Claudio Abbado Composition Prize 2020
It is a true honor to be awarded this year's Claudio Abbado Composition Prize!!!
And such an immense joy to write a new piece for the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic and Enno Poppe, which will be premiered on 22 September in the Philharmonie.
And such an immense joy to write a new piece for the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic and Enno Poppe, which will be premiered on 22 September in the Philharmonie.
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Milica Djordjević's music is described as “rough, often even raw in the gesture”, as a “vital tonal language that refuses less harmony and beautiful sound than that it gives the experience of the elemental quite pleasurably: tones of the earth’s emanations.” Milica Djordević has won this year’s Claudio Abbado Composition Prize, and she also received a commission from the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic for a new work that will be premiered that evening. (Musikfest Berlin) |
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Imagine a place with no sound at all. A place so quiet that all you might hear is your heart beat, your blood gently pumping through your head, or eventually an extremely deranging high-pitched hiss caused by spontaneous firings of your own auditory nerve.
This place does exist and it is called anechoic (meaning echo-free) chamber and there are several worldwide (for example at IRCAM in Paris, where I had a chance to experience it). In these chambers 99.99% of sound is absorbed and while a human can normally hear sounds as low as zero decibels (an average conversation runs at about 30 decibels), the background noise in the anechoic chamber has been measured at -9.4 decibels! You may speak or even scream there and you will feel like in a nightmare where you're desperately crying for help but nothing comes out.
This place does exist and it is called anechoic (meaning echo-free) chamber and there are several worldwide (for example at IRCAM in Paris, where I had a chance to experience it). In these chambers 99.99% of sound is absorbed and while a human can normally hear sounds as low as zero decibels (an average conversation runs at about 30 decibels), the background noise in the anechoic chamber has been measured at -9.4 decibels! You may speak or even scream there and you will feel like in a nightmare where you're desperately crying for help but nothing comes out.
This sensory deprivation makes the room extremely disorienting, and people can rarely stay in this space for longer than 45 minutes (I ran out after 15 minutes, feeling sick and completely disorientated). Without the subtle, but vital auditory feedback that establishes a human’s sense of space, balance and walking become a challenge: the ear is a sensory organ that picks up sound waves, allowing us to hear. It is also essential to our sense of balance: the organ of balance (the vestibular system) is found inside the inner ear. So, without sound, very quickly your body looses sense of balance, you start to feel unwell, dizzy or nauseous and you freak out. It is how our bodies work.
And how about a world without music?
Since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic that shook us all, turned our lives upside down and put all our core values, believes, priorities, and self-awareness to an extremely hard test, the whole world became one huge anechoic chamber, and concerts have fallen victim to the coronavirus crisis, a crisis that is the hardest one many generations experienced and whose devastating consequences we will feel in the next few years and that much more severe than now. But, even though we’re making the first wobbly steps toward normality as we remember it, in the most of the world musicians are left on their own, still having to cope with a ban on work. The rare attempts to play for the public either at micro concerts or virtually through a screen are like isolated lighthouses in the middle of a wild, destructive storm - sending light signals that mean “you’re safe here”.
It is fantastic that we live in times where we can experience music through a screen and headphones or loudspeakers, but it is not the same.
One may say that the health comes first and that we need to protect people. Absolutely true! But full streets, packed beaches and parks, crowded restaurants and bars are nothing less dangerous than a concert hall! And what about mental health? Because music and arts are not a luxury or mere entertainment, they are essential for our life and health, just like air, water and food. Music and musicians are not irrelevant.
The fact that Musikfest Berlin is taking place, of course with caution, and complying with the existing guidelines on distancing and special hygiene measures, is an extraordinary thing in so many ways! It is not just a very courageous and responsible act, it is also something that has been necessary since months now. Necessary for everyone. It will be a true celebration of music after dry and deaf months!
It is indispensable. It is relevant.
If you still think it’s something that you can refrain from, just remember your sense of balance.
I am thrilled to be able to invite you to this very special concert, where we will have a chance to create and experience music again! Music, that will not only stimulate your senses, it will inspirit your mind as well. WELCOME!
And how about a world without music?
Since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic that shook us all, turned our lives upside down and put all our core values, believes, priorities, and self-awareness to an extremely hard test, the whole world became one huge anechoic chamber, and concerts have fallen victim to the coronavirus crisis, a crisis that is the hardest one many generations experienced and whose devastating consequences we will feel in the next few years and that much more severe than now. But, even though we’re making the first wobbly steps toward normality as we remember it, in the most of the world musicians are left on their own, still having to cope with a ban on work. The rare attempts to play for the public either at micro concerts or virtually through a screen are like isolated lighthouses in the middle of a wild, destructive storm - sending light signals that mean “you’re safe here”.
It is fantastic that we live in times where we can experience music through a screen and headphones or loudspeakers, but it is not the same.
One may say that the health comes first and that we need to protect people. Absolutely true! But full streets, packed beaches and parks, crowded restaurants and bars are nothing less dangerous than a concert hall! And what about mental health? Because music and arts are not a luxury or mere entertainment, they are essential for our life and health, just like air, water and food. Music and musicians are not irrelevant.
The fact that Musikfest Berlin is taking place, of course with caution, and complying with the existing guidelines on distancing and special hygiene measures, is an extraordinary thing in so many ways! It is not just a very courageous and responsible act, it is also something that has been necessary since months now. Necessary for everyone. It will be a true celebration of music after dry and deaf months!
It is indispensable. It is relevant.
If you still think it’s something that you can refrain from, just remember your sense of balance.
I am thrilled to be able to invite you to this very special concert, where we will have a chance to create and experience music again! Music, that will not only stimulate your senses, it will inspirit your mind as well. WELCOME!
(July 2020)