MEDIA
November 27, 2023
Musik Panorama: Ein Mensch erkennt, dass er nie ein Mensch war
Forum neuer Musik 2023: Auf der verzweifelten Suche nach Normalität
Excerpt
Between Susanne Kerckhoffs' "Berlin Letters" and Eres Holz' new ensemble music, a panorama of distressing texts and compositions unfolds.
What emotional states circulate – in the face of ruins, camps, Hitler's end, and the presence of occupying armies? Susanne Kerckhoffs' "Berlin Letters" hit the nail on the head. Connected with texts by Hannah Arendt, Inge Müller, and Hans Magnus Enzensberger, German post-war perception articulates itself here as distressingly unresolved, even current.
Buried messages become articulate
Even seemingly harmless compositions by Hermann Reutter, Boris Blacher, and Ernst Hermann Meyer suddenly become articulate in this context. In the underground of the musical-literary fabric, highly contrasting author biographies also come into play. The evening culminates in the world premiere of an ensemble piece by the Israeli-German composer Eres Holz, addressing repressed war experiences. It is inspired by Svenja Goltermann's publication "The Society of Survivors." With his piece „Ein Mensch erkennt, dass er nie Mensch war“ ("A human realizes that he was never human") Holz aims to explore traces of war-related trauma in the human psyche.
Schuld ohne Sühne (engl.: Guilt Without Atonement)
Sounds of disturbing beauty name the unspeakable, the unimaginable: softly plaintive woodwind lines fill the space, merging with accordion, cello, and violin to create dense soundscapes, subtly solidifying in electronic continuation. Menacing undertones add piano bass, percussion, and muted trombone, harsh accents escalating into fortissimo strikes that startle. Chaos ensues, decay, where only a microtonal whimper remains. Eres Holz composes the psychosis, the paranoia, the disorientation, the loss of meaning. His work, commissioned by Deutschlandfunk, for nine instruments, electronics, and text projection, explores the experiences of violence by Wehrmacht soldiers in World War II.
Forum neuer Musik 2023
NZM - Neue Zeitschrift für Musik
#1_2024
Post-war music at the „Forum for New Music“ of Deutschlandfunk Cologne
Holz does not absolve the German war crimes but imparts an enduring and essential humane message: Rather than succumbing to rigid friend-enemy dichotomies, we must endeavor to comprehend why individuals differ in their thoughts and actions. This comprehension serves as a prerequisite for democracy, freedom, and peace.
December 2023
Das hat mein Heimatgefühl hierzulande tief verletzt
The Israeli-German composer Eres Holz on terrorism, trauma, and apathy
[...] I wish that people, especially those who are not directly involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, would truly strive for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In this dreadful time, I hope they come together with them, show compassion, and express solidarity, instead of favoring one side while the other is still burying their dead.
December 2023