Caleidodramaturgy: Peter Hudler @ Edfringe 2017

Peter Hudler Cello (Austria)

Caleidocello

Venue: C too, St Columba's by the Castle, Johnston Terrace, EH1 2PW, venue 4, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Dates: 3-28 Aug (not 14)

Time: 18:00 (0h50)

Prepare to hear the cello in a completely new way. A colourful mix of styles, genres and characters, from Viennese cellist Peter Hudler.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

I wanted to try something new on the Cello, explore different harmonies and rhythms and take the Cello out of the relatively rigid environment of the classical concert hall. 

So I started putting together this program, connecting pieces from different genres and styles, making one lead to the other and thus creating some kind of musical poetic journey through different sound worlds. 

The fact that I really tried to push the contrasts is expressed also in the title, it means something like a kaleidoscope of Cello music, something very colorful with a lot of differences. 

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

I think more than ever probably. Of course my performance is purely musical, but never underestimate the power of music just because it is nonverbal. 

I guess we are living in a time when we realize that the Internet that has changed our way of communicating so much has its downsides. Just because it’s not direct. And you cannot feel all the nonverbal aspects of a statement. Anywhere where people come together and experience something of relevance together is important more than ever. 

How did you become interested in making performance?

I grew up playing the Cello and I happen to still be doing it. 

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

I wanted to use non classical music because it’s less complex and less loaded with rules to be able to channel a more archaic energy and get to touch my audience in a more direct way. And also for myself I was hoping to broaden my instrumental skills. There were a lot of little techniques I had to learn, plucking, drumming, even singing. So it did push my own limits for sure. 

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

Usually I play in groups, this is at the moment my only solo show and therefor it has the most personal message and it’s the project of my heart so to say. But I apply the same standards as I always try to do when it comes to quality, preparation etc. 

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope it will be a refreshing but also poetic experience. A little bit like waking up inside and seeing the world with a little more color than before. I hope to move my audience and send it on a little journey that ends with a subtle smile. 

Ticket prices: £7.50-£9.50 / concessions £5.50-£7.50 / under 18s £3.50-£5.50

C venues box office: 0845 260 1234 / www.CtheFestival.com/2017/caleidocello

Fringe box office: 0131 226 0000 / www.edfringe.com

Performing cello in a completely new and different way, pushing the limits of the instrument and the player. From the world's oldest song to the most sophisticated jazz-gem, from bluegrass to baroque and rock, set off on an unforgettable journey. An intensely emotive instrument, the cello is given new life by a truly inspired performer. 

This program is an ode to the seemingly useless, a homage to all those people who risk creating something beautiful without immediate payoff or fame and against criticism and rejection of all sorts. 

Caleidocello features an eclectic mix of interconnected pieces by Bach, Kapustin, Glass, Henryson, O’Connor, Sollima and others. Styles vary from Baroque to Rock, Folk, Bluegrass and Jazz, and as a special feature, the world’s oldest piece of music ever written! Beyond that, Peter also sings at times, using the Cello as a percussion instrument and applying various plucking techniques. Altogether an appealing kaleidoscope of sounds.

Peter Hudler is a graduate of Mozarteum Salzburg, where he completed his master of music in 2008 and his postgraduate studies in 2009. Further studies include work with Antonio Meneses, Enrico Dindo and Thomas Riebl among others. Originally from Vienna, Peter has primarily dedicated himself to chamber music and has been  performing as a cellist and solo-cellist in chamber ensembles across Northern Europe, in Norway, Ireland and, most recently, Denmark. His orchestral experience is similarly eclectic and includes for instance performing with the Camerata Salzburg, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Tonkünstler Niederösterreich, Le Concert Olympique and at the Vienna State Opera.

15 Seconds @ Hamilton Mausoleum

Branding the Serocell...

Good evening, my comrades in art. Russell Brand here. You may remember me from such television programmes as Big Brother or that one where I rambled on about stuff to the lowest audiences that can be measured by E4. Most recently, I performed a free gig outside of the BBC HQ, in front of a large crowd who thought that they were protesting austerity. Turns out that even that can't get me back on the old google box.

You might notice a few things about this article. First of all, it has proper punctuation. When The Guardian gets me to write a piece for them, they are so pleased to have something on their site that might be interesting, they don't bother to edit my words. This time, however, I am being impersonated by a bitter Scottish critic, and he knows the difference between 'who' and 'whom.' So this is less a stream of old Russ' consciousness than usual.

The reason for this little interlude is both to make a few satirical points about the celebrity version of politics and suggest a relationship between the statement 'all art is political' and a rather splendid release by serocell. While I often make trenchant remarks on the corruption of the British democratic system - and even more pertinent insights on the role of the state in continuing the absurd war on drugs - my status as a very rich comedian and self-righteous clown tends to cloud the issue.

And so - yes, my anarchism is all well and good, but lets not forget that austerity for me merely means one less All You Can Eat buffet at the China King, not a trip down to the Gurdwara for a free curry. And I might note that for all of my support for absenteeism, I have really worked out how that is going to make anyone notice the protest.

This leads us nicely to Trim, the first track on serocell's Fourth Estate EP.


Here's the thing. Political art - you know, like that poem Alan Bissett wrote, is all well and good. But it is usually as good as the audience's commitment to the cause it espouses. The wonderful music writer Simon Reynolds would often ponder The Redskins during the 1980s. He could not understand why a band schooled in music he liked (black American soul) and the politics he, at least, respected (Marxism through British socialism) were so bloody dreadful. The answer is, of course, that the accepted modes of popular music become fundamentally conservative as soon as they are defined.

In other words, it is no good having a radical agenda if you are aping the moves of earlier talents.

Now, I love me some James Brown and I love me some LFO. But I know how their beats are going to sound, and so my thought patterns are consoled, not challenged.

Check out the beat on Trim. That ought to freshen up those bio-rhythms.

The varying tempos on Trim break down both the traditional four to the floor and needlessly complex signature shifts, replacing them with a stuttering yet fluid propulsion. Towards the end, a melody sneaks in, underneath the beat, but suggestive and eloquent.

I am not saying it is a template for a new society, but this experimentation with form manages to replace the hierarchical structures of rock without sounding like a jazz band falling down the stairs.