Hudobne Centrum

Programme

SONIC BRIDGES – QUASARS ENSEMBLE (SK)

Wednesday 04. 11. 2026 at 7 pm

Moyzes Hall

Vajanského nábrežie 12, Bratislava

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Performers:

Quasars Ensemble [profile of ensemble] (SK)
Ivan Buffa - conductor, piano
Audrey G. Perreault - flute
Jozef Eliáš - clarinet
Diana Buffa - piano
Peter Mosorjak - violin
Arne Kircher - cello

established in 2008, is a unique music ensemble with its large repertoire consisting of contemporary classical music as well as music of the past eras. It confronts the latest contemporary works with the structural principles of the older classical music. The orchestra focuses on the introduction of rare and forgotten ensemble pieces, particularly by Slovak authors. The ensemble performed the pieces of the world’s most influential contemporary music composers, such as Bent Sørensen, Michael Jarrell, Kaija Saariaho and Toshio Hosokawa, having the composers themselves involved. Quasars Ensemble cooperated with artists like Camilla Hoitenga (flute), Mario Caroli (flute), Dalibor Karvay (violin), Lionel Peintre (baritone) Sergej Kopčák (bass) and Stephan Loges (baritone). In 2012, Quasars Ensemble was selected to take part in International Summer Course for New Music in Darmstadt, Germany, considered to be the most prestigious contemporary music event in the world. In addition, Quasars performed at Música Viva in Lisbon, Arcus Temporum in Pannonhalma, at Prague Spring Festival 2017, at Warsaw Autumn Festival and at Ostrava Days Festival, among many others. The ensemble had the honor to perform at Flagey in Brussels and at Gasteig in Munich. In Slovakia, the ensemble is a regular guest at festivals such as Bratislava Music Festival and Melos-Ethos. Quasars Ensemble has been the resident ensemble of the Kasárne/Kulturpark Cultural Center in Košice. Its concert cycle was an essential element in the European Capital of Culture 2013 and ISCM Music World Days 2013 projects in the city. Quasars Ensemble has a recording contract with Hevhetia Recording Company. Including the pieces by Schönberg, Albrecht and Hindemith, who are considered the founding fathers of the chamber symphony, their album was awarded with the most prominent artistic award in Slovakia – Krištálové krídlo (Crystal Wing). Harmonie, a prestigious Czech music magazine, awarded their recordings of the works of Mahler, Debussy, Albrecht and Poulenc with „Editor’s Choice“ award and gave them “6-star” rating. The latest CD includes the composition Ivan Parík: Solo Sonatas (Music fund Slovakia, 2016) that introduces Quasars Ensemble members as soloists.

www.quasarsensemble.com

Works:

Dai Fujikura

(1977)
- Portal Essence SLOVAK PREMIERE
Jozef Podprocký
[personal profile]
(1944)
- Fantasy No. 4 on the ‘Laeta dies’ sequence, Op. 73 WORLD PREMIERE
Tomáš Kobielsky
[personal profile]
- Pointilissmi WORLD PREMIERE
Victor Baez
- La luz bermeja SLOVAK PREMIERE
Viera Janárčeková
[personal profile]
(1941)
- Ein Hauch von Ze SLOVAK PREMIERE
Hanurij Lee

(2006)
- Stuff #2A SLOVAK PREMIERE

The Quasars Ensemble, led by Ivan Buffa, will present the ‘Sonic Bridges’ programme at the Melos-Ethos festival, which bridges Slovak and international contemporary music. The concert programme brings together different generations, cultural traditions and compositional approaches, ranging from transformations of historical musical material to experimental explorations of sound, its timbres and meanings.

The highlight of the evening will be two world premieres by Slovak composers: *Fantasy No. 4* on the sequence ‘Laeta dies’, Op. 73, for piano four hands, Jozef Podprocký’s swan song – for which he was posthumously honoured in 2026 with an entry in the SOZA Golden Book – and Tomáš Kobielsky’s *Pointilissmi*, in which the composer translates the principles of pointillism in the visual arts into the world of sound objects and musical gestures.

Contemporary international works will be represented by *La luz bermeja* by the Mexican composer Víctor Báez – inspired by Juan Rulfo’s novel *Pedro Páramo* and exploring the delicate boundary between breath and grief – and *Stuff # 2A by the young but already internationally established South Korean composer Hanuri Lee, in which repetition and subtle transformations of the musical material gradually alter our perception of sound.

A distinctive dramaturgical parallel is created by the expansive, expressive and experimental duo *Ein Hauch von Zen* by Viera Janárčeková – a prominent figure in the Slovak musical avant-garde – and *Portal Essence* by the Japanese composer Dai Fujikura. In this composition, the scent of an incense stick – associated with memory and Japanese rituals of ancestor worship – is transformed into an imaginary sonic gateway between the worlds of the living and the dead. The Quasars Ensemble gave the world premiere of the work in August 2026 in Vienna. In this symbolic context, the performance of works by Jozef Podprocký and Viera Janárčeková also takes on a personal dimension. It serves as a tribute to two recently deceased composers who, for many years, were among the ensemble’s closest artistic collaborators.

Tickets are available in advance via the Ticketportal network:
https://www.ticketportal.sk/event/Melos-Etos-2026
or one hour before the concert at the venue.

Melos-Ethos

03. 11. 2026 – 13. 11. 2026

SONIC BRIDGES – QUASARS ENSEMBLE (SK)