The Vegetable Orchestra
The Vegetable Orchestra (also: The First Vienna Vegetable Orchestra , The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra , The Vegetable Orchestra ) uses a wide variety of vegetables as musical instruments.
This unusually orchestrated orchestra was founded in January 1998 in Vienna . Since then, it has consisted of up to twelve people who deal with art and music in a wide variety of ways.
Various types of vegetables are used as instruments , for example hollowed out cucumbers or carrots as flutes or (with a bell made of bell peppers ) as trumpets . Occasionally, kitchen appliances such as mixers , juicers , knives or graters are used to support the sound. Cooperation with the sound engineering of the ensemble is essential for the vegetable music. With the help of a special miking - a mixture of condenser, vocal and contact microphones - the amplification of the often very sensitive and quiet tones of the vegetable sound bodies is made possible.
It is played according to notes , but not according to the old familiar, but graphic fields show the musicians when they will be playing in the piece. However, it is up to you how you use this period of time, whether for longer tones or shorter ones, loud or quiet. This, together with the fact that the instruments have to be newly made for every performance by the vegetable orchestra and that they sound different from traditional instruments anyway, even with well-known pieces of music - regardless of whether they are classic or modern - ensure a new listening experience. The orchestra's repertoire includes original compositions as well as interpretations of pieces by Igor Stravinsky , the German electronics pioneers Kraftwerk and the Viennese sound formation Radian .
As an encore, at many concerts a vegetable soup is distributed to the concert-goers , which has been prepared by a cook belonging to the orchestra before the concert.
The orchestra performs in Europe, the USA and Asia, including in the Wiener Konzerthaus , at the Salzburg Easter Festival , the Sonar (Festival) in Barcelona, during the RomaEuropa Festival in Rome and in the Royal Festival Hall in London. The TV station ARTE dedicated a documentary to them .
As sources of inspiration for this worldwide unique orchestra, musical conceptions of the Fluxus , such as compositions by John Cage ( Branches , 1976 ), but also strong influences from sound art and experimental and electronic music can be considered. Since 2004 the orchestra has been working optionally with various video artists who add a visual level to the sound experience on stage using special micro cameras. A performance by the vegetable orchestra is an exciting mixture of performance and concert.
ensemble
The ensemble is a heterogeneous group of artists who understand their interdisciplinarity as an essential part of their musical self-image, therefore work together on the research and further development of vegetable music and describe themselves as "vegetableists". In addition to trained musicians, there are sculptors, architects and designers as well as media artists, writers and sound poets in the orchestra. Past and current members of the ensemble are: Jürgen Berlakovich , Alen Brodnjak, Nikolaus Gansterer, Susanna Gartmayer , Sabine Höllwerth, Uschi Janig, Barbara Kaiser, Stefan Kühn, Chris Mach, Matthias Meinharter, Jörg Piringer, Ernst Reitermaier, Richard Repey, Ingrid Schlögl, Maria Steinauer , Ulrich Troyer, Thomas Weninger, Tamara Wilhelm, Martina Winkler.
Discography
- The First Vienna Vegetable Orchestra - Gemise (album, format: CD, label: Extraplatte or Institute for Transacoustic Research / 1999)
- The Vegetable Orchestra / Das Erste Wiener Gemüseorchester - Automate (album, format: CD, label: transacoustic research, distribution: Extraplatte / 2003)
- The Vegetable Orchestra - Onionoise (Album, Format: CD, Label: transacoustic research / monkey, Distribution: rough trade / 2010)
- The Vegetable Orchestra - Green Album (Album, Format: CD / LP / Digital, Label: transacoustic research / 2018)
- The Vegetable Orchestra - Transplants Versions feat. Mystica Tribe (single, format: 7 '' / digital, label: transacoustic research / 2020)
more publishments:
- Construction Sounds (CD sampler / 1999)
- Hearings (CD sampler, transacoustic research / 2003)
