Stars in the distance of the sky

Bruno Maderna (1920 - 1973)

"Serenata per un satellite" für Ensemble (1969)

Rupert Huber (* 1953)

YAD AL - GAUZA für zwei Sängerinnen, Klarinette, Streichquintett und Semantron (2018)

Christian Wolff (* 1934)

„Planispehere“ für Ensemble UA (2023)

Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928 - 2007)

YLEM für 19 oder mehr Spieler (1972)

"Sterne in des Himmels Ferne" (Stars in the distance of heaven) is conjured up by Robert Schumann in one of the two double-choir songs op. 141 after a text by Friedrich Rückert. We have made this line of poetry the motto of an event we have conceived together with the Haus der Natur. On the Haunsberg at the gates of Salzburg, the Haus der Natur operates the Vega observatory, which not only has powerful telescopes but also an event hall. This provides ideal conditions for building a bridge between science and contemporary music. This is also obvious because a large number of compositions are inspired by cosmic phenomena. Bruno Maderna's "Serenata per un satellite", for example, was inspired by the launch of the ESRO I B Boreas satellite in 1969. Rupert Huber's work is named after the star Betelgeuse (Arabic YAD AL - GAUZA), which made headlines some time ago because of its sudden eclipse. In YLEM, Karlheinz Stockhausen tries to make the idea of a pulsating cosmos become sound. We are particularly pleased that Christian Wolff, representative of the legendary New York School around John Cage and Morton Feldman, has written us a new work that draws its inspiration from the following phenomenon: On a star map, three-dimensional space is reduced to two dimensions. Music goes the opposite way: the sounds fixed on the two-dimensional sheet of music, are brought to life by the musicians in three-dimensional space and time.

This event is much more than a concert: the performances are spread throughout the evening and are combined with insights into the work of the observatory, with contributions in words and pictures on certain cosmic phenomena. Weather permitting, it will also be possible to take a look through one of the telescopes.

To ensure a smooth arrival and departure, we offer a shuttle from Salzburg to the observatory and back:

Departure 18.45, Salzburg, Hauptbahnhof, exit Lastenstraße, left hand side. The bus will also stop at Weitwörth-Nußdorf station around 7:10 p.m. so that people arriving by local train can get on.