fields of activity

productions with key works of classical music of the 20th and 21st centuries

Music wants to be experienced and not just heard. swelll_now develops and designs musical experiences with key works of contemporary art music from the 20th and 21st century and brings them to fruitation in an inspiring way.

To open up space for the playful curiosity of today's audience, suitable settings are needed: informal, open, appealing, stimulating. These are crucial factors in the selection of venues, taking into account the diversity of our audience.
Not only does the music itself have a communicative power, but it also meets people’s comprehensive need for communication. swelll understands that the social needs of visitors – before and after a concert – are part of the overall experience. Social entertainment completes the cultural activity. Real aesthetic experiences, which stimulate and inspire, need space to resonate. We create places where people want to stay and linger, and exchange ideas.
Could we have entered a new era, where the physical experience of listening and the joy of playing has become more important again in the so-called classical music?

transdisciplinary productions without artistic compromises

What happens when strategies usually applied in the fine arts are adapted to creating works with the orchestra? What if instead of exclusively arranging sounds, new ways of inventing how an orchestra can operate are tested? Such an approach can lead to much more than an a conventional concert. The orchestra is material from which sculptures, VideoArt, installations, performances, photographic works and as yet unknown formats are developed further.
Many art forms are far less time-fixed than music. We are interested in productions with artists whose work is inherently represented spatially or medially. swelll_hybrid looks for strategies far from the traditional approach. Anyone interested in art should be interested in artistic processes.

What can this mean in practical terms?

But swelll_hybrid can just as well launch productions that mix different musical genres. We work together with artists from non-classical music genres, who go beyond the boundaries and who are looking for an intensive examination of a classical-orchestral sound system. For such productions swelll works specifically with musicians who are already at home in the fields of pop and jazz music.

The credo is hybridization and not adaptation.

staged concerts and musical drama productions with the integration of the musicians as a scenic component

There is an interest of the audience and theatre professionals in new forms of theatre. The fact that orchestras are not merely sounding bodies, but visible, spatial and malleable structures on stage, builds a bridge across the – often hard to overcome – orchestra pit. The ignoring of genre boundaries has been one of the most obvious tendencies in recent years. Instrumentalists are in this manner not only staged, but integrated into the action.

With swelll_scenic, we realize productions whose rehearsal processes provide an intensive exchange between directors, performers and musicians. At the same time, swelll_scenic works closely with these musicians to professionalize their performing skills in the long run.

Is it important to know whether it is ultimately a staged orchestra, a music-focused play, a dramaturgically and scenically elaborated concert experience or something else?

Learning formats for musicians and interested audiences

swelll_informed is designed to be an exchange of ideas in which the incomparable treasure trove of musical knowledge, thinking and beliefs existing in swelll's network are brought together.

Every single swelll production is not only the basis for great performances and an inspiring get-together of friends, but also the accumulation of interesting and important expertise and experiences. Because our swelll–musicians have many additional skills; they are also researchers, makers, inventors, thinkers, coaches, organizers, curators, leaders, entertainers, educators and much more: we want to heighten the visibility of these potentials.

Knowledge and ideas are shared through keynote speeches, interviews and talks. In order to broaden the range of topics, we invite further experts: philosophers, technologists, social scientists, influencers, advertisers and many more.

swelll_informed is inspiring for music makers, music fans and art lovers in general. An important aspect is the location and the setting; exploring the venue in a new light and thus becoming more at home seems right and important to us. Sitting together, having a drink, listening, thinking and, of course, talking to others about art, music, concert formats or aesthetics connects people:

• What does new music want to tell me?
• How do I find sponsors for my projects?
• Should I guide my ensemble or should I lead it?
• Can you know if music is good, or do you have to feel it?"
• What is »the subject to whom faith is subordinated«; in the sense of Jacques Lacan and why was this concept applied in the Romantic concert system?
• How can we interact with the public today?
• Where do you stand after graduating in music, and why is this only the beginning of the road?

Theoretical approaches, strategies and reports on practical experiences, technological, artistic and communicative innovations: The subjects are inexhaustible.

Academies

Academies for advanced training of young musicians are a popular and great tool with a variety of benefits. The opportunity to promote young talents, to organise an orchestra with a programme that fits a specific purpose, to build up an emotionally bound alumni pool and, of course, the possibility to go on tour with the respective programme in order to carry the name of the institution, are enormously valuable aspects.
swelll plans such academies together with festivals, concert halls or educational institutions and brings in its own and long-time experience and strategic skills.
This enables us to penetrate into regions that have the potential for development with regard to such academies and new types of productions: In this way we leave positive and lasting traces.