The opening concert of the 18th International Festival of Contemporary Music Melos-Étos will feature Austria’s Platypus Ensemble in a programme that brings together musical tradition and bold sonic experimentation. Contrasts, transformation and the search for new forms of musical expression will be the central themes of the evening at Moyzes Hall.
Since its founding in 2009, Vienna-based Platypus Ensemble has established itself as one of the distinctive voices on Austria’s contemporary music scene. Its programming is characterised by openness, curiosity and the ability to connect seemingly distant musical worlds. Even the ensemble’s name points to its distinctive character: the platypus, an extraordinary animal that combines different biological features, serves as an apt metaphor for an artistic approach that transcends established boundaries.
The programme, entitled Contrasts, is built around the idea of opposites that do not exclude one another but instead complement each other. One source of inspiration is the two symbolic facets of Robert Schumann’s artistic personality—Florestan and Eusebius—representing passionate, dramatic energy and introverted, lyrical sensitivity. These contrasting qualities are reflected in the concert’s dramaturgy through the juxtaposition of works from different periods, with distinct sonic aesthetics and expressive characters. Led by conductor and pianist Jaime Volfson Reyes, the performers will take audiences on a musical journey that oscillates between fragility and force, attentive listening and intense sonic activity.
From Musical Tradition to New Sonic Worlds
The concert opens with Magic Flu-idity by Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth, whose work naturally crosses the boundaries of music, connecting it with theatre, film and visual art. Her musical language brings together fragments of familiar works, unexpected sonic situations and extended instrumental techniques. The piece features allusions to Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, which emerge from layers of typewriter sounds and flute gestures. Here, musical tradition is not an untouchable relic of the past, but living material that can be deconstructed, transformed and rediscovered.
The historical perspective is broadened by the second movement of Béla Bartók’s Contrasts, entitled Pihenő, or Relaxation. In this work for violin, clarinet and piano, Bartók creates a focused, meditative space in which stillness never means complete immobility. Subtle rhythmic pulses, unusual harmonic combinations and shifting sonic textures maintain an underlying tension even as the music unfolds at a slow pace.
The very nature of a musical work will be explored in a new composition by Slovak composer Marek Fóra, What is a piece? Its title already suggests a questioning of established ideas about musical form and the creative process. The composer approaches a piece of music less as a fixed entity and more as a space for collective exploration, one that can move between rehearsal and jam session. Music here is not merely the predetermined outcome of a composer's decisions, but also the result of interaction between the performers.
Between Silence, Gesture and Sonic Energy
A distinctive sonic perspective will be offered by Nocturne by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, performed in its version for solo viola. Saariaho was one of the most significant figures in music at the turn of the 21st century, and her work substantially expanded the possibilities of exploring timbre, resonance and the transformation of musical texture. Originally written for solo violin, Nocturne is an intensely focused statement in which every note and every fading resonance carries particular weight. Without accompaniment, the listener’s attention turns to the subtlest nuances of sound and the tension between tone and silence.
Another dimension of contrast emerges in Hommage à R. Sch., a cycle by Hungarian composer György Kurtág, who celebrates his centenary in 2026. Kurtág’s music can concentrate extraordinary emotional intensity into brief, often fragmentary gestures. The cycle’s six movements pay tribute to Robert Schumann and his artistic world, including the figures of Florestan and Eusebius. Historical references are transformed into a personal musical reflection in which individual notes, pauses and the slightest shifts in expression carry equal importance.
A more dramatic and rhythmically explosive character comes to the fore in Impaling Prophecy by Austrian composer Bernhard Gander. His music draws on the energy of rock, metal, jazz and electronic music, translating it into a contemporary compositional language. Sound becomes a physical experience: sharp, intense and uncompromising. Gander’s music thus creates a striking counterpoint to Saariaho’s subtle sonic landscapes and Kurtág’s concentrated musical expression.
A different way of listening is invited by Geräusche by German composer Carola Bauckholt. In her work, the boundary between musical tone and everyday noise becomes permeable. Objects, rustles and small sonic events are transformed into fully fledged compositional material, encouraging listeners to pay attention to even the most inconspicuous details of sound. Music ceases to be merely the organisation of notes and becomes an exploration of the act of listening itself.
The programme concludes with Ftéra by French composer Yann Robin. Inspired by the Winged Victory of Samothrace, a symbol of movement and triumph, the piece develops a contrast between virtuosic energy and slower, more fragile sonic textures. Clarinet, viola and piano create a shifting soundscape in which the instruments influence and respond to one another. The music gradually moves towards its final resonance, as though its energy ultimately dissolves into one last breath.
An Invitation into the World of Contemporary Music
The opening concert of Melos-Étos 2026 presents contemporary music as a living space for dialogue between past and present, between precisely structured composition and free experimentation, and between sonic roughness and fragile intimacy. Platypus Ensemble offers a programme in which opposites become a source of new connections, with each piece opening up a different way of listening.
Melos-Étos invites audiences to discover music that challenges expectations, expands the boundaries of the familiar and demonstrates that contemporary music can be as powerful an emotional experience as it is an intellectual adventure.
Melos-Étos 2026 Opening Concert
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Venue: Moyzes Hall, Bratislava
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Performers: Platypus Ensemble (Austria)
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Conductor and piano: Jaime Volfson Reyes
Tickets and festival passes are available through Ticketportal:
https://www.ticketportal.sk/event/Melos-Etos-2026
For more information, visit www.melosetos.sk.