Under the direction of Patrick Hahn and together with the Ö1 music expert Albert Hosp, the Tonkünstler will present Hermann Nitsch’s 9th symphony “Egyptian” in contrast to the works of his musical models in the great hall of the Musikverein on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

Hermann Nitsch (1938-2022) was not only a world-famous action artist, painter, philosopher and graphic artist, he was also a composer and organ player. Influenced by John Cage, Anton Webern, Richard Wagner and Alexander Scriabin, music plays a fundamental role in Nitsch’s Orgien Mysterien Theater. Nitsch’s music is a tragic-dionysian music of creation – not only the explosion, but also the roar as the roar of the universe is just as characteristic for him as drawn-out sound textures or a ‘cosmic background noise’.

“In Nitsch’s view, the origin of music lies in screaming and noise, two elements that have become an essential part of his theater after his detachment from the spoken word. On the other hand, the roots of his music lie in the idea of an organ-roaring ‘harmony of the spheres’. Not only his harmonium and organ improvisations, but also his chamber music and symphonic works have a cosmogonical character.” – Leopoldo Siano in “Musica Cosmogonica from the Baroque Era to the Present,” Verlag Königshausen & Neumann, 2021

https://www.nitsch-foundation.com/en/news/musikverein-concert/