The project "Sounds and Words: a path to freedom?" aims to make classical music and philosophy accessible to a wider audience. Through short recitations and forgotten musical works by Julius Röntgen and Heinrich von Herzogenberg, contemporaries of Brahms, the project suggests a path to re-negotiate one's intellectual and emotional freedom. A path that can be long and painful, sometimes even counter-intuitive...
The aim of the project is to challenge listeners’ beliefs through highly expressive musical pieces that touch one’s emotional sensitivity. In particular, romantic music finds its own mode of expression by combining new musical forms with programmatic elements from poetry, art and philosophy. As the recital progresses, the music invites the audience to question their beliefs and perceptions. Soon, words and sounds reveal themselves in a new light: something has changed...
The recited texts are a free interpretation of the philosophical concept of freedom. They are inspired by the works of Also sprach Zarathustra and Menschliches, Allzumenschliches by Friedrich Nietzsche, among others.
Concept: Carole Berset
Musicians: Isabel Gehweiler (cello) and Fiona Hengartner (piano)
Recitation: Yann Pugin and Yan Balistoy