Alfred 23 Harth: Difference between revisions

He formed the group [[E.M.T. (music group)|E.M.T.]] (1972 to 1975) with artist and pianist Nicole Van den Plas from [[Belgium]] and [[Sven-Åke Johansson]] from [[Sweden]]. E.M.T. implemented [[Dada]] elements, integrating European Music Tradition by using fragments of composers ([[Edvard Grieg]], [[Robert Schumann|Schumann]]).

In 1975 he had just returned from three months in [[New York City]], playing there with some greats of the Loft scene: [[Perry Robinson]], [[John Fischer (pianist)|John Fischer]], [[Jay Clayton (musician)|Jay Clayton]], a.o. and met [[Heiner Goebbels]] in Frankfurt/Main with whom in 1976 he recorded a first LP ''Vier Fäuste für Hanns Eisler'' ([[FMP (Free Music Production)|FMP]]/SAJ 08), including works from [[Hanns Eisler]] as [[Duo Goebbels/Harth]] (1975 to 1988). Meanwhile, also having established the [[Sogenanntes Linksradikales Blasorchester]] to bring political music to the streets within student’sstudent's protest actions, they played a lot of concerts and festivals all over Europe.

Harth’sHarth's activities became more & more diversified: In 1980 he recorded a meeting of mixed styles from jazz, punk and classical music for the label JAPO/[[ECM (record label)|ECM]]. He invited Christoph Anders, Goebbels, [[Paul Lovens]], composer [[Rolf Riehm]], and [[Annemarie Roelofs]] for this project-LP, ''Es herrscht Uhu im Land'' using words by [[Kurt Schwitters]] a.o.. This record's musical program led to more focused work in the group [[Cassiber]] (with Anders, [[Chris Cutler]], Goebbels and Harth) from 1982 on.

The Duo Goebbels/Harth had become a highly creative nucleus for lots ofmany enterprises. In 1983 Burkhard Hennen asked Harth to form an "all star“ combination for the [[Moers Festival]]. This group became [[Duck and Cover (German band)|Duck and Cover]] for which he conceived a main structural composition idea in relation to contemporary politics.

In 1984 the Duo Goebbels/Harth created a musical theatre piece, ''Nach Aschenfeld'' together with the author and director [[FK Waechter]] and actors Heinz-Werner Kraehkamp and Michael Altmann. This was mounted at the Residenztheater in Munich where they played live within the stage scenery on a huge amountnumber of instruments, some partially self made, a kind of role model for Heiner Goebbels’sGoebbels's ''Musik Theater'' in his later years.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://a23h-compositions.blogspot.com|title=Alfred Harth compositions |work=Alfred Harth homepage |first=Alfred |last=Harth |accessdate=2016-01-21}}</ref>

The same year Harth made aan LP ''Melchior'' with his theatre composition for [[Frank Wedekind]]’s's play [[Spring Awakening (play)|Spring Awakening]] at [[National Theatre Mannheim]] played by [[Bob Degen]] and himself and Cassiber put out its second CD, ''Beauty and the Beast'', released in [[Germany]] and [[Great Britain]].

During the transition phase of the opening of the East Harth was a member of [[Lindsay Cooper]]’s's group [[Oh Moscow]] (1987 to 1993, words by singer and film director [[Sally Potter]]), he had founded a postmodern group [[Vladimir Estragon]] (1988/89, comprising [[Einstürzende Neubauten]] drummer [[FM Einheit]]) referring in its titles to [[Samuel Beckett]] and [[James Joyce]], a Trio Trabant a Roma (1990/1, Lindsay Cooper, Phil Minton, himself), a duo Parcours Bleu a Deux with Heinz Sauer (1990 to 1992), and a QuasarQuartet (1992/3, [[Simon Nabatov]], [[Vitold Rek]]/[[Mark Dresser]], [[Vladimir Tarasov]], himself).

In 2000 Harth formed the Trio Viriditas (2000 to 2002) in New York together with [[Wilber Morris]] and [[Kevin Norton]]. Harth and his wife, the Korean artist Yi Soonjoo, wanted to relocate to New York where they both had a grant at [[Omi International Arts Center|OMI]]/NewYorkNew York, but then in 2001 to 2002 they had a grant at [[Ssamzie Space]] in [[Seoul]] and loved to stay on where Harth created the ''LaubhuetteStudio Seoul''. There in the years 2003 to 2006, he produced a ''Mother of Pearl-CD series'' of five editions including a DVD containing animated sequences of his drawings. Each disc devoted to a specific Korean theme, inviting also many Korean musicians to contribute their sound sources to this project.

In 2004 Harth became a member in [[Otomo Yoshihide]]’s's Japanese formations for almost five years. He composed for Korean ballet and on a recent solo disc ''micro saxo-phone, edition III'' (2011, released in the US on KSE), he had been experimenting with rudimentary "doublespeak" texts besides using contact microphones to "electrify" his saxophones by the means of electric devices as the [[Kaoss Pad]] a.o. Also he even bows the contrabassclarinet and saxophone bodies, as well amplifying the keys, the saliva and needle springs to extend once more the saxophone’ssaxophone's language since he began to "electrify" his saxophone on the LP ''Plan Eden'' ([[Creative Works Records]]) in 1986.

In 2007 Harth created the European quartet 7k Oaks together with Massimo Pupillo ([[Zu (band)|Zu]]), Fabrizio Spera and Luca Venitucci in [[Rome]]. In 2008 he had a premiere on a tour in [[Switzerland]] with the trio Taste Tribes together with [[Guenter Mueller]] and [[Hans Joachim Irmler]] from the legendary group [[Faust]].

In 2009 Harth formed the duo Gift Fig together with composer [[Carl Stone]] by the premiere of ''Adler_Kino 1166 – 1215'' in Frankfurt/Main.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://kurzbiographievonalfredharth.blogspot.kr/2011/11/erstes-jahrzehnt-des-21jhdts.html |title=Kurzbiographie von Alfred Harth |work=Alfred Harth homepage |first=Alfred |last=Harth |accessdate=2011-11-06}}</ref> In 2013 [[{{ill|Torsten Müller (musician)|de|Torsten Müller]] (Musiker)}} and A23H toured in North West America including a performance at the [[Vancouver International Jazz Festival]]. Harth took part in the exhibitions ''The Name Is Burroughs - Expanded Media'' 2012 at [[ZKM]] Karlsruhe, ''Real DMZ 2013'' at [[Artsonje Center]]/[[Seoul]] and ''Universal Studios'', 2014 at [[Seoul Museum of Art]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http://a23h-exhibitions.blogspot.com|title=Alfred XXIII Harth - exhibitions |work=Alfred Harth homepage |first=Alfred |last=Harth |accessdate=2016-01-21}}</ref> 2016 [[sound art]] cooperation with the Korean artist Sora Kim at [[National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art]] (MMCA), Korea.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mmca.go.kr/eng/exhibitions/exhibitionsDetail.do?menuId=1020000000&exhId=201603160000411|title=Songs from Chin to Knee |work=National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art |first=Sora |last=Kim |accessdate=2016-07-08}}</ref>

To play [[Lindsay Cooper]]'s music Harth took part in [[Henry Cow]], Music for Films, [[News from Babel]] and [[Oh Moscow]] at the [[Barbican Centre]], London on 21 November as part of the EFG [[London Jazz Festival]]; at the [[Lawrence Batley Theatre]], Huddersfield on 22 November as part of the [[Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival]] and at the Teatro Diego Fabbri in [[Forlì]], Italy on 23 November 2014. In 2015 he collaborated with Chris Cutler founding a group Hope, a commission for the 46th [[Deutsches Jazzfestival]] with [[Kazuhisa Uchihashi]], Mitsuru Nasuno.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://kurzbiographievonalfredharth.blogspot.kr/2011/11/zweites-jahrzehnt-des-21jhdts.html |title=Kurzbiographie von Alfred Harth |work=Alfred Harth homepage |first=Alfred |last=Harth |accessdate=2016-01-21}}</ref> In 2018 Harth toured with his group Revolver 23 by an invitation by the Jazz in Autumn Festival in [[Moscow]]. In 2019 he was invited to show his art work at the Seongbuk Documenta 6 at the Choi Manlin Museum in [[Seoul]], in 2020 he participated at the JazzKorea Festival ''Alive!''. Alfred Harth is an [[Honorary Citizen]] of [[Seoul]].

[[Duck and Cover (German band)|Duck and Cover]] – A23H/[[Tom Cora]]/[[Chris Cutler]]/[[Fred Frith]]/[[Heiner Goebbels]]/[[Dagmar Krause]]/[[George Lewis (trombonist)|GeorgeE. Lewis]] :

* ''Nouvelle Cuisine'' [[Moers Music]], Germany 1985

* ''Gestalt et Jive Trio'' Creative Works Records, Switzerland 1986

* ''Three Quarks For Muster Mark'' [[enja]]/tiptoe,LP + CD 1989

* ''Domestic Stories'' [[Recommended Records]],UK 1991

Imperial Hoot – A23H/Guenter Bozem/Marcel Daemgen/[[Christoph Korn]] :

Taste Tribes – A23H/[[Guenter Mueller]]/[[Hans Joachim Irmler]]/samples by [[Eruption (German band)|Eruption]] & [[Kawabata Makoto]]

* "Es herrscht Uhu im Land“ JAPO/[[ECM (record label)|ECM]],1981, – A23H/Christoph Anders/[[Heiner Goebbels]]/[[Paul Lovens]]/[[Rolf Riehm]]/[[Annemarie Roelofs]], 1981

* "This Earth!“ [[ECM (record label)|ECM]]1264,1983, – A23H/[[Paul Bley]]/[[Trilok Gurtu]]/[[Maggie Nicols]]/[[Barre Phillips]], 1983

* "Pollock“ Orkestrion Schallfolien, 1996, – A23H/Peter Fey/Frank Rothkamm/[[Elliott Sharp]], 1996

* ''Expedition'' [[ESP-Disk]], USA 2006

* ''Homura'' off note, Japan 2007

* ''The Expats'', KSE, USA 2013

* ''micro-saxo-phone'' series, vol.II on Laubhuette Productions, 2008, vol.III + IV on KSE, USA 2011 + 2013

* Wagner, Christoph. ''Brüche und Kontinuität'', Alfred 23 Harth, in “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik”, Schott Music, Mainz, Germany, 6/2007

* Lake, Steve; Griffiths, Paul. ”Horizons Touched – The Music of ECM” , Granta Books, London

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harth, Alfred 23}}