Awarded annually to up to three musicians from the different aesthetic (pop/rock/ electro/hip-hop, jazz/world, classical/contemporary) since 2020, the Global Project Grant supports artists in the development of an ambitious medium- or long-term project aimed at boosting their career through promotion, marketing and dissemination, as well as the acquisition of know-how in the music industry. Kultur | lx accompanies the artists and their teams in each step of the project.
After Josh Island (pop/rock), Greg Lamy (jazz), and following a call for applications, the selection committee, composed of Stephanie Baustert (manager), Marc Hauser (Rotondes) Florence Martin (United Instruments of Lucilin), Marc Nickts (SACEM Luxembourg) and John Rech (opderschmelz), unanimously decided to award the Global Project Grant to C’est Karma (pop/rock/electro/hip-hop) and Pascal Schumacher (Classical/Contemporary).
C’est Karma
Statement of the artist
I am filled to the brim with joy to have been awarded next year’s Global Project Grant. I’ve spent the last few years working hard on my identity as an artist and musician and on putting together my dream team. With a lot of exciting projects coming up next year, the financial support granted through the Global Project Grant will help me put those plans into action. Aside from the financial aspect it also means a lot to me to be given the trust and faith in my vision.
Biography
For C’est Karma music is a tool for change. From causing trouble with her punk band in the age of 14 to her bold, hyperpop-infused 2022 EP „Amuse-Bouche“, Karma Catena’s passionate activist heart always beats at the core.
The daughter of two first generation immigrants grew up in Luxembourg but relocated to Amsterdam to „study the Internet“, as she calls it. Channeling her frustration into words and music has gained the 21-year-old critical acclaim from renowned publications such as Rolling Stone, GQ, ELLE or The Line Of Best Fit and collaborations with Canal+ or La Blogothèque, who also invited C’est Karma to their 2021 edition of arte concert Festival in Paris next to Damon Albarn and Joan As Police Woman.
Ploughing furrows covered with hyperpop, alt-pop and noise/industrial influences, Karmas songs range from attacking the inaction on the climate crisis and the disparity between the filthy rich and the less fortunate to her love for women, the cinema and the closest thing to her heart: Pasta.
On the back of extensive praise for her riveting one-woman live show at her first ever North America concerts, C’est Karma has recently embarked on her biggest and most ambitious project to date.
Presentation of the project
After having experimented with different musical genres over the past years, C’est Karma has found her artistic vision. On the back of significant live experiences, critical acclaim from renowned international media and together with a team of highly experienced industry professionals, Karma is ready to release her debut album. Being aimed for release in the second half of 2024, the album draws back to her musical inspirations throughout the years. It refers to musical icons like Björk, Kate Bush or Imogen Heap and draws inspiration from contemporary avant-garde idols like Arca, SOPHIE or Caroline Polachek. Being without a doubt her most personal and introspective work to date, the album explores the space between comfort and discomfort. It confesses her love to her younger brother, to her partner, to her family’s country of origin, Portugal and to the loss of control in the nightlife scene. It also opens up about abuse and fear.
With this album Karma and her team aim to build a sustainable foundation for a long-lasting career. Therefore, they have created a visual identity and drafted an extensive multi-facetted strategy to build a dedicated global fan-community that enables Karma to make a living from her art in the long run. To nurture long-term relationships Karma will combine in-person community-building events around Europe with artist-growth campaigns on social platforms such as Instagram or TikTok, cross-media PR campaigns and her very own Mailing list. In addition, she and her live team are currently creating a memorable live performance that she will present on stages around the world, starting with renowned ESNS Festival in The Netherlands in January 2024.
Pascal Schumacher
Statement of the artist
I’m absolutely enchanted to receive the 2024 Global Grant, a crucial boost for my upcoming project, GLASS TWO. Teaming up with the accomplished German-Greek pianist Danae Dörken, we are shaping a deeply personal rendition of Philip Glass’s oeuvre, interwoven with original compositions infused by his unique style and aesthetics. This funding is crucial for both the tour and the promotional campaign of the upcoming album.
Biography
Pascal Schumacher, a versatile artist from Luxembourg, seamlessly blends classical training with contemporary innovation. He pursued studies in classical percussion and jazz vibraphone at prestigious European conservatories, earning Master’s Degrees in musicology from Marc Bloch University in Strasbourg and music focused on jazz vibraphone from the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. Collaborating with a diverse array of talents like Jef Neve, Francesco Tristano, Sylvain Rifflet, Kenny Barron, and Magic Malik, Schumacher has honed a unique musical identity. Today, his music defies traditional categorization, fusing emotional classical melodies with minimal electronic elements, liberating his compositions from genre constraints to explore a boundless musical landscape.
Presentation of the project
GLASS TWO is a collaborative project featuring Luxembourg’s vibraphonist and composer Pascal Schumacher and the talented German-Greek pianist Danae Dörken, as they delve into the works of the iconic American minimalist composer Philip Glass. The album is slated for release in the third quarter of 2024 under the German label NEUE MEISTER (edel/ KULTUR). This project represents a significant step forward in Schumacher’s artistic journey, extending well beyond its initial inspiration.
In order to facilitate the circulation of Luxembourg musical creation and its performers at European level, and keen to be part of cross-border touring networks, Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg joined the Impuls neue Musik fund in January 2023, joining the French, German and Swiss partners.
The 17th Impuls Artistic Committee meeting was held on 28 September 2023. Composed of Carl Adalsteinsson (artistic director of CAPE-Centre des Arts Pluriels Ettelbruck), Julien Annoni (percussionist, cultural mediator and event creator), Bernhard Günther (artistic director of the Wien Modern festival), Jean-Luc Hervé (composer), Cathy Milliken (composer, musician), Anne Montaron (Radio France) and Carol Robinson (musician, composer), the Artistic Committee selected 10 projects, including three with a link to Luxembourg. Two productions with a Luxembourgish component – Déposer by United Instruments of Lucilin and Elsa Biston, and ANTIPODES by the Kollektiv Unruhe – and one coproduction of which the rainy days festival is part – Onceim, Double Commande à Genevieve Murphy et Christian Marclay – are supported by the Impuls neue Musik fund.
These projects show the commitment of Luxembourgish artists and institutions in cross-border collaborations. In the first year of its partnership, Kultur | lx is delighted by the support provided by Impuls, which is helping to promote the vibrant Luxembourg contemporary music scene and its international dissemination.
United Instruments of Lucilin, Elsa Biston, Déposer (installation-concert) | 10 000 €
Déposer is a sound installation by Elsa Biston and a 30-minute musical performance by the Luxembourgish ensemble United Instruments of Lucilin. The installation consists of instruments scattered around the space such as cymbals, skins and everyday objects.
They form a complex, apparently living organism in which vibrations are transmitted from one object to the other. During the performances, the sounds of the musicians are picked up by the installation, setting the objects in motion. Outside the performances, visitors can move between the objects and are invited to operate cranks, for example, to make the objects suspended from the ceiling move and change the soundscape. Both the installation and the performances are based on a search for involuntary gestures and loss of control, allowing the musicians to enter into a symbiotic relationship with the installation.
© Alfonso Salgueiro
Kollektiv Unruhe e. V., Antipodes | 10 000 €
The ANTIPODES project by KOLLEKTIV UNRUHE and Ensemble Orbis aims to reconcile local community and international exchange, while taking care to preserve each individual’s identity. It links Berlin and Lyon through music, with Luxembourg as its focal point. The four creations, each signed by two members of each of the two ensembles, highlight the unique sonorities of each group to create a unique sound experience. Three young composers from the training institutions of the three towns will provide miniatures, thus deepening the links that exist at local level. The concerts presenting the project will take place at Silent Green in Berlin, Grame in Lyon and at the Philharmonie Luxembourg. The project will run from January to December 2024 and will focus on the theme of “Unity in diversity”. With ANTIPODES, these two young collectives/ensembles in the making hope to establish a long-term collaboration.
KOLLEKTIV UNRUHE, of which Luxembourg composer Nik Bohnenberger is a member, stands for a musical practice that is self-organised and self-responsible in shaping the conditions for its own artistic work and constantly wants to cross the boundaries to other art forms and scenes.
© Norbert Frank
Onceim, Double Commande à Genevieve Murphy et Christian Marclay | 15 000 €
L’Onceim impulses a European co-production uniting France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany, with Gaudeamus (NL), Musica (FR), Rainy Days (LU) and Exploratorium (DE). Two exclusive musical commissions will be entrusted to the talented Scottish performer and composer Genevieve Murphy and the renowned Swiss-American visual artist Christian Marclay. For both of them, this collaboration is their first experience with a large, experimental ensemble (30 musicians). Another milestone of the collaboration is a three-day residency in Berlin, which includes workshops and concerts in ensembles of 2 to 30 musicians. Together, they focus on collaborative creation and bring together the stakeholders of the Berlin scene as well as the orchestra members for improvisation sessions and the presentation of commissioned works. This initiative continues the experimental and research work initiated by Onceim and funded by Impuls Neue Musik since 2012.
About Impuls neue Musik
Impuls neue Musik supports musical projects that favour exchanges between the German- and French-speaking cultural and linguistic spaces. It binds together the contemporary music scenes of Germany, France, Switzerland and Luxembourg. Since its establishment, Impuls neue Musik supported 214 projects to an amount of 1,6 million €. Its partners are the Sacem, the French Embassy in Germany, the CNM, the Institut Français, the Fondation Francis et Mica Salabert, the Goethe Institute, the Swiss Foundation for culture Pro Helvetia, the Musikfonds and Kultur | lx.
After a first edition of the Contemporary Music Focus that took place in September 2022 in the frame of the Festival 33,7, organised by United Instruments of Lucilin and the Kulturfabrik, Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg is happy to join forces with the Philharmonie Luxembourg from November 17th to 19th on the occasion of their rainy days festival.
The programme, curated by the Luxembourgish composer Catherine Kontz, will put light on composers such as Albena Petrovic, Roby Steinmetzer, Marco Pütz, Catherine Kontz, Nik Bohnenberger, Camille Kerger, as well as Ivan Boumans. Ensembles such as Ars Nova Lux, United Instruments of Lucilin, Noise Watchers Unlimited as well as the Trio WAS+ will share the stage with the London-based Langham Research Centre and the Belgian Ensemble Ictus.
During these three Focus days, Kultur | lx will invite a delegation of professionals from contemporary music festivals and ensembles located in numerous places in Europe. These invitation programmes play a significant part in fulfilling Kultur | lx’ mission to promote and foster the identification of Luxembourgish artists on the international level. On the one hand, the international guests will have several occasions to see the works of Luxembourgish composers and musicians during the three festival days. On the other hand, the Focus will consist of several exchanges and network moments, notably through a speed meeting session during which Luxembourgish artists and professionals will have an occasion to meet the international delegation invited for the event. These meetings are crucial for the establishment of contacts and synergies to further help the identification and circulation of the Luxembourgish musical creation on an international level.
About rainy days
rainy days is a festival dedicated to new music. For four days, the event will feature numerous insights and perspectives in different compact formats that can satisfy experts as well as curious people who want to get a first impression of the current state of today’s musical creation – aesthetic experiences for the here and now, as well as nourishment for your own personal memory!
This edition is dedicated to the topic of memory, that is quite tackled in the arts nowadays. The concerts, performances, installations that are presented during the festival are building ties, in their own way, sonic histories, tales, memory fragments and memory snippets extending from Morton Feldman, Christian Wolff to composers from the emerging new music scene.
Arthur Possing | ID:entity
Album release: August 25th 2023 | Double Moon/Challenge Records
ID:entity, the first solo album, draws a deep and intense introspection – both musically and humanly – into the world of pianist and composer Arthur Possing. The singer-songwriter format has always had an impact on the artist and the essence of songs has been the essential guideline for this new record. By using multiple textures of the piano, Arthur creates a very personal and intimate universe, combining originals with covers of influential songs and free improvisation.
Listen to ID:entity album
Listen to ID:entity’s first single : The Essence of Joy
Jambal | Enterprises of great pith and moment
Release: September 15th
Jambal and L.A. based composer/producer Tristan de Liège teamed up last summer to record a new full-length collaboration album called Enterprises of Great Pith and Moment.
After one week of songwriting, composing, arranging and rehearsing, they started putting the album together at Unison studios in Differdange.
The result is a very intimate insight into the unique band-sound of Jambal, which has evolved considerably since their first EP release in 2021. A blend of experimental textures, modern grooves, and shifting harmonies, as well as improvisations, heavily influenced by contemporary jazz. The album also features a string quartet, played by L.A. based musician Gregory Allison and Luxembourgish artist Claire Parsons. Sound engineering as well as mixing was done by Eric ‘Slunnes’ Slunecko, the mastering has been made by Nate Wood.
Their first single Uncertainties just recently got a spin on John Osborne’s show on JazzFM UK.
Listen to Jambal:
04.08. : release of Uncertainties
01.09. : release of Collisions of Light
15.09. : album release
VictorKrausGroup | Canto Ostinato
Album release: October 7th | Donemus Records
For Canto Ostinato, Victor Kraus (playing the marimba) is joined by eight of the best musicians from the Luxembourg and international music scene: Kae Shiraki (piano), Aniela Stoffels (flute), Anik Schwall (cello), Max Mausen (clarinet), Guy Frisch (vibraphone), Emre Sevindik (electronics), Michel de Souza (voice) and Pit Brosius (conductor). In collaboration with this team, performing as the VictorKrausGroup, he has developed a hybrid project around the 1976 piece Canto Ostinato by Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt. Other projects are currently being planned and will follow in 2024/2025.
The project began in 2017 as part of a production by German broadcaster NDR at the international festival Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany), culminating in 2023 in the recording of an album to mark the composer’s 100th anniversary during an artist residency at Trifolion in Echternach (Luxembourg). Simeon ten Holt used the term “genetic code” to describe the rhythmic foundation of his piece. It is a quintuplet that develops Canto Ostinato by exploring 106 repeated cells ad libitum.
Victor Kraus presents a brand-new version by adding wind and string instruments, electronic elements and vocals to this magnificent piece, originally written for multiple keyboard instruments. Electronics and vocals play a predominant role in this project, which is conceived as a hybrid project, an artwork and a sensual performance, blending a “classical” work with minimalist transformations, electronic music, singing, lighting and recitation of poems by Fernando Pessoa, Gianni Rodari, Gabriel Marcel and Anise Koltz.
Maria Miteva | Golden Lights
Album release: October 22nd
Flutist Maria Miteva’s new album Golden Lights features works by four Luxembourgish composers and five Bulgarian composers – Boris Schmidt, Alexander Müllenbach, A. Petrovic-Vratchanska, Ivan Boumans, Miroslav Danev, Dimitar Bodurov, Milcho Leviev, Antoni Donchev, Valeri Kostov. After her last album Ways, Maria Miteva shows a new face of her work, merging jazz and classical music together along with world-renowned classical and jazz musicians.
Maria Miteva -Flute
Eugenia Radoslava -Piano (contemporary pieces)
Antoni Donchev – Piano (jazz pièces)
Boris Dinev – Drums, Tupan, Percussions
Boris Schmidt – Doublebass
Luc Hemmer – Vibraphone
Josip Dragnić-Gitarre
Olivier Dartevelle – Clarinet
Mariya Parashkevova – Voice (recording)
The album was recorded at the Luxembourgish Studio Tonstudio Schlim.
With the support of Ministry of culture, Fondation Independance by BIL, and the SACEM
Claude Lenners | Hôtel à insectes
Release: September 15th | NEOS Music
Carried by contemporary music and works, the CD Hôtel à insectes explores the extraordinary and abundant of insects through a 25-piece cycle with texts by Shakespeare, Kafka, Grass, Neruda, Virgil, as well as Schlechter. It is a collection of texts with insects as a central topics, addressed on different points of view.
The works are recorded by the Noise Watchers Ensemble:
Marie-Reine Nimax (soprano),
Max Mausen (clarinet)
Hany Heshmat (guitar)
The Global Project Grant, available to artists in the Luxembourgish music scene, offers them the chance of setting out and proposing a project that will enable them to kick-start their career development, promotion and marketing, participation in tours, involvement in international workshops/conferences, and to increase the depth of their compositional work.
This initiative is intended to add value to the project and to encourage artists and their teams to plan their strategy one year ahead, with a dedicated budget. For its part, Kultur | lx is committed to accompanying the laureates in all stages of the project.
More information about Global Project Grant here
Deadline to apply: September 18, 2023
In 2022, Francis of Delirium embarked on three tours: early in the year, a first-ever North American tour as support act for The Districts, with around thirty dates across the USA and Canada, including their first headline gig in New York at Baby’s All Right; the band then supported Briston Maroney across Europe before touring the UK as headliners in the autumn. Francis of Delirium have also released a series of three EPs with The Funhouse, out on 27 April on Dalliance Recordings.
Francesco Tristano released his new album on early music on 11 February 2022 via Sony Classical. The promotion of this album, which marks his return to the baroque repertoire, was accompanied by a series of concerts in Europe and a marketing strategy designed to promote both the release of the album and tour dates in specific territories.
Claire Parsons and Laurent Peckels founded the collective The Aquatic Museum, at the crossroads of pop and chamber music. The collective worked on their eponymous album, which combines jazz harmonies with pop sounds, while retaining the delicacy of chamber music. Alongside this album, an application is currently being developed that will transport users into an aquatic museum and guide them through the rooms of this virtual space.
Previous laureates
2023
Pop/Rock/electro/hip-hop : Josh Island
Jazz/World : Greg Lamy
2022
Pop/Rock/electro/hip-hop : Francis of Delirium
Jazz/World : Claire Parsons
Classical/contemporary : Francesco Tristano
2021
Pop/Rock/electro/hip-hop : TUYS
Jazz/World : Michel Meis 4TET
Classical/contemporary : Cathy Krier
Michel Meis 4tet, Lollipop Moment
Release: May 25, 2023
The quartet around the Luxembourg drummer Michel Meis is back with their third opus Lollipop Moment.
The record features three new compositions (Puff Puff Puff, Silberfell and The Madness) embedded in a freely improvised session. The musicians remain Meis’s usual fellows: Alisa Klein on trombone, Cédric Hanriot on piano and Stephan Goldbach on double bass. In contrast, the instrumentation moves towards a more electronic sound with the addition of synthesisers and effects.
While improvisation is the common thread of the album, the new hybrid acoustic and electronic sound enhances the band’s sonic spectrum. In contrast to smooth transitions between these two poles, hard cuts underline the band’s career-spanning explosive, edgy, and slightly provocative character.
Through its diverse moods and complex yet never arbitrary structures, Lollipop Moment offers music that is as elaborate as it is spontaneous, giving jazz a fresh touch by breaking down genre boundaries.
Inspired by Drew Dudley’s definition of a lollipop moment, where someone said or did something that fundamentally made someone else’s life better, Michel Meis wants to touch people with his music and accompany them on their journey.
Singles to discover:
21/04/2023 – Puff Puff Puff
02/05/2023 – Silberfell
12/05/2023 – The Madness
Triana y Luca, Fragmentos del Olvidos
Release: June 2023
Triana y Luca’s goal is to transcend the barriers between the old and the new. They aim to reconnect listeners to their roots, wherever they may lie buried. As children of first- and second-generation immigrants, their project explores origins and identities. They emphasise the importance of tradition, even in modern times where it may seem obsolete, to encourage listeners to come on the journey of reunification with cultural knowledge and lost stories.
Their upcoming EP, Fragmentos del Olvidos, was recorded at Tritone Studios (LU) and produced by Mike Butcher (producer of Black Sabbath, Rod Stewart, Jaco Pastorius) and is set to be released in June 2023. The EP is a collection of stories and sonority recompiled in five songs of different styles and rhythms. Earlier this year, the duo released their first two singles Raíz and Recuerdos de Tánger. On April 21st, they published Malinche, a letter dedicated to one of the most important women in the history of the Americas.
Tele-Port, Please Disperse
Release: May 2023
From hypnotic minimalism to fully improvised supernovas to powerful groove songs, this energetic quartet blends European tradition, American jazz and Eastern influences to create an exciting modern sound. The band is composed of leading figures of the Luxembourg jazz scene: Pol Belardi (bass), Jérôme Klein (keyboards) and Jeff Herr (drums) who have teamed up with Zhenya Strigalev, an adventurous saxophonist from London. Their new album, “Please Disperse”, will be released in May 2023 by Double Moon/Challenge Records.
Markus Brönnimann, Bachs, Benda And Brönnimann
Release : June 15th, 2023 (Toccata Next)
Markus Brönnimann, Jean Halsdorf, Léon Berben, Ensemble Pyramide
Solo flutist of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Markus Brönimann is about to release a CD dedicated to flute works by the Bach family, Franz Benda and his own composition. Combining works from different times, the album seeks to reflect on the posterity of ancient music works and our contemporary relationship to this music.
Nik Bohnenberger, d|ecken
Nik Bohnenberger presents his last composition d|ecken on YouTube. d|ecken combines textile processes – graphic conception, cutting and fabric sewing – with electroacoustic experiences. The result of this is an Instrument that associates the childish concept of a castle with the idea of the tent. Fabric strips from the installation form a semi-permeable surface between the internal and external worlds. The interaction between textile and electronique can be perceived, heard and seen by the visitors themselves.
Kultur | lx, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Mudam Luxembourg, is launching a call for applications for Luxembourg’s national participation at the Venice Biennale – 60th International Exhibition of Contemporary Art.
The 60th edition will take place from 20 April to 24 November 2024. Appointed in December 2022 by the Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia, the Brazilian curator and current artistic director of the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand – MASP, Adriano Pedrosa, will be the General Curator of the 2024 Biennale. The theme of the general exhibition is not yet known.
By supporting Luxembourg’s regular participation in the Venice Biennale, the Ministry of Culture ensures the presence of Luxembourg artists at one of the most important contemporary art events, thus contributing to the international influence of its artistic scene.
Artists applying must be of Luxembourg nationality or reside in Luxembourg. In the case of a collective of artists, at least one of the members must meet this criterion. In addition, they must have a track record of professional activity as visual artists. Artists’ collectives or artists with a multidisciplinary orientation are also invited to apply.
A single jury will follow the entire selection process. It will bring together several national and international experts:
- Adam Budak, Director, Kestner Gesellschaft Hannover
- Michelle Cotton, Head of Artistic Programming and Content Department, Mudam Luxembourg
- Hélène Doub, Head of the Visual Arts Department, Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg
- Hélène Guénin, Director, MAMAC | Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain de Nice
- Stilbé Schroeder, Curator, Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain
- Bettina Steinbrügge, Director, Mudam Luxembourg, President of the Jury
- Joel Valabrega, Curator, Mudam Luxembourg
Applicants will be selected in two stages:
1. Shortlist applicants
Deadline: 26 February 2023
Shortlisted applicants notification : The week of 6 March 2023.
2.Project selection
Deadline: 23 April 2023.
The winning project will be announced on the week of 1 May 2023.
More information HERE.
12Also in 2022, classical music and jazz from Luxembourg made its way into the international press. Here are some impressions.
Maxime Bender Universal Sky, Fall & Rise, CamJazz
“At a time where self-written compositions are more a norm than a exception, the pieces distinguish themselves by their ability to not place the writing process at the forefront, but rather to convey a strong and accessible musical message. “Universal Sky” weaves an interlacing of sound colors going from intangible and air echoes with pure energy and jerky rythms, creating a perfect contrast between the four instruments. Maxime Bender turns out to be a goldmine of inspiration, sound and idea” – Fränkische Zeitung
“(…) so many references-reverences that only strengthen this dreamy odyssea, simoultaneously melancolic and solar”– Jazz Magazine
Zala & Val Kravos, Piano Duet, Ars Productions
“a beautiful and lively CD, full of vitality” – Rodolphe Bruneau-Boulmier, En pistes!, France Musique
“A brother and a sister, both pianists, present Piano Duet, a great record. Mozart and Schubert hold the most prominent position, but you can also discover Françoise Choveaux’s Fantaisies. These two rascals deserve an attentive ear!” – Frédérick Casadesus, Le Club de Mediapart
“With the duo Zala and Val Kravos, a double star has emerged that will continue to shine for a long time to come. This young duo has great potential, as their debut CD proves.” – klassiekcentral.be
Francesco Tristano, on early music, Sony
“For the most part of the album, the percussive is very much in the foreground, the groove and the rhythmic component that Francesco Tristano particularly appreciates in early music.”– Rainer Baumgärtner , rbbkultur
“The Juillard School-trained pianist presents the early music solidly: in the nimble fugue-like movements (Prélude from Bach’s English Suite No. 2 in A minor), the voices mesh like the cogs in clockwork.” – Thorsten Preuβ, BR Klassik
Sascha Ley, In Between, Jazzhaus Musik
“[Sascha Ley] creates a world with its own parameters, based primarily on reduction and pure accuracy of expression. “In Between” : One indeed lands in an in-between realm. It is an exciting place.” – Susanne Müller, Jazz Podium
“With her musical concept, Sascha Ley seems to me to be a personality who stands somewhat apart from the so-called jazz scene and is very interesting not only for that reason.” – Jazzfun.de
Pascal Schumacher, LUNA, Neue Meister
“Luna” is even more contemplative and tender, also because Schumacher used softer mallets than usual. The Luxembourger layers with great sensitivity vibraphone, synth surfaces and reduced beats, sometimes reminiscent of ambient pioneers such as Cluster” – Jan Paersch, JazzThing
Sabine Weyer & Dimitri Maslennikov, Brahms Connection, Quartz
“One of the very best albums for cello and piano that I’ve ever heard in four decades as a reviewer.” – Phil’s Classical Reviews
“Overall, despite many individual differences in detail, Dimitri Maslennikov and Sabine Weyer convincingly establish a common viewing height between these deeply romantic masterpieces” – Stefan Pieper, Orchester Graben
Gilles Grethen, State of mind, Double Moon
“An album filled with lyrical images, with beautiful and clear guitar and trumpet solos.” – Jazzfun.de
Albena Petrovic, Dreamlover
“There are beautiful things in this score by Albena Petrovic” – En Pistes contemporain!, France Musique
Taking advantage of the Luxembourg Art Week, Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg organised from 9 to 11 November a focus on the Luxembourg art scene for contemporary art professionals.
During three days, about twenty professionals from 5 countries who had come to Luxembourg, visited art centres, museums and artists’ studios.
For this third Focus on the Visual Arts, Kultur | lx offered foreign professionals studio visits curated by Marianne Derrien, independent curator, art critic, teacher and vice-president of c|e|a, the French association of curators in France.
Five artists opened the doors of their studios to guide visitors into their unique worlds: Aline Bouvy, Hisae Ikenaga, Vera Kox, Letizia Romanini and Aïda Schweitzer. These were moments of intimate and profound exchange that allowed each of them to confront another view of their work and other horizons of expectation.
In addition to Marianne Derrien’s selection, Kultur | lx shares with professionals the conviviality and dynamism of the Luxembourg cultural scene by sharing the initiatives of artists and cultural institutions in Luxembourg.
Thus, during a privileged visit, the professionals were able to discover the exhibitions of Tacita Dean and Waters’ Witness by Tarek Atoui at Mudam, Anachronisms by Deimantas Narkevičius and New Minett curated by Sandy Flinto, Pierrick Grobéty and Daniel Marinangeli at the Konschthal Esch as well as Jours de lenteurs by Adrien Vescovi at the Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’Art Contemporain.
The Luxembourg artist Eric Mangen generously opened the doors of Monique Becker’s studios and Yann Annicchiarico, winner of the portfolio grant who, accompanied by Clément Minighetti, curator at Mudam, presented his publication Des papillons de nuit et de l’échelle de Muybridge.
Finally, on the fringes of this curated programme, Kultur | lx organised on Friday 11 November a round table on the professional support of artists. Luxembourg and international professionals and artists exchanged on these questions from a keynote speech by Nathalie Filser on the condition of the artist today, followed by two round tables on the importance of the critical entourage of artists and on the evolution of residency mechanisms.
Through the implementation of this system, Kultur | lx intends to stimulate circulation and exchanges between the national and foreign scenes. The next focus on visual arts by Kultur | lx will be held in 2023, the whole team is already looking forward to it and would like to thank the Luxembourg artists and professionals who have contributed to these days with their commitment and professionalism.
As part of its mission to disseminate and promote the Luxembourgish creation, Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg was delighted to welcome a delegation of professionals from Germany, Switzerland, France, Hungary, Belgium, as well as the Netherlands on the occasion of a Focus dedicated to contemporary music.
These two days took place during the Festival 33,7, that was organised by the Kulturfabrik and United Instruments of Lucilin on last September 16th and 17th in the frame of Esch2022. During 2022 minutes of music, the musicians and performers involved in the project celebrated musically the European Capital of Culture, as well as its population.
It also was possible to discover works from Lucilin’s repertoire by Luxembourgish composers such as Claude Lenners, Marcel Reuter, Catherine Kontz, Alexander Müllenbach. Lucilin also commissioned numerous works to Luxembourg artists Tatsiana Zelianko, Camile Kerger, Roland Wiltgen, Gast Waltzing (Grammy Award winning composer), Nigji Sanges and Francesco Tristano. Last but not least, works by Albena Petrovic, Pascal Schumacher, Roby Steinmetzer and Marco Pütz were featured by the Ensemble. These works were performed along with those of Philippe Manoury, François Sarhan (FR), Fausto Romitelli (IT), Igor Silva (PT), and so many others, in order to form an extensive cartography of the population of Esch-sur-Alzette.
Kultur | lx organised a speedmeeting session, a central moment of the Focus enabeling Luxembourgish composers and musicians to meet the international delegation. This connection opportunity, as part of Kultur | lx’s networking missions, led to great exchanges that will certainly open opportunities for Luxembourg artists in the future.
These meeting made great sense as Kultur | lx took also advantage of the Focus to announce its entry in the Impuls neue Musik Fund from 2023. Luxembourg will therefore join France, Germany, and Switzerland, as an Impuls member.
Get to know Impuls neue Musik.