hespos neuAnders: Concert with Slava Cernavca, Martin Sturm and Leo Hofmann

Slava Cernavca & Martin Sturm: clarinet (S. Cernavca) and organ (M. Sturm) | hespos compositions and improvisation

Leo Hofmann: grand piano | composition by Laehwang Jang 

‘neuAnders’ (new and different): this is how Hans-Joachim Hespos (1938-2022) described the central focus of his musical work, which aims to create spontaneous, honest and unpredictable acoustic events in the here and now. Improvisation was particularly important to this experimental composer of new music, who saw it as both a starting point and a goal. A great strength of his music therefore lies in its immediacy. For this year's edition of the hespos neuAnders concert series, which Haus Coburg has been hosting in the Stadtkirche since 2023 to mark his birthday, Slava Cernavca (clarinet) and Martin Sturm (organ) venture into the exciting realm of spontaneous musical expression. The two performers, improvisers and composers let their thoughts revolve around the sound material of hespos, making music intuitively and in dialogue with each other, filling the large church space with unique improvisations. In keeping with the youth-oriented ‘Bremer Punkt’ at the concerts for new music organised by hespos itself, the programme is expanded by a student contribution from Leo Hofmann (piano) and Laehwang Jang (composition), both of whom study at the University of the Arts in Bremen. 

The clarinettist, composer and teacher Slava Cernavca (born 1979, Republic of Moldova) performs worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician in the fields of classical music, jazz and world music and has enjoyed international success at renowned festivals such as the Mozartfest Würzburg, the Macao International Music Festival, the Biennale di Venezia and the Hong Kong Chamber Music Festival. Since 2004, Cernavca has been teaching clarinet at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich. He also works as a composer and conductor of ensembles and orchestras.

Organist Martin Sturm (born 1992 in Velburg) is internationally active as a performer, improviser and composer and was appointed Germany's youngest professor at the University of Music ‘Franz Liszt’ Weimar in 2019. Since then, he has been teaching organ and organ improvisation, heading the department of church music and founding the ‘Experimentalstudio Orgel’ for new music. Martin Sturm is the winner of several renowned music competitions, co-editor of the trade journal organ - Journal für die Orgel, and in international demand as an artistic advisor for new organ builds and restorations.

Leo Néstor Hofmann, born in Bonn, has been studying piano with Hwa-Kyung Yim at the University of the Arts in Bremen since 2024. Due to his own compositional work, Leo focuses particularly on pieces of new music in addition to the classical repertoire.

Composer Laehwang Jang was born in Daejeon, South Korea. After completing his studies in his home country, he earned his Master of Music degree at the University of the Arts Bremen under Prof. Jörg Birkenkötter. He is currently continuing his studies there as part of his concert exam, and has been receiving a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) since 2022.