Dreamy, gestural, interwoven, humorous - or a chaotic hustle and bustle

Tina, you have been studying composition with Sarah Nemtsov since the 2024/25 academic year and are composing a new work for the ensemble concert in May, which will be developed in a joint rehearsal process with the musicians and Kai Röhrig, the ensemble's director. What wishes and expectations do you have for this project?

Tina: This project begins with the exploration and development of my own language, consisting of multimedia and sensory networking of impulses. The ensemble piece should be the starting point for a longer-term exploration that goes beyond the project. In this context, the process and the discovery are the real highlight for me. It is important to be in dialogue with the musicians at an early stage of the composition - when ideas are being found and formulated. To get to know them as individual people, to be inspired by them, to respond to their special qualities and not just write another piece for string quartet, winds and piano. Not to let the musicians act like mechanical puppets, but to consciously guide them through my sound cosmos. Ideally, this creates a special intensity with invisible sparks. 

We would like to take a look into your ‘composition workshop’: What does the creation of a new work look like for you? Are there any mandatory prerequisites for you to start a new work, or can compositions also ‘happen’?

Tina: The music begins when things get quiet and arises from many impulses and questions. But only a few of them develop into compositions. It has to be something that grabs me over a longer period of time, where I can dig into a small detail for hours and look at it from different perspectives. Starting with an overall idea of the character, an intensive, detailed sound research of individual elements of this overall picture follows. For me, composing means always being curious, experimenting and constantly searching for new forms, formulations, techniques, materials etc. in order to be able to realise my sound ideas as precisely as possible.

You have been composing since the age of 15 and have already been invited to many renowned national and international festivals for contemporary music: In your opinion, what is the current status of contemporary music? How do you perceive the musical landscape in Austria with regard to contemporary music?

Tina: A few thoughts on the topic of ‘opening up contemporary music’: As a young composer, my experience has been that here in Austria we are in a very privileged situation compared to some other European countries in terms of funding for contemporary music, programmes and training, opportunities to work with professional ensembles. One challenge that this scene has been facing for a long time and that sometimes determines the future of the development of contemporary music is to break out of the institutional corset, to open up and to get in touch with people outside the scene. There are already great programmes to facilitate access to more abstract sound worlds. However, it's not just the music mediators and institutions that are responsible for this, but also us composers. Where I still see a lot of potential is in better networking and communication between composers, amateur musicians and music students - based on a willingness on both sides to meet each other without prejudice and with curiosity. In recent years, I have had the wonderful experience in various projects in Upper Austria that musicians can be convinced by any sound, no matter how unfamiliar, if their own ideas can be made tangible through narrative or visual elements, a pinch of humour is included and there is a welcoming interpersonal interaction in the rehearsal phase.

What is art for you? Where do you get your inspiration from?

Tina: For me, art is a way of life. The potential for art is present in every moment of life, even in the smallest everyday things. As an artist, I see it as my task to capture these moments with my passion, to reflect on them and to bundle them into an aesthetic ‘something’. This process is very personal and leads, for example, to a new composition that can be received by other individuals. They in turn can judge for themselves whether it is art. That's the beauty of art: diversity.

How would you describe your musical language?

Tina: With regard to my latest works, I would describe my ideas of sound as follows: My own sound cosmos consists of many small precise details, which is filled with content. Creating SPACES within SPACES. A fine, fragile, quiet sound language, which acquires a special intensity and strength through its density. Playful and dreamy, gestural, confused, fluttering, interwoven, sometimes humorous, or a chaotic bustle - with fine gradations of colour and shimmer. Partly with a theatrical-performative touch and extra-musical elements such as movement, visual installations, ...

Maurycy, as a founding member of the ensemble, you were involved in all of last year's projects. This ranges from the founding concert and graduate concerts to the opera production Dichterliebe by Christian Jost this January. How would you sum it up so far? What experiences have you had so far?

Maurycy Hartmann: The ensemble has definitely grown since our first meeting. The first concert was very exhausting for all of us, we first had to discover our common workflow. Performing contemporary music presents a particular challenge to our individual technical skills, which can distract attention from working as part of the ensemble. We have worked intensively on our own ensemble identity, which is very important when working with composers. I think we have come a long way since the ensemble was founded in spring 2024: we have developed a unique and organic rehearsal style that makes the preparation of concerts less stressful and more efficient. This is partly due to the high level of the musicians' individual skills and partly to the confidence we have in each other's abilities. It's great that Kai Röhrig, in his role as musical director of the ensemble, has great confidence in us musicians. The opera production Dichterliebe was a highlight for the ensemble. It is a special pleasure to work on a staged piece because the associations that the music evokes are addressed more directly, so that we can actually ‘see’ and better understand what we are playing about. This project has already shown that we work together much faster (the planned rehearsal time led to great results much faster than in previous projects of the ensemble). 

What prompted you to become part of this ensemble? What is so ‘special’ for you about dealing with contemporary music, but also about this ensemble?

Maurycy: In order to be able to express myself fluently on my instrument, I have to open my mind to all kinds of sounds. Contemporary music is very inspiring for me because it breaks the rules that we are used to - rules like ‘beautiful’ sounds, ‘familiar’ harmonies or the ‘right’ groove. Probably most musicians would agree with me when I say that after working on an intense contemporary project, Mozart feels like the easiest thing in the world. That's because we can follow our intuition again instead of (sometimes) working against it. It's very rewarding to put yourself in that position, and ideally you manage to take the audience with you into a similar intuitive feeling that transcends the boundaries of music and makes us all more open-minded. Our ensemble allows me to experience and test these values in a group. It is my first attempt to engage with contemporary music. The ensemble is therefore also a place of learning for me.

With the experiences of past projects in mind, what development would you like to see for the ensemble as a musician?

Maurycy: What we have been working towards and what we have achieved so far is professionalism. I hope that we will become even more self-confident in the future and find new ways to have fun with the often stigmatised contemporary music. With Christian Jost's Dichterliebe, this was easy: because it was an already well-known work by a renowned contemporary composer, it was much easier to understand the style and intention. I wish we could also achieve such an understanding when it comes to performing brand new pieces by our fellow composers at the Mozarteum University. It is very inspiring for musicians to be part of the creation process and I think the direct exchange is also very informative and enriching for the composers. The close collaboration creates a very personal musical experience characterised by mutual trust. I look forward to the next projects and the joint process in which questions, suggestions and ideas from both sides are discussed in order to create something very special together.

If you had to describe the ensemble in three words, what would they be?

Maurycy: Fresh, hardworking, dynamic!