New Music By Karlheinz Essl

Binaural recording: listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, recorded between 2019 and 2020 during rehearsals with Karlheinz Essl in Vienna, Austria: 1) dress rehearsal of the Arditti Quartet performing Essl's 3rd string quartet at the Mozartsaal of Konzerthaus Vienna 2) setting up the space for a concert of Essl's composition class with the Bösendorfer CEUS computer piano at the University of Music and Performing Art in Vienna 3) Ensemble Reconsil rehearsing Essl's toy piano concerto "under wood" at REAKTOR in Vienna 4) organ registration for Essl's piece "unbestimmt" at the St. Michael, Vienna for a concert of the festival WIEN MODERN http://www.essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Performed by the Arditti Quartet on Nov 1st, 2001 at Konzerthaus Vienna during the festival Wien modern. Binaural recording - listen with headphones! http://www.essl.at/works/upward.html In his story "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius", Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges tells of a fictional culture whose language has no nouns at all: "There is no word that corresponds to the word 'moon', but there is a verb that would be 'lunare' in Latin or ‘to moon' in our language. ‘The moon rose above the river’ reads: blör u fang axaxcas mlö or in exact order of the words: 'Empor hinter dauer-fließen mondet'es (Xul Solar translates in a short form: upa tras perfluyue lunó. Upward, behind the onstreaming it mooned)." In this language, the simplest statements can only be expressed through complicated grammatical constructions, which are, however, full of poetry and magic, as in the example quoted above, to which my quartet owes its title. The string quartet has always been regarded as the supreme discipline of composition

Comment on the Wienerlied "Herrgott aus Sta" by Karl Hodina, performed by Konstantin Reymaier at the new Giant Organ of St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna on Sep 27th, 2020. - Binaural recording: listen with headphones! http://www.essl.at/works/herrgott.html

Binaural recording of the toy piano concerto "under wood", performed by Isabel Ettenauer (toy pianos) and Ensemble Reconscil Vienna (dir. Antanina Kalechyts) on OCt 7th, 2020 at REAKTOR Wien (A). Listen with headphones! http://www.essl.at/works/underwood.html

Binaural recording: listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, recorded between August 2-4, 2020 in the Castle of Lockenhaus (Burgenland) during cultural talks with representatives of the Austrian music life about the COVID-19 crisis: 1) a round-table discussion on cultural politics), 2) setting up the space for the next panel discussion, 3) morning concert played by the pianist Marino Formenti, 4) thunderstorm with rain and flashes.

Binaural recording - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, recorded in 2018 and 2020 at four different churches: 1) evangelical morning service London-Brompton, UK), 2) catholic mass (Funchal Cathedral, Madeira), 3) church concert (Vienna-Lainz, Austria), 4) church cleaning (Tulcea, Romania). Contains organ music from Johannes Ockeghem and from the Buxheim Organ Book. Part of the work-in-progress H.E.A.D. (Hearing Entirely Artificial Dreams) http://www.essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Karlheinz Essl und Eva Linder über ihre Zusammenarbeit für das Hörstück ZUNGENREDEN, das 1990 für das ORF Kunstradio im Studio RP4 produziert wurde. Moderation und Gestaltung: Reinhard Handl Redaktion: Heidi Grundmann

Binaural recording - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, recorded between 2019 and 2020 in four different parks around the world: 1) Brompton Park (London, UK), 2) Pötzleinsdorfer Schlosspark (Vienna, Austria), 3) Ryoan-ji Temple Garden (Kyoto, Japan), 4) ressort park (Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India). - Binaural recording: listen with headphones!

Binaural recording: listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, recorded in 2018 and 2019 at four different bathing locations: 1) Wörthersee (Pörtschach, Carinthia), 2) doggie pool inside the Prater (Vienna, Austria), 3) public beach in Sirmione (Lake Garda, Itay), 4) swimming lake with children (Suchdol nad Lužnicí, Czech Republic).

"vingt secondes" is Karlheinz Essl's shortest composition. It lasts only 20 seconds - the guideline for washing one's hands during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was written during the lockdown in the Easter holidays of 2020. Originally written for melodica, this version was performed on the organ of the Hofburgkapelle Vienna by Wolfgang Kogert. Compositionally, the piece expresses a harmonic spread from a single note to three octaves at the end. More information and free score download: http://www.essl.at/works/vingt-secondes.html

"vingt secondes" is Karlheinz Essl's shortest composition. It lasts only 20 seconds - the guideline for washing one's hands during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was written during the lockdown in the Easter holidays of 2020. Originally written for melodica, this version was performed on an accordion by Dorrit Bauerecker who also made this recording. Compositionally, the piece expresses a harmonic spread from a single note to three octaves at the end. More information and free score download: http://www.essl.at/works/vingt-secondes.html

Binaural recording: listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, recorded in spring 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vienna and its surrounding: 1) a railway crossing gate in Klosterneuburg, 2) Kongresspark in Vienna on Saturday noon, 3) animal cemetery in Vienna, 4) pedestrian bridge in the swamps of Stockerau.

Karlheinz Essl's contribution to the Beethoven Year 2020: an immersive composition for mixed choir with 16 voices based on Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" from his 9th symphony. Realized with the a-capella-chor tulln (dir. Gottfried Zawichowski). Composed in April 2020 during the quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More information and score available for download from http://www.essl.at/works/freude-funken.html

Meditation for piano solo, dedicated to Karlheinz Roschitz, performed by Kaori Nishii. Recorded live during an online concert on April 29th, 2020 at Alte Schmiede, Vienna. Score download: http://www.essl.at/works/roschitz.html

Binaural recording - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, recorded on Nov 18th, 2019 at the Nijo Palace in Kyoto, Japan. 1) the so-called Nightingale Corridor 2) tea garden 3) cherry grove 4) construction at the Honmaru Garden Part of the work-in-progress H.E.A.D. http://www.essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Binaural recording - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, recorded between Nov 17-24, 2019 in Kyoto, Japan. 1) playground near the Nijo Palace 2) street scene with cars, bikes and joggers 3) ritual music at the Higashimaru Shrine 4) rehearsal of J.B. Staudt's Mulier fortis at the Museum of Kyoto. Part of the work-in-progress H.E.A.D. http://www.essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Christmas greetings to all my loves! Dronification of a well-known Christmas carol by Karlheinz Essl, produced on Dec 18th, 2019 at Studio kHz.

Extreme time stretch of the well-known Christmas carol "Silent Night", playing forwards and backwards in exactly 24'12". Created on 21 Dec 2019 with Karlheinz Essl's granular sound file shredder REplay PLAYer. http://www.essl.at/works/replay.html

Binaural recording - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, recorded between Nov 23-24, 2019 in Seoul, Rep. of Korea: 1) Buddhist chanting at the Jogyesa temple, 2) anti-government demonstration in front of the Gyeongbokgung Palace, 3) moments of silence at the old city wall, 4) at the backside of Zaha Hadid's Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Info: http://www.essl.at

Live recording of the premiere, performed by students of the Kyoto City University of the Arts (conductor: Ingomar Rainer) on 21 Nov 2019 at the Kyoto Museum. This piece is a composed comment to the baroque opera "Mulier fortis" by J. B. Staudt, premiered 1698 in Vienna, Austria. Info: http://www.essl.at/works/constantia.html