Sympathy (music)

The term sympathy (from Latin sympathia, Greek sympátheia, compassion ' ) refers to a small work of instrumental music of Natias Neutert, which premiered as a performance entitled sympathy for piano and pump in Berlin in 1988. Because of its small size and his character as a single piece, it is regarded as a trifle. In the spirit of homage, it refers to the oeuvre of the visual artist Joseph Beuys, and in particular the so-called Darmstadt block.

Conceptual history

Introduced in the music theory jargon, the term sympathy from Natias Neutert, by whose musical performance with the allusive title sympathy for piano and pump. The three- sets musical performance was in the air vehemently disputes the question whether the so-called Darmstadt block - arranged in the Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt since 1970 by Joseph Beuys "last hand " - should be moved to otherwise exhibition purposes or not. " To combat the museum pupation the oeuvre of Joseph Beuys " ( Neutert ), fell to the then living alternately in Berlin and Hamburg of art enthusiasts Natias Neutert "on the brilliant idea of a third way: " He used two significant elements from the plastic work of Joseph Beuys, by symbolically " stolen " Piano and (air) pump.

Premiere

The project was brokered by Heiner Bastian. Financially, it was only possible through an endowed to Neutert by its namesake Harald Szeemann award in cash. That Anselm Kiefer not only came traveled from the Odenwald, but even the Italian composer Luigi Nono in Venice, made ​​in the context of Berlin - European City of Culture 1988 in advance for sensation. Sensitive tentative pianist was Peter Adrian Wulff; Performers, drummers and " air pump blower " was Natias Neutert itself, as the creator of the whole.

Reception

Since the recorded during a performance at the Martin- Gropius-Bau and soon disappeared inexplicably Video documentation is still nowhere to be found, only " ear witnesses " reflect something of the magic of this unusual event:

• Wulff " explores the unknown musical and artistic terrain of the wooden material. " And if " Neutert plays his flute part, amazingly clear and melodic at the same time with softly plaintive undertone, the soundboard to the amplifier, a ventilation hole for the microphone is. "

• Everything that happens in the three sets [ ... ], "but does not happen only in the high, plucked with fine wire and the muffled pizzicato and the elves fine tune particles, not only in the swelling, tremolo, reverb to the sounds that are to noise, and noise, which would be tones; it happens not only in arpeggios and the air-rich, to snarling emancipating flute tones that Neutert his air pump wrests - but also in the many pauses in which to think the music seems, in silence, in which the audience will enjoy it, in itself to hear. "
• " Neuterts sympathy came without any grandstanding from: all the tension developed from a music so vibrant back and forth swings between sound and noise that you have to listen again, not only hear a bicycle pump as. " Magic Flute " and a piano, which became the harp " - in a word:
• A " willful Requiem".

That the concept of sympathy has become the norm as the name of the piece, as testified by the young film composer Pablo Paolo Kilian, who his brief journey through time - has subtitled back and forth just as dedicated and in this sense Natias Neutert.