Our autumn festival format Ausklang is returning for its third edition. This October, it will once again be taking the liberty of merging the most diverse variety of musical styles here in Erl. “Open source” is what Ausklang’s curator Andreas Schett calls this coming-together of classical music, folk, jazz, pop, world music and more besides. And Ausklang’s delight in unexpected musical juxtapositions means there are plenty of surprises in store. “I find it fascinating when music surprises me – let’s say, if I hear a song followed by a Bach prelude and then an improvisation”, explains Schett. “In fact, this probably corresponds very closely to the listening habits that are the norm today. Sometimes this is disparagingly referred to as the ‘playlist phenomenon’, but we do this in a carefully curated way – it’s a kind of ‘curated playlist’, if you will. But first, it’s really important that I pay tribute to our many wonderful musicians and to what they bring with them – the material that we curate. We’re not interested in contributions based on genres or different epochs. Instead, our prime focus is on different artistic perspectives. In Ausklang, these aren’t simply ‘worked through’ according to a specific schedule; transitions between them are developed and played together, thereby highlighting what’s special about them. Such as when a lute with electronics leads into a piece by Ligeti. These are moments that you can only experience at Ausklang. We offer more than just surprises: we unify”.
This year’s line-up includes the crossover soprano Sarah Maria Sun, the successful young Leonkoro Quartet from Berlin and the Vorarlberg jazz pianist David Helbock with his project Random/Control in which a singer, an alphorn, woodwind instruments and piano improvisation “bring about an incredibly fantastic mix” (thus Schett). The “Strottern” are bringing their new project with JazzWerkstatt Wien entitled Sieben Zwetschken (“Seven plums”). And the prizewinning jazz ensemble Shake Stew, led by their bass player Lukas Kranzelbinder, will perform as a folk-music septet: with two double basses and two percussionists as their foundation, then a trumpet and two saxophones playing threepart harmony above them. As in our previous editions, literature will also feature on our programme. And the Musicbanda Franui – inspired by the creative imagination of Schett himself – remains the musical host of Ausklang.
