who is who
Etienne Abelin, Musical Direction, Violins
Classical Music, Pop, Jazz, Folklore – Etienne Abelin has always been interested in what inwardly connected seemingly diverse worlds of music. In his Matteis Project – Baroque ReImagined this passionate search finds expression. Inspired among others by philosopher Walter Benjamin and Psychoanalyst Gil Rose, Etienne Abelin and his colleages translate the mysterious music of the Italian baroque composer Nicola Matteis’ into various musical languages – methodically, sensitively with the declared goal of creating a simulataneously intelligible and differentiated music. An eclectic in the various styles and in his instruments Etienne Abelin plays the semi-electronic violin, Baroque violin and modern violin. Various elements in the Matteis Project are new: the method adopted in translating, the idea of contrasting and overlapping the original and the transpositions and not least the newly developed language of transbaroque that connects the baroque gestures and ornamentation with precisely choreographed pop- and jazz harmonies.
Etienne Abelin is a member of the Ensemble Talisman, USA, who in cooperation with the Kolpakov-Trio from Moskau are occupied with the music of Russian Roma-gypsies of the early 19th century.
As far as his work in Classical music is concerned he is a member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado and he is the principal of the second violins in the Orchestra Mozart Bologna also conducted by Claudio Abbado. Under Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez and others he played as the principal of the second violins and mandoline player in the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. He teaches at the Academy of Music in Basel. His latest CD’s appeared under the Labels Dorian, Musica Omnia and Pan Classics.
Recently he started developping and producing various cultural events like Kandinskyplus in collaboration with the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Hochschule für Musik Basel and the Schule für Neue Medien Hyperwerk. In preparation is Rhythm'n'Foot 08, a musical Swiss-Austrian collaboration for the Football European Championships 08.