After the premiere, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung described the work by the "master of numinous sound magic" as "simply sensational" and went on to write: "The idea of the transformation of matter into spirit is brought to life in a captivating way in the finely crafted decay processes."
Mark Andre had written iv 15 Himmelfahrt on the occasion of the inauguration of the restored Great Strobel Organ from 1886 in Bad Frankenhausen. However, as the restoration of the historic instrument took longer than planned, the concert at St. Ludwig’s in Munich in 2018, which was intended as a revival, turned into a celebrated premiere. (Read more about this work in our magazine).
On the same organ and also interpreted by Stephan Heuberger, Mark Andre's new work iv 19 Pfingsten - Echos will be premiered on 24 May. The organist will be joined at the premiere by Frank Reinecke, another musician who has been associated with Mark Andre for some time. He premiered the 40-minute double bass solo piece iv 18 ‘Sie fürchteten sich nämlich’ at Musikfest Berlin in 2021.
The new work was commissioned by St Ludwig's University Church with the kind support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and is dedicated to Helmut Lachenmann for his 90th birthday.
musica viva
