Gedänkstätte - for Oboe and piano (2015)

AUDIO

"During a visit to Berlin in September 2014, I was contacted by Fredrik Söhngen - principal oboe at The Royal Opera in Stockholm. Fredrik asked me if I would like to compose something for him for the upcoming International Double Reed Conference - to be held in Tokyo in August 2015. I was very tempted by this opportunity and started to ponder upon what I would like to compose to Fredrik. This happened during my first visit to Berlin since 1988 - which means that I had not before experienced Berlin as a whole, unified city. However, I had experienced the divided Berlin from both east and west during tours in the 1970's and 1980's - and the situation where people were confined behind a wall had made a strong impression on me as a child and a young artist. That very day when I received Fredrik's call, I visited the "Gedänkstätte Berliner Mauer" - which is a museum and a landmark in Berlin, commemorating the many victims of the Berlin Wall. I decided to try to connect Fredrik's proposition with the fact that I was in Berlin when I received his phone call. And I started to explore my memories of the Berlin Wall as a child, sparked as they were by the fact that I visited the wall again right then, 26 years later, now as a museum within a unified and completely changed Berlin. The result is the piece for oboe and piano that I call "Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer", dedicated to Fredrik Söhngen. The piece is divided in two parts, the first of which is depicting a struggle for freedom and reconciliation; and the second of which is marked "Mit Sehnsucht" - meaning: With Longing - as if played beside an insurmountable wall. AUDIO --- Carl Unander-Scharin (born 1964) is a Swedish composer, lyric tenor, professor, voice teacher - and propeller of several new technologies for interactive performances in opera. "Extended Opera" - a range of technologically enhanced works has been performed extensively in Sweden and has in recent years toured to South Africa, Holland, Hungary and Canada. See www.electronic-opera.com/extendedopera and www.facebook.com/extendedopera Currently, he holds the position as Visiting professor at Karlstad University, earlier Visiting Professor at The University College of Opera 2011-2014; Artistic research on Extending Opera at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and the University college of Opera. Carl Unander-Scharin is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. Ten operas are available for listening at www.electronic-opera.com Master of Fine Arts in Church Music, 1991, Royal College of Music in Stockholm Diploma in Opera singing, 1995, University College of Opera, Stockholm PhD in Media Technology and Interaction Design, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2015. Forthcoming performances listed here: http://www.electronic-opera.com/node/995 www.youtube.com/user/ElectronicOpera