Composition Commission issued to Samir Odeh-Tamimi – Ringparabel

SWR-Experimentalstudio, Freiburg, Germany

Long-time German resident Palestinian-Israeli composer Samir Odeh-Tamimi is now being commissioned by Oldenburg’s Staatstheater with the composition of a work for string quartet entitled “Ringparabel” with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. This work is at the focus of a program inspired by the “Ring Parablel” from Gottfried Ephraim Lessing’s drama "Nathan the Wise", a program in which works from the three main world religions and cultures that people living in Germany feel affiliated to are juxtaposed. The Ring Parable picks up on the ideas of tolerance in the Enlightenment. The question as to "true religion" is answered by Nathan with an allegory that is to be understood as a message conveying the equality of the three main world religions. Odeh-Tamimi’s string quartet is complemented by the string quartet op. 25 by German-Jewish composer Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942) whose music was categorized as degenerate in the Third Reich. While in political terms he turned to Russian communism, in musical terms he drew on many other influences using elements from American jazz in particular. Furthermore, String Quartet No. 16 in F-Major Op. 135 by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) will also be performed here. 

May–June 2013 
Freiburg, Germany 

June, August, September 2013 
Mainz, Germany, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Wroclaw, Poland 

Further Information: 
www.staatstheater.de