The masterclass is intended for musicians experienced in improvised and experimental music. The workshop focuses on the learning process, and expanding practices. All instruments and voices are welcome! More about the workshop find below.
The masterclass will take place from 14 to 16 January 2024 (10am-1pm & 2-5pm) at KONTEJNER, Odranska 1/1, Zagreb. The number of participants is limited to 10 people, and registration fee is 20,00 EUR. In order to apply for participation, send an email with a short CV emphasizing your music skills/experience to davorkabegovic@gmail.com by December 29, 2023, 23.59 CET.
- Three days of hanging out with Frith culminate in his concert with trumpeter Susana Santos Silva on January 16, 2024, at KONTEJNER, as part of their European tour promoting their collaborative album "Laying Demons to Rest." Concert by Fred Frith and Susana Santos Silva "Laying Demons to Rest" will be held at KONTEJNER on Tuesday, 16.1.2024. at 9 pm (entry from 8 pm). Pre-sale tickets 7 EUR, on the day of the concert 10 EUR.
Fred Frith stands as one of the iconic figures on the experimental, avant-garde and free improvised music scene, not only the British scene, but the overall European scene and wider. He played a crucial role in the origin and further development of experimental and improvised music in Great Britain, contributing to a large extent with his avant-garde/experimental rock band Henry Cow, but also with his collaborations with Derek Bailey, John Zorn, Iva Bittova, Brian Eno, the Residents, Mike Patton, and many more. As a solo guitarist he is most known for his experimental approach, incredibly perfected performing skills with a special emphasis on the extended playing techniques, different ways of use of an instrument, use of a different objects as instruments and use of implements for preparing guitars, as well as use of homemade instruments. During his long and respectable career Frith was a professor of composition, contemporary performance and improvisation at the renowned Mills College from 1999 till his retirement in 2018. 74-year old Frith is still active as a musician.
This masterclass is part of New Perspectives for Action, a project by Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union.
“This moment is not the same: listening, hearing, and letting go”
The Dalai Lama’s advice for the New Millenium contains many useful thoughts for the improvising musician:
—Take into account that love and great achievements involve great risk
—Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck
—Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer
There isn’t a “right” way or a “wrong” way to improvise. Sound impulses come from each individual, based on their own personal, musical, social and cultural history, and everyone has to negotiate the resulting listening space with self-respect, respect for others, and a sense of responsibility. What works today for me may not work for you tomorrow, and vice-versa, so we are constantly re-configuring, re-negotiating, re-learning and unlearning, and generally re-inventing ourselves and our instruments according to the context, the situation in which we find ourselves.
How do we listen?
What are we listening to, or listening for?
What is the relationship between listening and musical action?
What just happened?
What will happen next?
Did you intend for it to happen?
Is that important?
Are there strategies that will always work?
Would we want that?
These are a few of the ideas we will explore during this workshop.