Simon Steen-Andersen goes Bayreuth - Composition Commission

Bayreuther Festspiele, Germany

For a long time, New Music played only a marginal role in Bayreuth. It is only in recent years that the festival organizers have made concerted attempts to break open the festival's mono thematic approach by means of contemporary perspectives. In 2018, the festival presented works by Klaus Lang, including a world premiere – the first since 1882.
In 2019 the thematic focus is on scenic music – based on Wagner's concept of the "Gesamtkunstwerk" (synthesis of the arts to form an all-encompassing artwork). For 2019/2020 the composer, video and performance artist Simon Steen-Andersen has been commissioned to form a counterpoint to Wagner. A concert with musicians from the festival orchestra will allow the history of the location and Wagner's music to enter into a playful, exciting exchange. For 2020, the year of the new festival production of Der Ring des Nibelungen, Simon Steen-Andersen will be working at the Festspielhaus. Following on from his work Run Time Error, this institution with its famous acoustics will reverberate in a new way, viewed from a different multimedia perspective. The video work will be premiered at this festival theater together with a live performance.

August 3, 2019.
Haus Wahnfried, Bayreuth

July 24, 2020
Festspielhaus Bayreuth

Further Information:
www. bayreuther-festspiele.de