Inaugural concert featuring two unusual parts for the Inner_Spaces evenings. It opens with the sonic universe of insects, followed by the first choreography of the series.

Trained between Vienna and Berlin, with studies in architecture and music, Robert Schwarz has been working for years on the relationship between space, perception, and sound. His latest work continues his exploration of territories where field recordings, electronic processes, and sound spatialization merge into dense and offset acoustic environments, where the boundary between the real and the artificial is intentionally blurred. His compositions are conceived not only for listening, but for being inhabited: like sound architectures one enters and remains within. Schwarz uses sonic materials gathered in natural contexts—particularly the rhythmic and timbral patterns derived from insect behavior—which he reworks through digital synthesis, shaping structures that balance contemplation, hallucination, and analytical precision. His performance will be a rare opportunity to hear this new work live, a piece that belongs to his most mature and complex production.

Through isolated acoustic signals and collective synchronic structures, insects and arthropods communicate through “stridulations”: sound signals produced by rubbing together two chitinous parts of the body. In Stridulations 1–14, Viennese sound artist Robert Schwarz presents a speculative resynthesis of these signals, integrated with ethological field recordings of real entomological ecosystems.

Continuing the research initiated with Clear Cues (ETAT, 2022) and developed in part from a composition commissioned by ORF Musikprotokoll in 2023, the work investigates the acoustic properties of insect communication, focusing in particular on the spatio-temporal patterns generated by collective phenomena such as swarming and synchronization.

Supported by more than twenty years of experience in field recording, Schwarz constructs an acoustic continuum in which abstract, densely layered sonic entities demand a dissociated listening, freed from conventional perceptual modes. Stridulations 1–14 continually redefines the boundaries between natural and synthetic, following an autonomous compositional logic informed by the principles of intra-species acoustic communication. The result is an immersive and destabilizing sound environment that opens alternative perspectives on the relationship between biological organisms, technological systems, and human agents.

In the second part, composer Jonathan Fitoussi offers a reinterpretation of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 “Titan,” accompanied by choreographer and dancer Fanny Sage.

Fitoussi’s work stands out for his ability to blend ambient, minimalist, and experimental elements, with a refined use of analog synthesizers and layered sonic textures. In this reinterpretation, Mahler’s Symphony is not simply remixed or sampled; it becomes the starting point for a new musical narrative, where Mahlerian suggestions dissolve and re-emerge in unexpected forms.

Fanny Sage’s choreography enters this context as a visual and corporeal element that dialogues with the music. The dancer has created a gestural score that reflects the internal dynamics of the electronic composition, accentuating tensions, suspensions, and sonic metamorphoses. The body thus becomes a vehicle of interpretation, amplifying the spectator’s sensory experience and offering a physical and emotional reading of the music.

The project is part of an artistic exploration aimed at overcoming the boundaries between genres and languages, proposing an integrated vision of performance art. Each part is characterized by a slow, contemplative evolution, with modulating arpeggios, atmospheric drones, and a timbral construction that invites attentive listening.

The project stands out for its aesthetic coherence, performance quality, and ability to engage the audience in an unconventional sonic and visual journey. An experience that leaves a mark and opens new paths for musical and choreographic creation in our time.