PHACE
Doris Nicoletti, flute
Walter Seebacher, clarinet
Reinhold Brunner, clarinet
Michael Krenn, saxophone
Spiros Laskaridis, trumpet
Stefan Obmann, trombone
Mathilde Hoursiangou, piano
Manuel Alcaraz Clemente, percussion
Francesco Palmieri, e-guitar
Ivana Pristašová Zaugg, violin
Petra Ackermann, viola
Roland Schueler, cello
Maximilian Ölz, double bass
Alexandra Dienz, double bass
and many more …

 

SOUND DESIGN
Alfred Reiter

 

Reality is malleable until it isn’t anymore – systems and orders teeter between fragile equilibria. Crises, social inequalities, climate change, and migration reveal new fault lines, while the digital information overload questions whether we can still trust our own eyes and ears. In THE UNSTABLE REAL, we invite you to experience this unstable reality, to perceive its fractures, and to rethink them – aesthetically, emotionally, socially, and politically. With Georgia Koumará, who explores a network of relationships, dynamics, and interdependencies, and Clemens Gadenstätter, who makes the interactions between the individual and the environment tangible over time. Eva Reiter uses utopian sound apparatuses to investigate the transformative potential of rituals, before Philip Venables holds up a merciless mirror and shatters the hypocritical illusions of our society with provocative, sexual directness. In between, the series is brimming with new material, sonic treasures, and music that challenges reality.

Dates in this series

#1 FR 27.11.2026 ⎹   STATES OF INTERMESHING
    #2 MI 26.01.2027 ⎹   FACES
        #3 DI 09.03.2027  ⎹   RITUS
            #4 DI 25.05.2027  ⎹   ILLUSIONS

With works by Matthias Kranebitter, Corie Rose Soumah, Davor Vincze, Georgia Koumará, Manuela Kerer, Rafał Ryterski, Clemens Gadenstätter, Eva Reiter, Philip Venables, Marco Döttlinger, Alexander Schubert. 

PHACE
Doris Nicoletti, flute
Walter Seebacher, clarinet
Reinhold Brunner, clarinet
Michael Krenn, saxophone
Spiros Laskaridis, trumpet
Stefan Obmann, trombone
Mathilde Hoursiangou, piano
Manuel Alcaraz Clemente, percussion
Francesco Palmieri, e-guitar
Ivana Pristašová Zaugg, violin
Petra Ackermann, viola
Roland Schueler, cello
Maximilian Ölz, double bass
Alexandra Dienz, double bass
and many more …

SOUND DESIGN
Alfred Reiter

The belief in the power of ritual processes and verbal formulas is deeply rooted in human history. This very belief in the transformative power, the process, and the necessity of ritual “self-renewal” forms the core of Eva Reiter’s new project, RITUS. In the interplay between solo narration (solo, duo, trio) and choral commentary, each of the participating musicians develops into a central figure in the piece, telling their own unique story. Utopian soundscapes, directly linked to personal musical gestures, are the “instruments” that initiate transformation. In a spatial and theatrical-scenic staging, the music in RITUS explores the possibilities and processes of ritual metamorphosis, revealing a reality that until then existed only as potential—unseen, unheard, untouched.

PROGRAMM

Eva Reiter
RITUS a music-theatrical, spatial composition for Ensemble, 2026 (UA)
Commissioned by PHACE

Helēna Sorokina, voice

PHACE
Doris Nicoletti, flute
Walter Seebacher, clarinet
Reinhold Brunner, clarinet
Michael Krenn, saxophone
Spiros Laskaridis, trumpet
Stefan Obmann, trombone
Mathilde Hoursiangou, piano
Manuel Alcaraz Clemente, percussion
Francesco Palmieri, e-guitar
Ivana Pristašová Zaugg, violin
Petra Ackermann, viola
Roland Schueler, cello
Maximilian Ölz, double bass
Alexandra Dienz, double bass
and many more …

SOUND DESIGN
Alfred Reiter

In Illusions, Philip Venables, together with LGBTQIA+ performance artist David Hoyle, has developed a multimedia work for speaker (video) and ensemble. Hoyle’s video performance confronts the audience with a torrent of political tirades, personal attacks, grotesque humor, and provocative sexual directness. He attacks hypocrisy, social inequality, toxic masculinity, and consumerism, shifting linguistically between bitter seriousness, deliberate taboo-breaking, and cabaret-style mockery. And the music? It reacts with equal intensity: rhythmically aggressive, eruptive, then shimmering and disconcertingly smooth. Soundscapes and gestures function like distorted advertising messages or political slogans, interlocking with the images in a jerky, almost violent interplay that inevitably draws the audience in. Illusions is a merciless mirror that puts the audience to the test, questioning their attitudes as well as their role as consumers of art. New works by Alexander Schubert, who in AUTO FICTION blurs the line between documentary and fiction, wandering through an altered archive of the most formative, intense, and outstanding memories, and Marco Döttlinger promise a captivating and likely also haunting listening experience. The eleventh movement of Corie Rose Soumah’s States of Intermeshing series also thematically completes the cycle, bringing it full circle to its beginning. xi. épilogue explores eschatological forces, ecological crises, and self-discovery. “There are flowers blooming in Antarctica” – a poetic, fragile, sonically sensual piece, like a strangely peaceful echo after the catastrophe, revealing a glimpse into another fragile reality.

Philip Venables
Illusions (feat. David Hoyle) for ensemble und video, 2017 (ap)

Marco Döttlinger
New Work, 2026/27 (wp)
Commissioned by PHACE

Corie Rose Soumah
States of Intermeshing: xi. épilogue for violin, cello, piano and electronics, 2024 (ap)

P A U S E

Alexander Schubert 
AUTO FICTION for voice, ensemble, electronics and video, 2026
Commissioned by Radio Österreich 1 in cooperation with ORF musikprotokoll, PHACE and Biennale Zagreb

PHACE
Doris Nicoletti, flute
Walter Seebacher, clarinet
Reinhold Brunner, clarinet
Michael Krenn, saxophone
Spiros Laskaridis, trumpet
Stefan Obmann, trombone
Mathilde Hoursiangou, piano
Manuel Alcaraz Clemente, percussion
Francesco Palmieri, e-guitar
Ivana Pristašová Zaugg, violin
Petra Ackermann, viola
Roland Schueler, cello
Maximilian Ölz, double bass
Alexandra Dienz, double bass
and many more …

 

SOUND DESIGN
Alfred Reiter

 

Matthias Kranebitter startet ein musikalisches Experiment über Wahrnehmung im Zeitalter akustischer Überforderung. Mit einem maschinellen Hörsystem, das in Echtzeit Ensembleklänge und Alltagsgeräusche analysiert, wird, inspiriert vom „Cocktailparty-Effekt“,  das scheinbare Klangchaos zum Modell für Aufmerksamkeit und Selektion. Corie Rose Soumahs States of Intermeshing, viii. what is past is prologue verbindet Klang und politische Reflexion. Das Werk beleuchtet die Verflechtung von kolonialer Geschichte, apokalyptischen Diskursen und gegenwärtigen Machtstrukturen. Mit Anklängen an Soul und R&B und Texten von Achille Mbembé wird Musik zum Raum für Erinnerung, Widerstand und postkoloniale Befreiung. In QUEE(n)R macht Davor Vincze „Bohemian Rhapsody“ zum Ausgangspunkt einer offenen Improvisation. Fragmente des Originals werden zerlegt, neu kombiniert und in Bewegung gehalten, während auf visueller Ebene mit Hilfe von KI-Bildgeneratoren die Ambiguität und das queere Potential von Gesichtern hervorgehoben wird. Ein Spiel mit Identitäten und Bedeutungen – fluid, vielstimmig und voller überraschender Wendungen. Ein neues Werk von Georgia Koumará vereint viele Themenstellungen des Abends. Darin erforscht die Komponistin Kommunikation, Empathie und Macht als dynamische Kräfte. Musikalische Prozesse entwickeln sich, kollidieren und verändern einander – ein klingendes Netzwerk von Beziehungen, das gesellschaftliche Strukturen hörbar macht

PROGRAMM

Matthias Kranebitter
28 Auditory Scenes for investigating cocktail party deafness for ensemble and electronics, 2022

Corie Rose Soumah
States of Intermeshing: vii. what is past is prologue for flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, cello, electronics and additional instruments, 2025 (ap)

Davor Vincze  
QUEE(n)R for flute, saxophone, percussion, keyboard, electronics and video, 2023 (ap)

P A U S E

Georgia Koumará
New Work for ensemble and electronics, 2026 (wp)
Commissioned by PHACE & Wien Modern

Cordula Bürgi, conductor

PHACE
Doris Nicoletti, flute
Walter Seebacher, clarinet
Francesco Palmieri, guitar & theorbo
Tina žerdin, harp
Olivier Marin, viola d’amore
Roland Schueler, cello
Alexandra Dienz, double bass

Cantando Admont
Friederike Kühl, soprano
Hannah Dienes-Williams, soprano
Elina Viluma-Helling. mezzosoprano
Cornelia Sonnleithner, alto
Terry Wey, countertenor
David de Winter, tenor
Hugo Paulsson-Stove, tenor
Thomas Köll, tenor
Artem Paches, baritone
Michael Hickman, baritone
Uli Staber, bass

Cristobal de Morales’ Lamentations on the Lamentations of Jeremiah, composed for the liturgy of Holy Week, combine rigorous contrapuntal artistry with an extraordinary depth of expression. Characteristic is Morales’ ability to translate the deeply emotional text of lament into a musical language that is simultaneously characterized by clear order and intense inner tension. The alternation between dense polyphony and transparent, almost meditative passages allows pain, abandonment, and sorrow to emerge with great poignancy. The music possesses an extraordinary beauty and, at the same time, a remarkable, graceful austerity. In contrast, Klaus Huber’s Miserere hominibus (2005/2006) for seven voices and seven instrumentalists stands as one of the most impressive works of liturgical music of the 20th century. In it, a multifaceted sonic language unfolds, reaching equally for this world and the next. Intense, shattering tutti passages contrast with conciliatory, tranquil moments of captivating beauty and tenderness. It is music that radically brings the cry for mercy into the present. The interplay of the two works makes clear how musical lament shifts over the centuries: from ritualistic order to an existentially and politically charged appeal.

Programm

Cristobal de Morales
Lamentationen (ca. 1530) for 6 voices

Klaus Huber (1924-2017):
Miserere hominibus for 7 voices and 7 instrumentalists (2005/06)

PHACE
Doris Nicoletti, flute
Alvaro Collao Leon, saxophone
Mathilde Hoursiangou, piano
Manuel Alcaraz Clemente, percussion
Francesco Palmieri, e-guitar
Barbara Riccabona, cello

Since its founding in 1991, the isa has developed into an internationally unique university-based continuing education program that combines top emerging artists with an interdisciplinary academic conference. Under the artistic direction of Vice Rector Johannes Meissl, over 200 outstanding musicians from more than 40 nations receive formative impulses for their artistic development and professional careers each year.

Under the theme “global – local,” isa26 explores the tensions between global networking and local roots in music, art, and science. At a time when international collaborations, cultural diversity, and shared societal goals are increasingly under pressure, the isa sees itself as a forum for dialogue: different artistic backgrounds, aesthetic approaches, and practices are consciously juxtaposed and critically reflected upon.

PHACE will perform new works by participants of the International Summer Academy’s Composition Masterclass at the closing concert on August 1.

Michael Wendeberg, conductor

 

PHACE
Doris Nicoletti, flute
Walter Seebacher, clarinet
Alvaro Collao Leon, saxophone
Spiros Laskaridis, trumpet
Stefan Obmann, trombone
Manuel Alcaraz Clemente, percussion
Igor Gross, percussion
Mathilde Hoursiangou, piano
Francesco Palmieri, e-guitar
Ivana Pristašová Zaugg, violin
Sarah Dragovic, viola
Roland Schueler, cello
Manuel Mayr, double bass

 

Somewhere in the distance, where the sea meets the horizon, the sonic worlds of three very different works converge in this concert, yet find some common ground. In from shore to shore, Sarah Nemtsov traces a multi-perspective musical stream of consciousness that oscillates between moods of light, impressions of nature, memory, and identity. Inspired by 10 lyrical interludes in Virginia Woolf’s novel “The Waves” (1931), the composer creates a vividly dynamic, wave-like sound language and, through subtle nuances, permuting rhythmic patterns, and friction-laden microintervals, explores the inner states of mind of the novel’s six protagonists. Beat Furrer also casts a metaphorical gaze into the distance in linea dell’orizzonte. Simultaneous doubling and distortion, similar to what can be seen at the edges of a shadow, form the fundamental musical structure of the composition. Voices intersect, interrupt, negate, and contrast with preceding structures, ultimately creating a distorted sonic shadow from these contradictions. Thomas Wally constructs spiraling, intricate sound structures in his Concertino around the expressive possibilities of the violin, while the bass-heavy ensemble provides a contrasting space. It is a virtuosic, at times wild, ride, a constantly self-referential conversation between violin and ensemble, characterized in sonic and harmonic terms by overtone resonances, harmonics, and Shepard tones.

PROGRAMM

Sarah Nemtsov
from shore to shore for ensemble (2024/25)
commissioned by PHACE, in cooperation with Osterfestival Tirol,
sponsored by  

~ P A U S E ~

Beat Furrer
linea dell’orizzonte for ensemble (2012)

Thomas Wally
Concertino for violin and ensemble (2024)
Commissioned by PHACE, with support by BMKOES und SKE-Fonds

Michael Wendeberg, conductor

 

PHACE
Doris Nicoletti, flute
Walter Seebacher, clarinet
Spiros Laskaridis, trumpet
Stefan Obmann, trombone
Mathilde Hoursiangou, piano
Manuel Alcaraz Clemente, percussion
Francesco Palmieri, e-guitar
Ivana Pristašová Zaugg, violin
Roland Schueler, cello
Manuel Mayr, double bass

At the end of June 2025, the aspekteFESTIVAL Salzburg and PHACE, in cooperation with Ö1, issued a call for scores to the four music universities (Mozarteum University Salzburg, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, and Anton Bruckner Private University). Professors from the respective composition classes could each nominate two students for participation.

In a clear and unanimous jury decision, four composers were selected from 16 submissions (2 female composers, 14 male composers) and commissioned to create a new work for the AspekteFESTIVAL.

PROGRAMM

Dominik Wilnauer-Leitner
Friendly Machines für Flöte, Bassklarinette, Posaune, Schlagwerk und E-Gitarre, 2025/26 (UA)

Egemen Kurt
Tertium Datur für Flöte, Klarinette, Violine, Violoncello und Klavier, 2025/26 (UA)

Noh SeungJu
Studie I für Trompete, Percussion, E-Gitarre, Klavier und Cello, 2025/26 (UA)

Parham Behzad
Enough? für Flöte, Posaune, E-Gitarre, Klavier und Kontrabass, 2025/26 (UA)

Jury:
Ludwig Nussbichler (artistic director aspekteFESTIVAL Salzburg),
Reinhard Fuchs (artistic director PHACE)
Mathilde Hoursiangou (PHACE, pianist & MDW, Institut für Neue Musik)
Rainer Elstner (Music editorial Ö1) and Co-Curator of ORF musikprotokoll)

Zara Ali, Komposition, Konzept, Text
Hannah Dübgen, Bühnenfassung, Konzept
Florentine Klepper, Deva Schubert , Regie
Hansjörg Sofka, Musikalische Leitung
Wolfgang Menardi, Set- und Kostümdesign
Julia Spinola, Dramaturgie

PHACE
Walter Seebacher, Klarinette
Michael Krenn, Saxophon
Mathilde Hoursiangou, Keyboard
Manuel Alcaraz Clemente, Percussion
Francesco Palmieri, E-Gitarre
Roland Schueler, Cello
Alexandra Dienz, Kontrabass

Nontobeko Bhengu, Sopran
Florian Stern, Tenor
Julien Horbatuk, Bariton
Andrea De Majo, Musical, Tänzer, Countertenor

Zara Ali
Codeborn – musc theatre (2025/26, wp)

In “Codeborn,” the world is exposed to an artificial intelligence. An unstoppable transformation process begins, defying all explanation and simultaneously evoking fascination and unease. Power fantasies escalate to boundless proportions, old hierarchies crumble, and impossible encounters become reality.

Zara Ali’s music theater rejects both apocalyptic sentiment and cultural pessimism—it is neither utopia nor dystopia. Her music encompasses the full spectrum of upheaval and makes the unimaginable audible.

A co-production of the Munich Biennale and the Tyrolean State Theatre Innsbruck, in cooperation with the Bavarian State Opera, Ars Electronica Linz, and Klangspuren Schwaz. Commissioned by the City of Munich for the Munich Biennale.

PROGRAM

Bernhard Lang
The Travel Agency is on Fire for voice, five instruments and electronics, 2021 (ÖEA)
​​Text: William S. Burroughs

Loops and samples repeatedly wander through the ear canal, distorted and doubled by electronics and effects, deformed and restructured by patches and digital algorithms, until perception shifts and a different meaning emerges from the superposition. Repetition and mutation are part of the program in the works of Bernhard Lang, powerfully supported this evening by Sarah Maria Sun, arguably one of the most outstanding vocal interpreters of our time. The Travel Agency is on Fire is based on a selection of “cut-up” experiments by William S. Burroughs on texts by a range of canonical authors, from William Shakespeare and Arthur Rimbaud to William Wordsworth and James Joyce. Burroughs selected the source texts, cut them up, and juxtaposed the fragments to select random word combinations and create new word compositions. The Travel Agency is on Fire, which has only been available in the archives since 2010, fascinates scholars and Burroughs fans alike, as it illuminates the experimental processes underlying Burroughs’ work. Musically, the cut-up strategies that Burroughs developed together with Brion Gysin and visualized in the films with Anthony Balch and Ian Sommerville are referenced in various ways: essential here is Burroughs’s maxim: “Play it back, play it back, play it all back,” which points to a change in consciousness through the overlaying and doubling of reality with samples and loops.