Young Austrian 'cellist Lukas Lauermann performs his own works for 'cello and electronics in Jerusalem

Photo: Sara Yassin

The somewhat mystical environment of the mixed Jewish-Arab quarter of Abu Tor, Jerusalem, seems to fit in with the ideals of the Willy Brandt Center (WBC), a center where young people from Israel, Palestine, Europe, and the entire world meet and engage in cross-cultural exchange. Attended by people of various ages - speakers of German, English, Arabic and Hebrew -  the closing event of the Jerusalem Open Forum  “Past and Future Reflection and Creation” (October 11th-13th 2018) was “Cello Sound Experience”, a unique solo concert performed by Austrian ‘cellist and sound designer Lukas Lauermann. Born in Vienna in 1985, Lauermann is a classically-trained musician, having studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and the Anton Bruckner University (Linz, Austria). His 2018 concert tours took him to the USA, China and India.

The event opened with words of welcome from the Willy Brandt Center’s  Social Art project coordinator Petra Klose and from Maria Gierlinger-Landa, deputy director of the Austrian Cultural Forum, Tel Aviv. Then, to the sounds of the muezzin not far away, Lauermann began his solo recital - three original works for ‘cello and electronics - his right foot controlling the various electronic tools of a synthesizer on the floor. Each of the three works was a veritable emotional journey, a developmental process beginning with small-, sometimes static motifs, then building up, as the artist’s engaging of electronics added looping and layers, with textures often becoming massive and dramatically overwhelming, at other times percussive, or wrought of lengthy-, sweeping bowed melodies, arpeggiated textures, the sound world of otherworldly overtones or pizzicato lightness. Broad, original and varied as Lauermann’s canvas is, his fine technique and classical training shine through his playing and works. The artist spoke of his first solo disc, released last year, as influenced by the large wave of immigration to Austria, in all its complexities. Alongside many beautiful ‘cello sounds, the harsh moments of these works symbolically request the listener not to fear what seems strange and different. Lauermann concluded the program with a work based on quite a sentimental, cantabile melody, building up in intensity, becoming vehement, then to suddenly cease altogether. Taking up again in a single major-sounding melodic line, then to duet with a second line, the piece ends in a reflective aura, the final sounds evocative of the rise and fall of breezes, slowly ebbing away to nothing. Lukas Lauermann is an artist with his own voice and language, as he reaches out to his audience in music that is decidedly experiential.

The concert took place in a room in which exhibits from “Promise Me a Land”, the current photo exhibition of local scenes  by 35-year-old French photographer Clément  Chapillon, were on display, an exhibition whose objective is to present a clear connection between the environment in this very region and its people. In an interview with Irene Ramón for Metal Magazine, Chapillon explains: “In Israel and Palestine, everyone claims this land, and I wanted to know the landscapes that make up the collective identity of these people...We have the impression of touching the real, the essential”.