What the Water Carries

TRANSIENT FIELDS — WORLD PREMIERE

In Transient Fields organ and electric guitar explore their place within the space. Suspended in the church’s reverberation—which acts as both a medium and a binding force—the two instruments converge into a floating sonic entity.

The composition moves through fields of sound whose individual elements alternate between clarity and acoustic diffusion. Structures soften; elastic textures assume tangible forms before dissolving into fluidity. Conceived as an early synthesizer, the organ is extended by the electric guitar, whose glissandi, crescendos and layers of noise expand the registers of its pipework.

• Robert Pockfuß — electric guitar, composition
• Matthias Giesen — organ
• Duration: 21’30”

ALEKSANDRA SŁYŻ — SOLO CONCERT / VIENNA PREMIERE

Aleksandra Słyż is a Polish composer. She holds degrees from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, the Poznań Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. In her compositions, she explores connections between acoustic and synthetic sounds. This process is often rooted in rational tuning systems, through which she constructs rich, complex drone structures that highlight the power of microtonal, electroacoustic tensions. Interactive sonification systems are another major part of her artistic practice. Between 2017 and 2022, Słyż conducted artistic research involving practical experiments with movement sonification and different modes of interaction. Her works have been presented at leading contemporary and experimental music festivals and venues including Rewire Festival, CTM, Aarhus Festival, Unsound, Warsaw Autumn, ORF musikprotokoll, the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Fylkingen, Alice Tully Hall, Ancienne Belgique and Stadtcasino Basel.

ARTISTS

Robert Pockfuß is an Austrian guitarist and composer working across contemporary composition, improvisation and electronic music. He writes for and performs with the ensemble Pneuma and forms the electroacoustic duo schtum with Manu Mayr. His works range from intimate instrumental settings to large-scale and spatial compositions, with performances at Musikverein Wien, Wien Modern, Klangspuren Schwaz and REAKTOR Vienna. Since 2022, he has also worked with Christoph Cech’s Janus Ensemble, contributing as a guitarist and composer to numerous premieres by emerging composers.

Matthias Giesen is a German organist, conductor and music theorist. A former organist and music director at St. Florian Abbey, he has performed throughout Europe and internationally. Since 2019, he has been Professor of Music Theory at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz. His work is closely connected to Anton Bruckner’s music and legacy.