==> Artistic interpretation, the relationship between composer and interpreter, has always been at the core of contemporary music. Knowledge and practice have expanded radically in the 20^th century. Musical interpretation is no longer only what a musician does with his instrument. Theoretical, scholarly and medial dimensions of interpretation are varied and omnipresent today. faithful! II expands upon the forward-looking stimuli from the first festival in 2012 and sets eclectic new accents. Thus, we will again experience comparisons of interpretation and reinterpretations, with new questions for interpreters and composers.

The festival opens with a compact debut concert by the legendary Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS). The group reinterprets essential material, which has had to wait forty years for a revival. The same material will then be reworked by Berlin improvisers with Zeena Parkins as guest. Added to this will be a version in the form of an interpretation by all musicians together. Thus, right on opening night, faithful! II poses the question of how contemporary music, whose “original” mainly exists as a recording, can be interpreted, and gives a direct musical answer to it.

Similar questions are presented by the Ensemble Extrakte which, together with the Gebrüder Teichmann, will focus on Berlin club culture from the 1990s to the present. The module of the loop will be taken up and investigated on instruments of the most varied cultures, including electronics.

Three composers and three ensembles will face special challenges during the festival. faithful! II has awarded commissions to Ernstalbrecht Stiebler, Dror Feiler and Osvaldo Budon. The works that they create have to be suitable for interpretation by ensembles of the most varied backgrounds.

For comparison, we will hear the same pieces interpreted by Norrbotten NEO, the Swedish ensemble for contemporary music, a group of improvising musicians and the Lautten Compagney, an ensemble for early music. The festival thus puts notation methods, instrumentation and the varied approaches of composers and ensembles to the test. The question: Is there such a thing as “musical objectivity”?

 faithful! II will intensify the comparison of interpretations of selected contemporary works with internationally renowned ensembles – the Oslo Sinfonietta, Ensemble Multilatérale, Norrbotten NEO, the Sonat Quartet and the Tana String Quartet – as well as with solo musicians and ensembles.

faithful! II will locate a mobile performance project in a gallery in which the French cellist Séverine Ballon will place new music in relationship to contemporary visual art. The festival will compare remixes of Iannis Xenakis’ Persepolis and reinterpretations with the composition Cogito by Iancu Dumitrescu and music by Ashtray Navigations.

The beginnings of graphic notation will be explored by two ensembles with scores by the Greek composer Anestis Logothetis.

Certain works from the festival will be presented again in a 3-D sound environment by Charlie Morrow. The three-dimensional sound space will render sonic details – which even in a concert hall with the best acoustics would remain hidden – perceptible.

The band Califone is founded by frontman Tim Rutili. Originally from Chicago, Califone works in collaboration with other multi-instrumentalists as they convey seemingly fragmented sketches. The band draws on folklore, rock and electronic experimentation as they play impressionistic instrumental jazz-rock and spherical blues instrumentals; that at times draw on elements ranging from kraut rock to trip hop. In addition, they have notably reinterpreted works by Psychic TV and The Rolling Stones. Califone situates astonishing musical reinterpretations that bend between experimentation and unheard soundscapes.

Johannes Kreidler programs a keyboard in such a way that the note first sounds when the key is let go. This fundamentally contradicts the sense of touch for the keys that a pianist has acquired through long years of practice. The audience, but also professional pianists are invited to play this instrument.