OPUSMUSICA

Dear friends of SWISS CHAMBER CONCERTS

They are composed, notated, copied, printed, performed, recorded, quoted, parodied, combined, protected, exploited… The handling of musical works in all its diversity has remained an intact practice to the present day, and is often so self-evident that the term and concept hardly enter our consciousness. However, depending on the cultural context and associated discourse, quite divergent understandings can arise: So what is a work, an ‘opus’ – etymologically, ontologically, aesthetically, pragmatically, legally? Since when in music history has it been possible to meaningfully talk about works and their consequences? Is the period for which they can claim validity historically limited, or have they – at least in theory – always been there? And why are they still there, after the ‘death of the author’ (Roland Barthes) and despite all the challenges from the ranks of performance studies and the musical avant-garde since the 1960s and 1970s?

‘Opus’ explores these and other questions in five projects with a wide variety of programme concepts, combinations of works, interpretative approaches and targeted moderation, enabling us to delve deeper into the broad definition of Opus and the concept of the work in general, while enjoying the musical results to the full with our forty or so musicians. Our programmes are entertaining, dramaturgically precise Gesamtkunstwerke, each a small ‘Opus SCC’ in its own right, which for 26 years now have promised extraordinary concert experiences with a refreshing mix of old and new music. The first-ever collaborations with the Lyceo Artistico Zurich and the Winterthur Conservatory, the presentation of Italian guitar star Giampaolo Bandini, the young soloists and ensembles of Rising Stars, and the popular and proven concert classics with our fantastic wind soloists, the renowned Winterthur String Quartet and the traditional Carte Blanche dedicated to Heinz Holliger guarantee a chamber music season rich in highlights.

I am already looking forward to your visit and to many new encounters in the concert hall.

Yours sincerely

Jürg Dähler

Artistic Director SWISS CHAMBER CONCERTS Zurich