Haas: in vain

Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
South Bank, London SE1
United Kingdom
08700 606 096
http://www.rfh.org.uk

Emilio Pomŕrico conductor
London Sinfonietta

“How to describe it? An astonishing work of art that has become a cult wherever it is played. One of the first great masterpieces of the C21st.”
Sir Simon Rattle

Premiered in 2000 and now receiving its much-awaited premiere in London, Haas’ in vain is an extraordinary work of contradictions and juxtapositions, exploring a heightened sensory world where darkness and light collide. Written in protest to the rise of the far-right Freedom Party in the 1999 Austrian elections, in vain hints at a frightening world where dark, unnatural forces are at work. As familiar harmonies meet microtonal systems, Haas evokes an otherworldly realm that oscillates between the past and the present, between clarity and dystopia. Performed partly in complete darkness, in vain transforms the concert hall into a mysterious new landscape, where you must trust your ears and relinquish your sight.

Georg Friedrich Haas : in vain