Despite my old age, I am constantly in search of something new. The path I take invariably leads to my own self. I must therefore constantly reveal new facets of my personality. Intensive musical practice allows the musician to find himself - it is the same for the listener.

Friedrich Cerha

The fundamental sound of Friedrich Cerha’s music is unique. Viennese, his sources definitely come from the lineage of Bruckner, Mahler, Berg and Webern, but, first and foremost, he has escaped categorization. His life, turned upside down by the war, will lead him to acquire the new languages of the 20th century, without ever allowing himself to be enclosed in any kind of system.

His music reveals a hidden interior world rooted in rare sincerity, a type of bareness that touches us to the extreme. With generosity mixed with resistance, he drives us, unbeknown to us, to explore depths that sometimes fringe on the abyssal. This path is filled with surprising events, exceptionally concise, clear and bewitching. It is amazing how this brilliant artisan and discreet magician overwhelms us with incredible harmonic finds.

How he can suddenly produce out of nowhere a wild dance, or a bird, or even this strange croaking sound? Beyond form and style, nature and life light up Friedrich Cerha’s music with their surprising presence.

Whether it expresses hope or despair, violence or gentleness, its essence always proceeds from a calmness that links us to a kind of magnetic and mysterious spirituality.