Diego Castro Magas + Cristián Alvear: Jürg Frey

Standard £25 // Solidarity £32.50 // Kirklees £23 // Under 30 £8
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Advance booking required

Estimated end time: 2pm

Diego Castro Magas electric guitar
Cristián Alvear electric guitar

Jürg Frey (Switzerland, 1953)
Tombeau (2026) 42′ World Premiere

Chilean guitarists Cristián Alvear and Diego Castro Magaš give the world premiere of Tombeau, a new work for two electric guitars by Swiss composer Jürg Frey – a central figure of the Wandelweiser collective and Composer in Residence at hcmf// 2015.

Having developed his own language as a composer with the creation of wide, quiet sound spaces, Frey’s work is marked by an elementary non-extravagance of sound, a sensibility for the qualities of the musical material, and a precision of compositional approach. Sometimes his compositions bypass instrumentation and duration altogether, rather touching on aspects of sound art.

In Tombeau, the two guitars meet as equals, their tones unfolding side by side with none in the foreground; the music never overrides the room, allowing the sounds already present in the room to become part of the listening experience.

Presented ahead of a forthcoming studio recording for experimental music label Another Timbre, this concert offers a unique opportunity to encounter a major new work by one of contemporary music’s most influential composers, performed by two of its most dedicated interpreters.

“One of the most distinct voices in contemporary music (…) Frey has created a body of music that is as daring as it is beautiful” – Alex Ross, “The Otherworldly Harmony of Jürg Frey”, The New Yorker

Produced by hcmf// supported by Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation

Photo: Diego Castro Magaš + Cristian Alvear © Instituto de Música UC