey Library 4) setting up chairs for a reading in the same place Released: 14 Sep 2023 Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded at different tram stations or tram rides in cities around the world: 1) riding a tram through Kyoto (Japan) 2) a tram stop at the main square in Linz (Austria) 3) a ride on tram 18 from Genève-Cornavin to CERN (Switzerland) 4) an intersection in Oslo where many trams pass by (Norway) Published: Aug 21, 2023 Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded at different locations in Geneva between August 17 and 19, 2023: 1) pedestrian passage under the bridge where the lake becomes the Rhône river 2) Terrace in the historic center with a great view of the city 3) Breakfast in front of the Hôtel de la Cigogne 4) A motor vehicle cleaning the streets Part of the work-in-progress H.E.A.D. https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded at different locations at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, between August 16 and 18, 2023.: 1) the CERN Control Centre (CCC), where all accelerators and detectors are monitored 2) visitors at the - now historic - SynchroCyclotron (SC) 3) a walk through the CERN campus and some office buildings at night 4) the sound of ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment)

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded at different bathing places in Lower Austria and the Czech Republic between 2019 and 2023 during periods of great heat: 1) a nudist beach at the old Danube near Greifenstein 2) the beach of Gmünd, a former gravel pit 3) The lake of Suchdol nad Lužnicí with playing children 4) Františkovy Lázně thermal spa Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded at my home near Vienna, Austria from 2018 to 2023: 1) cooking in the kitchen, 2) evening in the garden, 3) thunderstorm at night, 4) wind in the morning. https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Free improvisation on a Make Noise 0-coast analog synth patched as a generative non-linear system. No edits, no overdubs, no MIDI, no sequencer, no arpeggiator - just manual control in real time! A suite in three parts, performed live by Karlheinz Essl on July 29, 2023 at Studio kHz. Video: https://youtu.be/W0gAae4PuxI Info: https://www.essl.at/works/coastlines.html

Sounds flood through the room, drip from the ceiling and evaporate in an eternal cycle. On May 13, 2000, the Minoritenkirche in Krems was transformed into an acoustic water reservoir by a generative sound installation by Karlheinz Essl. The occasion was the last part of the project series "fLOW". Once again Karlheinz Essl invited top-class international instrumentalists, composers and sound artists from a wide variety of musical contexts (ranging from jazz to new music to free improvisation) to be part of a musical work process in continuous flux. Featuring: Anne LaBerge: flute and electronics, Arne Deforce: cello and electronics, Martin Siewert: electric guitar, lapsteel, devices, Elisabeth Flunger: percussion, Didi Bruckmayer: voice and Karlheinz Essl: computer, soundscape, live electronics, concept

Sounds flood through the room, drip from the ceiling and evaporate in an eternal cycle. On May 13, 2000, the Minoritenkirche in Krems was transformed into an acoustic water reservoir by a generative sound installation by Karlheinz Essl. The occasion was the last part of the project series "fLOW". Once again Karlheinz Essl invited top-class international instrumentalists, composers and sound artists from a wide variety of musical contexts (ranging from jazz to new music to free improvisation) to be part of a musical work process in continuous flux. Featuring: Anne LaBerge: flute and electronics, Arne Deforce: cello and electronics, Martin Siewert: electric guitar, lapsteel, devices, Elisabeth Flunger: percussion, Didi Bruckmayer: voice and Karlheinz Essl: computer, soundscape, live electronics, concept