Blindflug

The trautonium is one of the great unknowns in the history of instrument making. Although it almost made it to serial production under the name `Volkstrautonium’ at the beginning of the 1930s, it subsequently became an experimental object for specialists. What fascination does this ’living fossil’ of an instrument have for a composer of the 21st century? The tonal quality which embodies the pioneer spirit of early electro-acoustic sound production.

In Blindflug, this sound wanders into the orchestral texture and achieves its independence in a highly diversified dialogue. The title refers to the composition process – a substantial part of the score was completed prior to the completion of the reconstruction of the trautonium, as if in a state of ’semi-blindness’, and the character of this ’blind flight’ has also permeated the character of the work. A rhapsodic form envelops details which whizz past and disappear again, in the manner of flying objects. There are more sudden changes of direction rather than clear orientation, and individual fragments of Morse Code are drowned out in noise between brief phases of stabilisation… The end is not quite a crash landing, but is certainly somewhat bumpy. (Benjamin Schweitzer)