Katharina Klement vincitrice del premio Erste Bank per la Composizione 2026

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Photo: Katharina Klement (c) Maria Frodl

Pubblichiamo il comunicato stampa che attribuisce il premio Erste Bank per la Composizione 2026 a Katharina Klement. Il Klangforum Wien terrà la prima mondiale dell’opera della compositrice il 22 novembre 2026 nell’ambito del Wien Modern.

Katharina Klement (born in Graz) is active as “composer-performer” in the areas of composed and improvised, electronic and instrumental music.
Her extensive oeuvre includes a great number of cross-connective projects in the media of music, text and video. Hardly anybody covers as broad a range of possibilities inherent in the musical material, from the decision to its manipulation, as does Katharina Klement. Her exemplary readiness to extend the boundaries of sound research frequently testifies to a systematic rigour which precedes the indirect results of her improvisations and compositions, and thus makes her an authentic voice in the pursuit of independent art.
Central to her approach as pianist and sound artist is the forthright inclusion of acoustic and social realities in her work. Nothing lies outside her purview, everything gets explored. At the centre of her compositional world stands reality in its diverse manifestations.The world premiere of her prize-winning work will take place in the context of the festival Wien Modern on 22 November 2026, performed by Klangforum Wien. Bas Wiegers will be conducting.

Statement of the Jury

The composer, “eco-phonist” and sound explorer Katharina Klement, ERSTE BANK Composition Award laureate 2026, impresses with her fresh and dauntless trans-genre approach to the most diverse musical-artistic tasks. Central to her approach is the forthright inclusion of the acoustic and social realities that surround us in her oeuvre.
However, in her chamber music works Klement’s acoustic field studies do not take place – as in some of her other pieces – on a farm yard or in a cement factory; the structural search for sounds in her composed works doesn’t aim for what might be free in a free improvisation, but here the search for sound is in fact to the greatest possible extent relocated into the intra-musical realm. In relation to concert pieces – even if cement mixers can at times be found on stage – this is essential, in particular for ensembles.

The Jury – Gerd Kühr, Christian Scheib, Peter Paul Kainrath

Laureate Statement

„When I first heard that I was awarded this prize, I was utterly surprised; but very soon I felt great joy. This award is not only a recognition of my work, but it offers both the possibility and the challenge to collaborate again with the marvellous musicians of Klangforum Wien. May our joint journey to new sound spaces be successful! I would like to thank the Erste Bank, the jury, Klangforum Wien and Wien Modern.”

Katharina Klement

About Katharina Klement

Katharina Klement (born in Graz in 1963) studied piano at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna with Manfred Wagner-Artzt and Ursula Kneihs, and composition with Dieter Kaufmann. She also completed a course in electro-acoustic and experimental music. Her special interests lie in electro-acoustic music and the piano with its extended playing techniques. As “composer-performer” and sound artist she is internationally active. She is founder and member of several ensembles for improvised music.
Composer’s Commissions and collaborations with various ensembles, such as Klangforum Wien, ensemble recherche, PHACE, Schallfeld, platypus, Lizard, Studio DAN, Duo Novalis, ovocutters, airborne extended. Concerts and performances, amongst others in Montréal/Festival Nouvelles Musiques, Ljubljana/Festival SO.UND.ING, Dortmund/Festival Blaues Rauschen, St. Petersburg/Festival Acousmonium, Trieste/Festival chaos-teatri del suono, Sao Paolo/BIMESP, Chicago/Festival sexing sounds, Wien Modern, musikprotokoll Graz, Kaleidophon Ulrichsberg. Her works have been recorded by various labels, including gruenrekorder, Ventil records, chmafu nocords, Austrian gramophone, smallforms.
She is the recipient of numerous accolades and prizes, including the Publicity Prize SKE 2001, „honorary mention“ 2006 ars electronica Linz, a Austrian Government Scholarship for Composition in 2002 and 2011, Kunstpreis Österreich Sparte Musik 2013, Gustav Mahler Prize 2017, Musikpreis der Stadt Wien 2021, First Prize Akusmatik Competition Weimar 2023.
Katharina Klement teaches a seminar in electro-acoustic and experimental music at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.

Website: www.katharinaklement.com

Erste Bank Composition Award

The Erste Bank Composition Award has established itself as one of the most important accolades in the field of new music. Since 1989, Erste Bank has awarded this prize each year to an outstanding composer whose work to date represents a wide range of aesthetic positions. The Erste Bank Composition Award includes at least three performances by Klangforum Wien. The world premiere usually takes place as part of the festival Wien Modern. In addition, the award enables a publication of the new work and a portrait of the composer on an up-to-date recording medium. The awardees are selected by a jury consisting of Gerd Kühr (composer), Christian Scheib (ORF, musikprotokoll) and Peter Paul Kainrath (Artistic Director/CEO of Klangforum Wien).

The Erste Bank Composition Award, Klangforum Wien and Wien Modern are supported in the context of the Erste Bank Sponsoring Programme – Vermehrt Schönes!

INFOS & DOWNLOAD

The press release in german and photos can also be found at: www.klangforum.at/press

For further information please contact:

Sarah Preyer
Klangforum Wien
T: +43 1 521 67-11
M: +43 660 7130708
E: s.preyer@klangforum.at
www.klangforum.at

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