Events

The Stiftung zur Förderung zeitgenössischer Kunst in Weidingen is very pleased to present an exhibition of work by Inge Mahn, opening on Saturday 15 July 2023. The monumental sculpture Ömega Man by Albert Oehlen will be inaugurated on the same weekend. On Sunday 16 July, a solo concert by Evan Parker will take place in St. Marien Wallfahrtskirche.

British saxophonist Evan Parker is widely regarded as one of the most respected European musicians of his time. In his practice, thought and breath are in continuous exchange, each as the instrument and measure of the other. The musician's roots lie in free jazz, but the experimental influences of contemporary music can also be detected in his style. He cites John Coltrane, among others, as a great role model. Parker's numerous recordings and performances in various ensemble groups solidified his position as a key figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation. Nonetheless, he is best known for his solo saxophone music. Parker applies the diverse techniques with which he experiments in a way that is more intuitive than analytical. In his concerts, he enters a trance-like state, and his particularly long improvisational episodes are an exceptional characteristic of his music. The result is a hypnotic stream of intertwined sounds – an apparent polyphony of great complexity that can otherwise only be achieved by an ensemble. Here, sound, space, time and the relationship between music and listener are negotiated.


Evan Parker (b. 1944, Bristol, UK) lives and works in London. The musician started to play saxophone at 14 and in late 1966 began playing in the ‘Spontaneous Music Ensemble’ (SME). Through this he met Peter Kowald, among others, who introduced him to the German scene. Parker played on Peter Brötzmann's album 'Machine Gun' in '68 and, before the '60s had run their course, had also recorded with Manfred Schoof and Pierre Favre. In 1970 he joined the Alexander von Schlippenbach Trio, of which he is still a member, and subsequently the Globe Unity Orchestra. By this point the hallmarks of his unique style were established, his combinations of circular breathing, tonguing, rhythm patterns, overtones and polytones making his sound instantly recognisable.

Free improvised music has accounted for most of Parker’s activities over the last forty years, whether playing solo or in groups, but both jazz and art music composers have also deployed the arresting physicality of his sound as a contrasting and energising element. Since 1990 Parker has led the Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, whose radical cross-referencing of improvisation and real-time sound processing has brought fresh sound-colours into the music as well as new ways of working. Evan Parker appears on more than 200 recordings on labels including ECM, FMP, Emanem, Incus, Ogun, Po Torch, Okka, Island, CBS, and RCA. In 2001, he founded his own label, Psi.​​​​