TRANSITIONS [TRANSITIONS]]

Gerhard Stäbler and Kunsu Shim.

Hezarfen Ensemble String Quartet.

The film, which will have its Turkish premiere at Arter on Wednesday, October 28th, is... TRANSITIONS [TRANSITIONS] The performance centers around new compositions for string quartet by Gerhard Stäbler and Kunsu Shim. Building upon the numerous world premieres that the two composers have presented at Arter in previous years, the project combines Stäbler and Shim's compositional approaches with video works by Anton Lukoszevieze, Kyungwoo Chun, and Taejoong Kim. The program also features references to Turkish-German relations in the first half of the 20th century through Paul Hindemith's String Trio No. 2, and a tribute to Turkey's contemporary music tradition through a string quartet composition by Ahmed Adnan Saygun, concluding with a new work by the young composer Taygun Yıldız.

TRANSITIONS [TRANSITIONS]The work explores the phenomenon of "transitions," which we encounter daily in everyday life, in art, and on a philosophical level. The concept of transitions refers to changes that are not yet clearly visible. This uncertainty inherent in the process of becoming is precisely what defines transitions. Transitions empower us and encourage us to be brave. While calling for clarity, they also require vigilance. The unknown is like a lamp that shines between darkness and light: it can be extinguished, but it can also emit a very bright light. This uncertain process of becoming can easily be exploited for manipulative purposes. Above all, many of the new issues emerging in today's politics and society – promising a better future through the latest technologies – aim to establish a pervasive influence over the masses and to minimize all the nuances between light and darkness. In doing so, they seek to erase and destroy heterotopias – symbols of freedom that represent the uncertain, the indefinable, the unspeakable, and the invisible.

Passages, corridors, transitions. In an aphorism from his book "[Passages, Arches, Transitions]," Walter Benjamin warns us early on: "The emergence of science, the emergence of art, the emergence of the state and law. Thus, the religion of the soul – all the beliefs we hold for the soul – has been taken from us. This stems from a false romanticism, which leads us to believe that we should see the extraordinary not in the emergence of humanity and the history of humanism, but in each of the countless individual things. It is at this very point that music and art come into play; for they refine perception and thought, allowing us to see beyond manipulation and to redirect our senses, guided by common sense, back towards humanity."

By Kunsu Shim and Gerhard Stäbler.
This is a collaborative project between the Hezarfen String Quartet (Istanbul) and the EarPort Trio (Duisburg).

Performers: Hezarfen String Quartet Özcan Ulucan (Violin) İmge Tilif Yalçınkaya (Violin) Ulrich Mertin (Viola) Mehmet Gökhan Bağcı (Cello)

EarPort Trio Elisabeth von Leliwa Kunsu Shim Gerhard Stäbler Music, performances, and videos: George Brecht, Alican Çamcı, Kyungwoo Chun, Paul Hindemith, Taejoong Kim, Anton Lukoszevieze, Ahmed Adnan Saygun, Kunsu Shim, Gerhard Stäbler, and Taygun Yıldız. With the support of the NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia) Arts Foundation and the NRW Ministry of Culture and Science.