SWR EXPERIMENTAL- STUDIO

The SWR Experimentalstudio in Freiburg i. Br. considers itself a gateway between compositional idea and technical realisation. It searches for syntheses in terms of acoustic arts and advanced technology through the medium of live electronic sound extension. is supplements the tones generated by musicians through different effect devices to their modulation, which are put into motion in space by specific steering systems and loudspeakers. Therefore, several composers and musicians are invited every year for a work scholarship in order to produce their works in a creative discourse with the specialized equipment as well as the team of the Experimentalstudio, including music information scientists, sound designers, sound engineers, and sound directors. Apart from creating new works together with the composers, the Experimentalstudio also performs as an ensemble and is regularly invited worldwide. After four decades of presence in the international new music scene it has established itself as a leading ensemble for compositions with live electronics and gives concerts regularly at almost all important festivals such as Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, Festival d'Automne in Paris, and Venice Biennale as well as leading music venues such as La Scala, Carnegie Hall, Brussels' Théâtre de la Monnaie, and Madrid's Teatro Real.

Outstanding compositions have been created at the Experimentalstudio by leading composers such as Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Cristóbal Halffter, Vinko Globokar, Emmanuel Nunes, and Luigi Nono. Nono produced almost all the works of his late period in this studio. Since its first performance, his Prometeo has been performed by the Experimentalstudio and its former artistic director André Richard more than 50 times, and has come to be considered as a milestone in 20th-century music history. The younger generation of composers is represented by names such as Mark Andre, Chaya Czernowin, José María Sánchez-Verdú, Georg Friedrich Haas, and Johannes Maria Staud. Outstanding music figures who can look back on a long relationship with the Experimentalstudio include Maurizio Pollini, Claudio Abbado, Gidon Kremer, Jörg Widmann, Irvin Arditti, and Roberto Fabbriciani.

The Experimentalstudio has been awarded several international prizes for its electronic music productions, including the annual award of German music critics (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik) for their CD of works by Luigi Nono. Since October 2006, Detlef Heusinger has held the post of artistic director of the Experimentalstudio. Its previous artistic directors included Hans-Peter Haller and André Richard.