Homage à Robert Ashley by Bernhard Lang
“I saw Robert Ashley for the first time at the Annenhof cinema in Graz with ‘Perfect Lives’ in the 80s: nowadays, I consider his works to be perhaps the most influential work of new music theater in the 21st century. This little homage is based on a loop, the enigmatic voice of one of Ashely’s artistic relatives and the crazy piano transcription of the selfsame, somehow quoting Blue Gene Tyranny’s playing.”
Bernhard Lang
Bernhard Lang, born in Linz in 1957, studied composition (with Andrzej Dobrowolski), piano, jazz theory and counterpoint at the Bruckner Conservatory and later at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. Further studies in philosophy and German philology as well as composition lessons with greats such as John Cage characterised his work. Active as an improvisation musician and jazz pianist, he turned to electronic music in 1985 and developed the CADMUS composition software. He founded the organisation "die andere saite" in 1987 and taught as an associate professor of composition in Graz from 2003. Lang has received numerous awards, including the Music Prize of the City of Vienna (2008) and the Austrian Art Prize (2019). His work includes music theatre, orchestral and chamber music, electronic compositions, film music as well as dance and radio play music.