Frederik Neyrinck & Richard Ayres

What to expect?

New piece by Federik: Frederik finds working with material from other composers a delight and a challenge, often using it as a starting point for new compositions. He has the six players of ASKO|Schönberg play their instruments in the most varied ways, making it sound as if there are many more of them. You’ll hear Bruckner alternated with his own pieces. Listen to Echo op Debussy and hear what’s in store for you.

New piece by Richard: Richard shows, with humor, sudden lyricism, and playfulness, how Bruckner thinks about the future. Like Bruckner in his time, Richard is an innovator. Both ‘ignore’ traditional musical boundaries and go for musical surprises and experiments. Don’t be surprised if you encounter a sudden ringtone in the new piece. Listen to Richard’s Twenty Three Thoughts about Robert Walser and hear what’s in store for you.

Frederik often creates adaptations and transcriptions of existing repertoire. From 2020 to 2024, he has been an artist in residence with I SOLISTI. He has received numerous awards, including the Austrian State Scholarship for Composition (2018) and the Förderpreis der Stadt Wien (2020). In 2017-2018, he was the ‘season composer’ at Concertgebouw Brugge.

‘In this new composition for AskoǀSchönberg, I depart from Bruckner’s First Symphony. It won’t be a literal transcription, but rather a new composition that draws its material from the symphony. This means that certain motifs, rhythms, or harmonic sequences will serve as the basis for the development of the new work. I will also play with the recognizability (‘audibility’) of these Bruckner characteristics throughout the piece.’

This aligns perfectly with Frederik’s artistic trajectory. He frequently creates arrangements and transcriptions (for example, for ensemble Revue Blanche) and is deeply fascinated by the various degrees to which existing compositions can be arranged, transcribed, transformed, or used as a starting point for something new. For Bruckner Casco, the latter option is fully embraced.

Instrumentation

For the instrumentation, a sextet has been chosen consisting of 2 woodwinds (flute, bassoon), 2 brass instruments (trumpet, trombone), and 2 strings (violin, double bass). These different groups of instruments will be clearly contrasted against each other. This can be achieved by using the duos as separate ‘groups’, but also by employing the concept of the ‘quasi-soloist’. The new work will follow the form of Bruckner’s first symphony, consisting of 4 movements with similar tempo relationships as in Bruckner’s original composition.

It seems that Richard Ayres and Anton Bruckner share a common ambition to challenge contemporary (then and now) listeners. Bruckner was considered a thoroughly unconventional innovator in symphonic music. Richard has also built a substantial reputation for “ignoring” the traditional boundaries of music, offering new perspectives in the process. They challenge listeners to think outside the box, be open to, and enjoy musical surprises and experiments. This will also be the case with Richard’s new Bruckner Casco composition.

‘My new piece will last between 35 and 45 minutes. I will use only Bruckner’s notes. I hope listeners will hear and see things they didn’t know about me, but also about Bruckner and his Seventh Symphony. The instrumentation of the piece will be: organ (Bruckner was a significant and professional organist, and I will use a sampler made from organ samples, preferably from organs he played) and 7 other players to represent an imaginary orchestra. Bruckner has been both a puzzle and an inspiration to me. What amazes me most is his sense of scale and how he manages to maintain such intense emotions in such large forms. I think the Seventh Symphony is the most perfect and memorable example of his work. It is my plan to go to Sankt Florian and Linz to make videos and audio recordings and take photos of things Bruckner might have seen or touched, especially things that would be considered ordinary if the great genius hadn’t encountered them. I want to create a very intimate portrayal of Bruckner and his music, seen through his eyes and my imagination.’

Asko Schönberg For Asko Schönberg, performing the latest music is a hallmark in Europe. For years, they played under the direction of Reinbert de Leeuw, and composers such as Kagel, Ligeti, and Kurtag were regular guests. Asko Schönberg premieres works by many contemporary composers. When we first presented our plan to Fedor Teunisse of Asko, he reacted as if stung by a wasp: ‘Bruckner? That’s not for us. That’s romanticism; we start in the second half of the twentieth century.’

Conductor, jazz trumpeter, pianist, singer, researcher, teacher, and writer Ed Liebrecht is currently working as a conductor in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. He has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, the Residentie Orkest, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Kontraste, and the National Youth Orchestra. He is regularly an assistant conductor with the Sinfonia of London. In 2021, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and was awarded the Fred Southall Prize for his outstanding final exam. He teaches musicology and analysis at the University of Cambridge.

Scherzo from Symphony No. 1 A remarkable piece from Symphony No. 1 is the Scherzo. Listen here to Georges Prêtre (live 1992) Wiener Symphoniker, starting from minute 26.50. This Scherzo is a splendid example of the energetic and dance-like character of this symphony. George Prêtre demonstrates his incredible skill as a Bruckner conductor. 

The longest and most lyrical introduction of a Bruckner symphony. Listen from minute 0:00 to minute 5:15. Also, marvel at Otto Klemperer’s brisk and adequate tempo.