On Saturday 15 August 2026, Alexander Kronbichler, an oboist, and Mia Köseoglu, a violist from Studio Musikfabrik, set off on their journey to Thailand for the 2026 International Symposium of the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music (PGVIM).

Accompanied by musicians from the Lübeck University of Music, the young adults arrived in the metropolis of Bangkok on Sunday lunchtime, where they were met by staff from the PGVIM. A week full of adventure lay ahead of them: an exciting, vibrant city; fragrant Thai food on every corner; a large institute campus; plenty of input and inspiration from the symposium; new encounters and, of course, new works – some involving improvisation – which were presented in two concerts.

“The biggest challenge for me was actually the first two and a half days: at first, Bangkok overwhelmed me as a huge, bustling and chaotic city, and I needed a bit of time to settle in. Once I’d got used to it, I was able to enjoy the city and the whole project to the full and simply have a wonderful time.” (Mia)

Before the symposium began, the musicians rehearsed their solo works, duets and tutti pieces, and worked with other musicians on the collaborative project *Rainforest* by David Tudor, in cooperation with Studio Musikfabrik, the Lübeck University of Music, the Bern University of the Arts, the China Conservatory of Music and the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music, under the artistic direction of Peter Veale. The piece *Rainforest*, which was originally commissioned for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, evolved over several iterations from a dance accompaniment into a walk-through, performative spatial installation. The basic idea is based on the transformation of everyday objects into independent sound-producing instruments. Thus, on the evening of 20 August 2026, the Marshall Live House became a walk-in, immersive musical experience for the audience.

“Our concert at the Marshall Livehouse was one of the highlights of our trip for me. There, we were able to improvise freely to the Rainforest sound installation and thus discover entirely new soundscapes and playing techniques.” (Alexander)
“The ensemble playing and the direct interaction with the audience gave the whole thing a very special, unusual dynamic, which I thoroughly enjoyed.” (Mia)
The concert evening was rounded off with further works such as Wang Fei’s oboe solo “Drifting Dialogue I*, performed by Studio Musikfabrik under the direction of Peter Veale; “Shaking in the Garden” by Hermione Johnson for viola and oboe, performed by the two Studio Musikfabrik musicians; and Heinz Holliger’s oboe solo “Studie über Mehrklänge” (Study on Multitones). The individual works were positioned across different levels of the Marshall Live House, which gave the whole event the feel of a sonic journey and a walking concert.

“My personal highlight was definitely our concert at the Marshall House. The experience was completely different from what I’m used to at classical concerts.” (Mia)

As well as its own concerts, the International Symposium also featured numerous lectures, panel discussions and concerts by other musicians specialising in electronic music, improvisation and contemporary music – all of which were even combined with traditional Thai instruments – as well as providing a space for exchange.

“What I found particularly valuable was the in-depth exchange with so many creative and inspiring people. I was able to make some wonderful new contacts and take home countless fresh impressions as well as renewed motivation for my own artistic work.” (Mia)

Another key moment was the concert on Friday evening, 21 August, at the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music. Together with students from the partner institutions, the programme featured Richard Barrett’s *Codex IV* and Xinlin Li’s *The sketch of white scene* for oboe, violin, cello, percussion and piano, composed for the 2026 symposium. The focus of the evening was György Kurtág, who was honoured in 2026 to mark the centenary of his birth. Kurtág’s music featured repeatedly throughout the programme – including in the solo works *Signs, Games and Messages* for solo oboe and viola, which were performed with great skill by Mia and Alexander.

“The concert at the PGVIM Institute was also a special experience, as, in addition to our solo pieces, we were able to perform together with students from Thailand.” (Alexander)

Following these eventful days leading up to and during the symposium, the musicians from Studio Musikfabrik and the students from the Lübeck and Bern conservatoires had two days off, which they spent exploring the local culture and cuisine, visiting museums and enjoying a traditional Thai massage to relax a little, before setting off on their return journey on 24 August.

“After the concerts, we had two days to explore Bangkok, and the memories we made there will stay with me for a long time to come. The various Buddhist temples were particularly special; with their intricately carved roofs and vibrant colours, they are truly impressive. Wat Pho, in particular, houses a 46-metre-long golden Buddha statue. We were also able to visit various museums of modern Thai art in Bangkok, went to some great bars and restaurants, and always had wonderful meals.” (Alexander)

In conclusion, it remains to be said:

“Our trip to Bangkok was a wonderful experience full of new discoveries. Not only did we get to know a new country with completely different customs and cultures, but we also gained lots of new musical experiences and met some brilliant people. (…) It was definitely one of the most exciting and inspiring trips I’ve ever been on, and I’ll be thinking back on it for a long time to come.” (Alexander)

“The trip to Bangkok was an absolutely enriching experience that I will remember for a long time to come.” (Mia)

Photos: © PGVIM

Feedback report by David P. Graham

1995-2001 or so I traveled annually to a festival of contemporary and ancient classical music in Camagüey, Cuba, always with musicians from Germany, Italy and Denmark. Again and again we were proven that Cuba has a classical side it is not all salsa that is invented there. At that time everything was difficult: the US blockade caused a periodo especial, a time when, for example, parts of the city were sometimes without light, or articles such as paper, violin strings, etc. could not be found. Nevertheless, with harmonious cooperation and inventiveness, we created beautiful programs. There was always a great interest in European musical developments, but also in Latin American ones.

I was eager to see and hear what the capital could offer 20 years later. In the meantime, the periodo especial is over (although the recent blockade tightening makes gasoline scarce) and La Habana shows many shiny skyscrapers in addition to countless streets that have never been renovated.

Music education, like the entire Cuban school and university system, is free, and those who are talented are supported. We had as partner the music school Conservatorio Amadeo Roldán, whose students were about 14-20 years old. The handsome, renovated building, built around a small colonial-style patio three stories high with a more modern addition, had a large auditorium that was made available to us for rehearsals the entire time. The young Cuban musicians were introduced to us in a welcome activity accompanied by the big band, the director of the school Enrique Toledo conducting. The Cuban musicians were prepared differently and extra rehearsals were set up for them. The area around this school was unadulterated Cuban, our young musicians could also get food and drinks in Cuban pesos (25 times cheaper than usual).

We rehearsed for 4 days; especially when Peter Veale arrived, it was a pleasure to follow the work of these charismatic, always humorous full-blooded musicians. Our musicians were a very harmonious group, made friends quickly with the young Cubans, learned just as quickly under Peter. The rehearsal work was efficient despite very high noise levels (it was hot, all windows and doors were always open, at the same time audibly many others were practicing in the building), one learned to filter unnecessary things.

The first concert followed on 7.11, at the Conservatorio. In the audience some VIPs of the festival, some teachers of the school, about 100 students. My piece, UA, was played wonderfully. (By the way, composed for Studio Musikfabrik but also conceived in memory of Alexander von Humboldt in his jubilee year). The second concert, Nov. 9, in a beautiful hall extravagantly decorated with frescoes in Spanish style (Sala conciertos Ignacio Cervantes) was also beautifully played and well attended. Neither hall had air conditioning, unfortunately, so the problem of open windows and associated background noise remained.

We were able to attend other concerts in the festival, and they were also well attended. The music presented ranged from solo to (short) opera with symphony orchestra and originated from the following countries: Germany, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Spain, USA, UK, Italy, Mexico and Russia. Classics of early modernism, much that was just composed but rather relatively soft sounding. There were a few avant-garde pieces as well. We – with Varèse, Harvey and Cubans Lopez Gavilán and Cal – presented a Europe-Cuba bridge. Lopez Gavilán is director of the festival and a respected composer and conductor, Wilma Alma Cal a young, very interesting composer.

Overall, I found the Havana Festival of Contemporary Music to be very informative and valuable, the geographic location literally inviting music from all over the Americas and Europe to come together. The festival emphasizes the “serious music” side of Cuba (though some of e.g. Lopez-Gavilán et al is not that serious) and is well organized. The extremely active and support-worthy music school Amadeo Roldán maintains besides jazz formations, big band etc also 4 symphony orchestras (divided into 4 age groups). Its director Enrique Toledo, besides his passion (big band), is also on fire for new music. He would be willing to create a group for such performances.

I strongly suggest to initiate a sustainable partnership between Studio Musikfabrik and Conservatorio Amadeo Roldan for a minimum period of about 5 years, with annual visit and return visit. Accents on Cuban, Latin American and European avant-garde. Performances in the annual (November) festival and in Cologne.

We thank David Graham very much for his initiative and support of this new project and hope for a repetition soon as well as another trip with him to Cuba.

Studio Musikfabrik was a guest in Bangkok and participated in the symposium of the Princess Gayana Vadhana Institute of Music 2019. Within one week, the Studio Musikfabrik participants learned new works by Southeast Asian composers and premiered them together with the Asean Youth Ensemble (AYE) in three concerts.

The enthusiastic reports of the young musicians testify to the formative impressions left by this intercultural exchange:

“No matter in which country you make music, it is always the same – you can touch and address people with music. Music connects and gives us the chance to understand each other across all borders and languages.”
Julia Berg, clarinet

“This direct exchange with the composers was one of the great and inspiring experiences in the cultural exchange of the trip to Thailand.”
Alejandro Sarregui, percussion

“For me, the experiences, the sounds, the concerts, the facial expressions, and especially the thought-provoking works were an overwhelming experience that I won’t soon forget.”
Charlotte Ortolf, tuba 

“Just concerts together and the feeling of having created something together that we all love just welds us together so much.”
Moritz Koch, drums

“In general, the entire symposium proved to be a particularly lively and diverse program, with various events taking place simultaneously and enlivening the PGVIM campus. As a result, I was able to make some new contacts and friendships and am glad to have been in chaotic, dynamic and warm Bangkok.”
Sara Cubarsi, violin, Ensemble Musikfabrik

made possible by the support of the Goethe-Institut Bangkok

Studio Musikfabrik produziert gerade seine erste CD. Die letzten zwei Stücke von insgesamt vier Titeln fehlen noch. Tonmeister Hendrik Manook leitete die gestrige Aufnahme und hat uns ein paar Fragen dazu beantwortet:

Lieber Hendrik, Du arbeitest schon jahrelang mit dem Ensemble Musikfabrik zusammen, was ist deine Verbindung zum Jugendensemble Studio Musikfabrik?

Für das Ensemble Musikfabrik arbeite ich seit über 10 Jahren, einerseits habe ich als Klangregisseur in Konzerten verschiedenste Arten von Elektronik realisiert und andererseits als Tonmeister Aufnahmen für das Ensemble gemacht, z.B. für das eigene Label. Mit dem Studio Musikfabrik ist diese Aufnahme tatsächlich eine Premiere für mich, auch wenn ich vielen der Musiker schon das ein oder andere Mal auf dem Flur begegnet bin.

Nun bist du bei den letzten beiden Aufnahmen für die geplante CD des Studio Musikfabrik der zuständige Tonmeister. Was sind dabei deine Hauptaufgaben?

Zuallererst bin ich für die technische Durchführung verantwortlich, um einen ästhetisch und technisch passenden Klang einzufangen, also für sämtliches Equipment von Mikrofonen und Kabeln bis hin zur Software für die Aufnahme, Mischung und Nachbearbeitung. Darüber hinaus fällt mir die Aufgabe der organisatorischen und künstlerischen Leitung der Aufnahme zu. Fragen zur Interpretation kläre ich natürlich mit dem Dirigenten und dem Komponisten, der bei der ersten Aufnahmesession selber anwesend war, und immer wieder in Rücksprache mit den Instrumentalisten.

Wie genau läuft so eine Aufnahme ab? Auf was muss besonders geachtet werden?

Nach dem Aufbau der Technik und einem grundlegenden Test, ob diese so läuft wie erwartet, starten wir mit einem Soundcheck, bei dem Mikrofontypen und -positionen festgelegt werden und eine erste Klangeinstellung gemacht wird. Wenn sich alle Beteiligten einig sind, dass der Klang gut zum Stück passt oder zumindest alle Elemente vorhanden sind, um daraus später eine schöne Mischung erstellen zu können, beginnen wir mit der eigentlichen Aufnahme. Abhängig vom Stück nehmen wir in der Regel einige Fassungen auf, diskutieren zwischendurch darüber, ob wir alle zufrieden waren oder ob etwas verändert werden soll. Oft geht es darum für die Aufnahmen bestimmte Stellen anders zu interpretieren als in der Konzertsituation.
Zusätzlich achte ich darauf, dass sich das gemeinsam produzierte Material später gut kombinieren lässt. Manchmal arbeitet man in längeren Abschnitten, manchmal auch ziemlich punktuell im Detail, das hängt immer vom Stück ab.

Wie viel Zeit haben die Vorbereitungen für die zwei Aufnahmen in Anspruch genommen?

Im Vorfeld schaue ich mir die Partituren im Detail an und falls es bereits Aufnahmen gibt, z.B. einen Livemitschnitt einer Aufführung oder sogar andere Tonträger (was bei Neuer Musik aber nicht immer der Fall ist), verschaffe ich mir damit einen Überblick über die Stücke. Danach überlege ich mir, wie ich die Aufnahme technisch angehe und welche Stellen im Stück voraussichtlich besondere Aufmerksamkeit benötigen, weil sie beispielsweise besonders schwierig zu spielen sind. Insgesamt hat das in diesem Fall vielleicht ein bis drei Stunden gedauert.

Unterscheidet sich die Aufnahme mit den MusikerInnen des Studio Musikfabrik von anderen Aufnahmen die du leitest? 

Den größten Unterschied zu anderen Aufnahmen macht bei diesem Projekt die Tatsache, dass die Musiker alle noch so jung sind. Sie spielen unglaublich gut, aber viele von Ihnen haben noch nicht so viel professionelle Aufnahme-Erfahrung sammeln können. An dem Punkt kann und muss ich meine Erfahrung einbringen. Ich behalte zum Beispiel das Zeitmanagement und die Krafteinteilung für den gesamten Aufnahmetag gut im Blick. Selbst für routinierte Profis ist eine mehrstündige Aufnahmesession konditionell sehr fordernd, und wenn man das noch nicht so oft gemacht hat, ist es sehr schwer einzuschätzen wie lange man sein Instrument für eine Aufnahme so spielen kann, sodass es nicht erschöpft sondern frisch klingt. Manchmal hilft da allein schon die richtige Pauseneinteilung.

Was muss noch gemacht werden, wenn du die Aufnahmen im Kasten hast?

Je nachdem wie die Herangehensweise bei der Aufnahme war, muss ich mehr oder weniger aufwendig die einzelnen Aufnahmetakes zusammenschneiden und schließlich eine Mischung erstellen. Die schicke ich dann zur Kontrolle an die Interpreten und nach eventuellen Korrekturen muss ich für die CD (oder auch jede andere Veröffentlichungsform) noch ein Master erstellen, d.h. die einzelnen Stücke dafür passend zusammenstellen, eventuell noch ein paar klangliche Anpassungen machen und alles für das Presswerk vorbereiten.

Bist du stolz, wenn die von dir produzierten Stücke auf einer CD oder einem anderen Audioträger veröffentlicht werden?

Es freut mich natürlich, wenn ich meinen Teil dazu beitragen kann, ein Stück Musik so in einer Aufnahme einzufangen, dass auch andere daran Freude finden können, vor allem wenn es davor noch keine Aufnahme von dem Stück gab.

Was ist deiner Meinung nach, in den Zeiten der Digitalisierung, Spotify und Co noch das besondere an einer CD-Veröffentlichung? Ist das überhaupt noch notwendig?

Sicherlich gibt es bestimmte Genres, in denen Tonträger immer mehr vom Streaming abgelöst werden, aber Tonträger haben auch ein paar Vorteile, die ein Download oder Streaming nicht bieten können. Man muss natürlich davon ausgehen, dass die Hörer überhaupt einen (CD-)Player und ein paar möglichst gute Lautsprecher besitzen, aber dann ist die klangliche Qualität und beispielsweise die Dynamikabbildung auf CD oft besser als das, was die meistverbreiteten Streamingplattformen so bieten. Zudem macht für mich jeder Tonträger mit dazugehörigem Booklet einfach einen schöneren haptischen Eindruck. Man kann verschiedene Stücke auf ganz eigene Art zusammenstellen und damit Bezüge zwischen Ihnen hervorheben, die man so nicht herstellt, wenn man nur Einzelwerke “in der Hand” hat. Außerdem sind Tonträger auch besser zum Verkauf bei Konzerten oder als Geschenk geeignet und besonders für ein junges Ensemble eine Art Visitenkarte.