Nexus
Composer relationships and works written for or developed with Aleksander Gabryś.
Artist histories
Helmut Oehring
Helmut Oehring — Gunten (2008)
Aleksander Gabryś as Kraus — double bass / Sprecher / stage action
In Helmut Oehring’s Gunten, Aleksander Gabryś appears as Kraus — double bassist, Sprecher and stage character.
This short excerpt shows Kraus in a situation of psychological and physical subordination and humiliation. Kneeling, licking the mud from the young lady’s shoes beneath her dress, manipulated by his own pupil at the school for servants and gradually stripped of his jacket, he proves to be nothing but a tool in the invisible hands of Others. The double bass meanwhile remains at the back of the stage. Gunten marked the beginning of Gabryś’s long collaboration with Oehring.
Ensemble Phoenix. Stage direction: Marcus Bothe. Conductor: Jürg Henneberger. Concept and text adaptation: Stefanie Wördemann.
Gunten — Kraus: performance excerpt
00:48.53. World premiere of the production: GARE DU NORD Bahnhof für Neue Musik, Basel, 16 October 2008.
Helmut Oehring
Angelus Novus III
World premiere with SWR Orchester in Freiburg on 14 June 2016. While playing the double bass, Aleksander Gabryś simultaneously improvised words in German addressed to the audience. The starting point was a childhood experience of déjà vu, from when he was about six years old — recalled and experienced anew, here and now on stage.
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Works and materials
GABRYS GIGER
Improvisation: Aleksander Gabryś · Camera: Jannik Giger
Gabryś und Henneberger - Transformation
Four films from the GABRYS GIGER cycle, held here with Jannik Giger's Transformation context.
PLAY ME!
Start two, three, or all four videos simultaneously and discover a different GABRYS GIGER every time.
Gabryś und Henneberger - Transformation
Jannik Giger film work
Media
Jannik Giger's film work Transformation. Jürg Henneberger conducted silently on screen; Aleksander Gabryś made a live improvised double bass / creative contribution in response.
Concept and film: Jannik Giger. Silent conductor on screen: Jürg Henneberger. Live improvised double bass and creative contribution: Aleksander Gabryś. Photo: © Jannik Giger.
Nicolas Tzortzis / Thomas Wally
Running a business, hommage à Tony Soprano; Soliloquy III: polypolar dancing drone bass bear. 131 Fragmente
Two composer relationships around works for double bass, dedication, and the physical language of solo performance.
View documentationCreative relationships
Composer-performer collaborations
These encounters gather situations in which Aleksander Gabryś appears as performer, dedicatee, consultant, or co-creator of the musical material.
Giacinto Scelsi
Transmission
A meeting with Michiko Hirayama and Rohan de Saram during Scelsi Festival Basel, understood as a handover of performance tradition through rehearsals, concerts, and shared work on Scelsi's sound world.
- Work with Michiko Hirayama and Rohan de Saram during Scelsi Festival Basel.
- Rehearsals and concerts: C’est bien la nuit; Maknongan; Okanagon; Dharana with Rohan de Saram; Canti di Capricorno with Michiko Hirayama.
Douglas McCausland / for Aleksander Gabryś
David Moss / Helmut Oehring
FinsterHERZ oder Orfeo17
A working situation with David Moss and Helmut Oehring in which voice, stage energy, and double bass performance meet.
View documentationHelmut Oehring — FinsterHERZ oder Orfeo17
Aleksander Gabryś as Kurtz — double bass and voice
Aleksander Gabryś as Kurtz — double bass, voice and stage action in Helmut Oehring’s FinsterHERZ oder Orfeo17. This excerpt from the world premiere in Potsdam shows Kurtz among the orchestra and other soloists, including David Moss as Marlowe / Orfeo 1.
Kammerakademie Potsdam. Musical direction: Antonello Manacorda.
FinsterHERZ oder Orfeo17 — excerpt
World premiere, Waschhaus Arena, Potsdam, 30 September 2017. Audience recording, 3:04. Camera operator unknown.
Davor Vincze
La Tentation de Saint Antoine
A composer-performer relationship with Davor Vincze around La Tentation de Saint Antoine. The photograph comes from the Stanford performance context.
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