œnm celebrates 50 years of new music with a premiere in Salzburg

œnm celebrates 50 years of new music with a premiere in Salzburg

On October 25, 2025, the œnm, the Austrian ensemble for new music, celebrated a special anniversary in the Salzburg scene: it is now 50 years since the ensemble was founded. This milestone was duly celebrated with a festival concert at which the latest work by the Salzburg composer Clemens Gadenstätter, “Archipel Live”, was premiered. Drehpunkt Kultur reports that the event attracted great interest and that numerous personalities from the new music scene were present, including rectors and composers, as well as the honorary protection of Deputy Governor Stefan Schnöll and Mayor Bernhard Auinger.

The œnm is considered a pioneer of new music in Austria. Since its founding in 1975, various artistic responses to the challenges of contemporary music have been initiated. From 1991, the ensemble even ventured on tours through public spaces with futuristic sound mobiles, including a remarkable trip to Seoul in 1997. Wien Modern emphasizes that on the occasion of the anniversary the co-production “Archipel Life”, also by Gadenstätter, is planned for autumn 2025, and it will offer an experience of sounds in a new setting.

Premiere of “Archipelago Live”

“Archipelago Live,” composed for nine ensemble islands, viola, voice and electronics, transported the audience into a world of sound that was described as serene and harmless. Although the piece particularly showcased contemporary playing techniques in a virtuoso manner, the relative uneventfulness of the 45-minute playing time was perceived as generous. Led by Johannes Kalitzke, violist Geneviève Strosser shone in a quasi-solo part that rose and fell in the overall sound.

The special feature of the performance lay in the spatial arrangement of the ensemble, which was reminiscent of islands of instruments: strings at the front left, wind instruments on the right, and the tuba and double bass formed the outer limits of the musical landscape. Unusual sounds were created, among other things, by hitting the metal frame of the piano with a metal hammer, which further underlined the character of the composition.

A look into the future

“Archipel Life” will be a new spatial composition that will also enrich Wien Modern’s series of events. Gadenstätter will continue to experiment with associations and meanings of sounds while the ensemble is distributed across nine “islands” in the room. This promises an incomparable listening experience that will take listeners on a very special journey. Amaverlag also reports on other avant-garde projects and musician prizes that further promote the lively new music scene.

This festival concert and the diverse plans for the future impressively show how the œnm has developed over the years and continues to play an important role in Salzburg's cultural and musical landscape today. The ensemble always manages to break new ground and inspire the audience with the sounds of the present.