Composition Commission issued to Georg Katzer

Collegium Novum Zürich, Switzerland

Variation is a central compositional theme in western art music and can be traced back to the early days of notated music. Within the form of “developing variation” this principle decisively impacted the music of the modern age – through to the fully rationalized musical formations of the Serialists.
Collegium Novum Zürich and Ensemble ascolta will be dedicating themselves to this theme in collaboration with Alte Oper Frankfurt and Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich. They wish to demonstrate the widely divergent results arrived at by composers in their exploration of the principle of variation over the past 50 years. An example of this is John Cage’s “Variations IV” that will be played to kick off the event in a one-hour performance featuring professional musicians, students, pupils and laypeople.
As part of the project German composer Georg Katzer was issued a commission from Collegium Novum Zürich and Ensemble ascolta for an ensemble piece exploring the theme of “Variation” that will be supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

September 16/17, 2015
Alte Oper Frankfurt

September 19, 2015
Tonhalle Zürich

January 21, 2016
Theaterhaus Stuttgart

January 23, 2016
Auditorio Nacional Madrid