Between June 2018 and February 2019, the new concert series Music for Hotel Bars will present six evening-length works by Mark Barden, Anna Jandt, Neo Hülcker, Martin Hiendl, Leo Hofmann, and Genoël von Lilienstern, each commissioned especially for a hotel bar of their choice in Berlin. The challenge for the composers, all of whom come from the genre of New Music, is to craft what might be provocatively called “functional music” in an artistically satisfying manner. While not a concert in the strict sense, the Berlin concert-going audience is invited to share an evening with the hotel’s normal guests and enjoy drinks, conversation, and of course newly composed music written for that precise venue. All concerts are free of charge and handicapped accessible and each hotel bar will offer an affordable signature drink for the evening.
Previous works by American composer Mark Barden have dealt with the soundscape of social spaces. His 2015 installation Dark Room reflected the amorous interactions of some Berlin clubs. For his evening in the series, Barden explores this approach further in a composition for the Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop in the hotel bar of the Westin Grand. The concierge recommends a city attraction, a striking figure descends the grand marble staircase to the piano, string music floats and interweaves in the seven-storey atrium.
Music for Hotel Bars presents Mark Barden
Tuesday, 19th June 2018 | Starts 19:00 CET
Westin Grand | Friedrichstraße 158-164 | Berlin 10117
