When was the last time you saw the words buzz and chamber music used in the same sentence? It’s not a conventional way of talking about chamber music, but that’s exactly what the inaugural Buzz Chamber Music Festival is looking for. Like a good many events and happenings these days, the Festival is looking to re-package classical music in such a way as to make it more palatable for modern audiences and to attract new listeners. So what exactly might we have to look forward to?
Gologan Duo Performs Ravel’s Feria
Obertrum am See
Buzz Chamber Music Festival
Like the Schubertiade or the Carinthian Summer Music Festival at Ossiach, the Buzz Chamber Music Festival takes us to the Austrian countryside. Specifically, the Festival founders and artistic directors Roxana Ioana Cîrciu and Andrei Gologan have located the event in Obertrum am See, a market town in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the state of Salzburg in Austria.
Located just 20 kilometres north of the city of Salzburg, this charming and idyllic town is clustered around its historic Parish Church, and as the name implies, is situated at the shore of Obertrum Lake. It’s a beautiful and utterly charming backdrop for a Festival that features two primary concerts at the Parish Church, and a number of informal events staged in unconventional venues.
Jörg Widmann: 24 Duos for Violin and Cello, “Valse Bavaroise”
Environment and Community
Obertrum
The aim of the Buzz Chamber Music Festival is to take chamber music away from concert halls and salon environments and to place the music, and the process of making music, within a natural and sustainable environment. Above all, the Festival is attempting to foster a sense of community and communication.
Performers, young musicians, audiences and local residents are invited to come together in a relaxed and stress-free atmosphere. Some of these location highlights undoubtedly include a visit to the local Trumer brewery, a family-run business that has been crafting exquisite beers since 1601, or sharing a snack at the biological farm Joglbauer.
Georges Enesco: Aubade
Artists and Programme
Andrei Gologan
The Buzz Chamber Music Festival brings together an exceptional cast of internationally renowned artists, including string players Irène Duval, Karolina Errara, Florian Schmidt-Bartha, pianists and festival founders Roxana Ioana Cîrciu and Andrei Gologan, visual artist Bianca Hațeganu-Kerschner, and speaker Darian Anderson.
Musically speaking, the Buzz Chamber Music Festival features an eclectic mix of compositions. The opening concert thrusts us into the musical imagination of Bartók, Enescu, Ligeti, Dvořák, Widman, and Suk, and a poignant exploration of music inspired by myths, rituals, and folk traditions.
Josef Suk: Piano Quartet Op. 1
Roxana Ioana Cîrciu
In the concluding programme, meanwhile, we are taken to the glittering soundscape of Hollywood in works by émigré composers Korngold and Tansman, searching for musical and personal identity and belonging. A reconstructed arrangement of George Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess provides the grand finale.
If you find yourself looking for chamber music in an idyllic natural environment and with a fresh new attitude, the Buzz Chamber Music Festival might well be your ticket.
Buzz Kammermusikfestival | Obertrum am See 2024
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