On June 18, Klangforum Wien and conductor Bas Wiegers performed the ensemble piece “ich sehe Federn wachsen im Sand der Wüsten…” (2021/2022) by Age Veeroos in the Vienna Concert Hall.
The concert took place as part of the series “The Tower of Babel” which were, according to the concept, a “journey of discovery” and an insight into new music on the world map. “The Tower of Babel I-II” was part of the 40th International Music Festival program of the Vienna Concert Hall.
The title of Age’s work “ich sehe Federn wachsen im Sand der Wüsten…” is translated from Ilmar Laaban’s (1921-2000) poem line “I see bird feathers growing in the sand of deserts”. The composer refers to the poet’s Baltic German origins. Laaban’s poetry has often influenced Veeroos’s music, the first work (“Self Loss”) based on his texts was completed in 2002. The musical expression of the surreal image is a dedication to Laban’s 100th birthday.
The piece “ich sehe Federn wachsen im Sand der Wüsten…” was premiered by Ensemble Musikfabrik with conductor Clement Power in 2021 at the International Contemporary Music Festival AFEKT in Tallinn, the following year the ensemble also performed it in Cologne.