Basel Sinfonietta — Die und Wir? (Them and Us?)
Looking east, abysses open up. The world is out of joint, including in our neighborhood in Central and Eastern Europe. A war is raging in Ukraine that is holding the world in suspense. A new Iron Curtain divides Europe. What consequences does this have and what does it do to us? To open the season, Basel Sinfonietta presents four world premieres that raise not only questions, but also perspectives: creatively diverse and discursive.
Yurii Pikush is from Ukraine, Sergej Newski is a Russian living in Germany, Aleksandra Słyż is Polish, and Stefan Keller is Swiss. The ambassador is mezzo-soprano Christina Daletska. She was born in Ukraine and lives in Switzerland. What they all have in common is a critical attitude. For example, Newski has been criticizing Russian politics for many years, including in newspaper articles. His new work "Goddess of History" for mezzo-soprano and orchestra is based on a text by the Lithuanian Thomas Venclova. "Greetings, forgotten goddess of history, with your retinue of rocket shells and dead warriors," the words begin. In "Domi Res Militaris," however, Pikush asks how much responsibility the individual also bears in "military affairs at home." With "Suspended in Ratios", Słyż presents an electro-acoustic drone composition to explore the relationship between intonation and microtonality. In contrast, in "A Safe Harbor" for mezzo-soprano, speaker, and orchestra, based on words by Melinda Nadj Abonji and Iryna Shuvalova, Keller poses the Swiss-tinged question of how much neutrality one can and should allow oneself in times of crises and wars.
Tickets are CHF 34-76 for adults, CHF 18-39 for youths up to age 25 and students, and CHF 5 for kids up to age 12.
Website
baselsinfonietta.ch/de/konzerte/die-und-wir
Where
Stadtcasino Basel
Konzertgasse 1
4051 Basel
Map
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