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Aarhus Unge Tonekunstnere (AUT) present Olga Witte Organism: Quantum Gravity
Julie Kjær (a-sax, cl, fl), Jacob Danielsen (t-sax, cl, b-cl), Anja Nedremo (b-sax, a-sax), Louise Eckardt (s-sax, a-cl), Scott Westh (tp, flh),
Jeppe Hjøllund (tp), Christian Tscherning (trb), Rasmus Svale (tuba), Henrik Husum (ob), Klaus Gottlieb (hn), Paal Nilssen-Love (drm),
Olga Witte (cond)
This concert is arranged by Aarhus Unge Tonekunstnere and Komponistsammenslutningen ToneArt
Composer Olga Witte's music lies in a space between experimental jazz and contemporary music, and in this work it is not only expressed
in the work itself, but also by the musicians’ backgrounds.
Olga Witte is an exciting and award-winning composer who has created what Jazznyt has called her "own and deeply original musical
language." In this work, Witte works with 10 different experimental and expressive wind instruments, some with a background in the world
of jazz and others in the classical. The ten fantastic wind instruments will stand around the audience, while the fabulous drummer
Paal Nilssen-Love sits in the middle of the audience. In this way, the audience is embraced by the music and feels that the music does not
happen in space, but is space itself.
In recent years, Olga Witte has worked with transformations of physical theories into music. In this connection, she has come further and
further into the world of physics and thus also the inevitable quantum gravity, on which this work is based. Theories of quantum gravity
connect quantum physics with gravitation as understood in Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity. The transformations Olga makes
in the work affect both the overall form of the work, its arrangement, instrumentation and the specific elements of the music.
The sound and working methods of the music will be avant-garde art music, and will be written in the exciting interface between composition
and improvisation. These approaches set a framework and give the musicians selected freedom. Witte integrates experimental jazz, modern
compositional music and practices from Balinese gamelan, which she has in-depth knowledge of through 1½ years of musical ethnological
fieldwork in Bali.
Paal Nielssen-Love has been one of the most high-profile drummers in Europe for many years, performing countless times at festivals
and clubs in Europe, the USA and other parts of the world and recording over 50 albums. After playing with Paal Nielssen-Love, Pat Matheny
exclaimed: “He is simply one of the best new musicians I’ve heard during the last few years!” And after hearing Paal in nine different contexts
at the same festival, Down Beat journalist Dan Quelette wrote: “His week at Molde proved a revelation: Nilssen-Love is one of the
most innovative, dynamic and versatile drummers in jazz!”
Olga Witte is advanced postgraduate composer, jazz pianist, church organist and music ethnologist with a focus on Balinese gamelan.
She has written experimental works for various ensembles from solo to big bands and other larger ensembles.
In December 2021, Olga Witte released her critically acclaimed debut album Olga Witte Organ Trio No 1 + 2.
Olga Witte has received Denmark's oldest jazz award, the Gaffelprisen 2023, with the motivation: "Olga's commitment, drive and curiosity
have taken both her and jazz far and wide. She is one of today's musicians and arrangers who are taking jazz forward."
Olga Witte has received several work grants from both the Danish Arts Foundation and the Danish Composers' Association / KODA culture.
The following was written about Olga Witte's debut concert from the Royal Academy of Music (2023): "The work really wants its listener,
and you are embraced by the music's sensibility, necessity and warmth. The concert space is utilized to the maximum and the time aspect
is used as an important tool in a mature way, which shows great sense of form. The work uses improvisation, variation in the frequency
ranges and dynamics to retain the listener and lead the music forward in a captivating and enveloping experience.
Olga Witte is a very musical leader, who appears sharp and clear in her performance."