SINGENDE ZAHNBÜRSTEN, KLINGENDE ZIPPVERSCHLÜSSE (SINGING TOOTHBRUSHES, NOISY ZIP FASTENERS)

The Chaos String Quartet, hailing from four European countries, can do it all – playing string quartets by Otto M. Zykan and Jörg Widmann classically with two violins, viola and cello. Their ability to also create music with toothbrushes and winter jackets is both virtuoso and astonishing!

For the ensemble, there is no such thing as impossible. Composer Manuela Kerer masterfully turns the seemingly impossible into something significant and grand. As a result, her piece aptly bears the title “IMPOs II.” The ensemble’s sonic landscape is replete with overtones, spectra, and a kaleidoscope of tonal colours. Even electric toothbrushes become captivating instruments when you truly listen to them.

Composer Carola Bauckholt takes a bold departure from traditional string instruments. Instead, she invites the ensemble to create music using the fabric of their jackets – the very clothes they are wearing!
They stroke, tap, squeak, and clap while intently studying their sheet music. Their piece, entitled Hirn und Ei (Brain and Egg), culminates in a furious cacophony of noise.