Texts

bunny games

for ensemble (2006)

15 short pieces on
seduction madonna parting alcohol intimacy crying 90-63-92 vomiting beautiful words fast cars playmate scarlatti flirting whispering dancing rollercoaster despair expensive watches screaming perfume porno railway station playboy distance nothing really matters coming cover girl varèse after midnight speaking unspeakable rabbits with long ears

fluc`n`flex

for accordion solo (2007)

…it`s hot, eight o`clock in the evening, i’m tired and thirsty. i’ve worked enough for today. i take a look at the television program and the dj line-up for the club scene and decide to let the evening end in a bar. i spruce myself up, leave my apartment and head to the bar area. already from a distance i hear the low bass of techno music. my steps quicken, i reach the bar and open the door. thick waves of smoke hit me in the face. it is dim, the glaring lights flicker to the rhythm of the music. i get myself a beer and let myself be dazed by the strong beat of the music and pulled to the dance floor. a few hours and drinks later i leave the place elated. from afar i still hear the pulse of the music continuing and….
the piece is dedicated to the pleasure of going out in the evening, to the bars fluc and flex in Vienna and to krassimir sterev.

Peter Parker

for piano solo (2003)

Peter Parker: “Who am I? I’m Spiderman.” The sources of inspiration for this piano piece were the comic books and film “Spiderman”. The metamorphosis of P.P. into a spider man, the graphic representation of the body in action, flying, springing… inspired me to deal with sound in a similar way.

fête.gare

for ensemble (2002)

…fête (célébration, feast) because for me music is fundamentally about celebration.
…gare(train station) because i have(had) a wonderful view of the Südbahnhof (south train station,now: main train station) from my window. I photographed the same view again and again for over a year and analyzed the pictures. According to the season, the time of day and the weather, each image changes: contours are softer or firmer, various elements occupy the foreground, are illuminated and “disappear” again or are concealed entirely.

deathtongue

for contrabass clarinet and 6 voices (2012)

The piece is about death.
Death- and Black-metallike lyrics are confronted with the words of the requiem.

horribile dictu

for voices, strings, trombones (2007)

“horribile dictu” utilizes texts from various horror films in which people are trapped in a room and can only escape by solving a certain puzzle or killing the other prisoners.
In this prison they are watched by their captor and continually reminded of the rules of his game.
The victims speak of their despair, their captivity, the constriction, hope of deliverance,… wherein the room is experienced and described as something extremely threatening.
This type of spatial sensibility led me to compose a piece for a room.

Take Nine (for Twelve)

for ensemble (2012)

… take nine for twelve is based on rhythmic procedures, especially in 9/16 and 9/8 bars and the similar “neighbour” rhymes 8/16, 8/8 and 10/16, 10/8.
Complex but transparent to the listener. Main musical inspirations have been and continue to be rock and heavy metal, in this piece also the jazz tune “take five ” and “blue rondo a la turk” by Brubeck/Desmond .

the Orpheus-file

for viola, piano and ensemble (2005)

name: Orpheus
born: in Thrace
parents: the Muse Calliope and Apollo (son of Zeus and Leto)
profession: musician
His vocals and cithara playing affect even animals and plants
Crew member on the voyage of the Argonauts on the Black Sea, setting the rhythm for the oarsmen, participation in the Odyssey: his music drowns out the call of the Sirens
marriage to Eurydice
Eurydice dies of a snake bite at the jealous hands of Aristaeus
Orpheus wants his wife back
He descends to the underworld and impresses the local lords with his music so that
They return his wife to him on the condition that he is not allowed to look back when leaving the underworld. He promptly looks back and loses Eurydice once more, whereupon she must return to the realm of the dead. He performs for the lords of the underworld yet again, playing even more beautifully than before and (happy end) gets Eurydice back again

dirty angel

for accordion, flugelhorn and orchestra (2010)

The number 7 plays an important role in this piece. Rhythmically, harmonically, formally. Limping 7-beat rhythms are combined with and overlapped by 3 and 4-beat rhythms. The harmonic basis consists of layers of thirds (with 3 semitones equalling a minor third and 4 semitones equalling a major third) taken to the extreme by quoting a passage of thirds by Scarlatti. The piece assumes the form of a 4:3 ratio.
The two solo instruments-accordion and flugelhorn- symbolize the angel, who makes several false starts but ultimately manages to coordinate the flapping of his two wings and takes off. At the beginning, the orchestra takes on the role of the adversary and interrupts the angel´s hesitant attempts. A subsequent musical rapprochement follows, and the angel flies with the orchestra. In the end, after failing, the angel begins the attempt once again and flies away. Motto: “He who flutters, flies” (in the style of the Ernst Jandl quote: “He who limps, walks”.)

…”hukl”

for orchestra (2012)

is a treatment of “khul cuts” (for dancer and string quartet) is a treatment of “khul” (for string quartet) is a treatment of the comic book character “hulk”.

Bruce Banner (hulk) inherited mutated genes from his father’s scientific experiments on the immune system. After Bruce is accidentally exposed to gamma rays, the mutated genes take effect. Whenever he is provoked, he “explodes” with rage.

I treat the sound/musicians in a parallel manner: infecting, antagonizing, leading to explosion.

“khul”

for string quartet (2010)

…is a treatment of the comic book character “hulk”.
Bruce Banner (hulk) inherited mutated genes from his father’s scientific experiments on the immune system. After Bruce is accidentally exposed to gamma rays, the mutated genes take effect. Whenever he is provoked, he “explodes” with rage.
I treat the sound/musicians in a parallel manner: infecting, antagonizing, leading to explosion.

lovely monster

for orchestra (2009)

wheezing, screeching, excreting slime and poison, rearing up, wobbling, crawling, creeping, stomping, roaring, sharp teeth fletching, biting, tentacling, grasping, fighting, collapsing, recovering, meandering, rising, mutating, screaming…like a monster… like an orchestra.

“melting pot”

for orchestra and soloists (2011)

In “melting pot”, the orchestra betakes itself into an unusual situation, both musically and spatially. The orchestra throws aside its supposedly predetermined role as “great orchestra” instrument.
Together with young artists of the Street Academy, Bernhard Gander forges a new art form as well as a new self-conception. A full orchestra, therefore, as well as DJs, rappers, slam poets, beat-boxers, break-dancers and visual artists. Premiering in a shopping mall, in a 21st century world of images: The orchestra becomes the ghetto-blaster accompanying the tales of the young urban scene (adolescence, friendship, family, dreams, isolation, politics…)
Composer Bernhard Gander connects these differing tonal worlds, writing orchestra music which links the sound of young artists, lending them unfamiliar scope for development and embedding.
Bernhard Gander is a resident of one of Vienna’s liveliest districts, Favoriten, where he experiences the music culture of today’s youth in everyday life.

ö (2005)

for quintet

ö…quintet for bass flute, bass clarinet, accordion, viola and cello
ö…intensive playing, sometimes similar to verses and refrain, solos, duos, trios, with and without accompaniment,
ö…an homage to the rock group MOTÖRHEAD, whose short yet intense songs enticed me into it.

schlechtecharakterstücke

(badcharacterpieces)
for pianotrio (2008)

greed: everybody for themselves, hoarding, constantly faster, even more, higher, louder, breathless, aggressive, elusive harmony

envy: suspiciously observing the neighbour’s property despite the similar situation, churning jealousy

avarice: everybody for themselves, holding on, holding back, treading water, regressive evolution

lamento: deceptively peaceful moaning, nearly in harmony