Michal Rataj: Siren – Fanfare – Who Knows?
Premiere: 6th November 2019, Faculty of Architecture, Czech Technical University in Prague
Jan Pohořalý a Radek Černý – trumpets, Jan Musil – French horn, Jan Jirucha – trombone
The siren is primarily an informative instrument. Michal Rataj’s musical collage refreshes various signals, either still in use or things of the past, that human history is full of. It is a homage to the watchmen of yore; the trumpeters of the Vatican; the campers at the Chaire summer camp; any soldiers woken up by the morning call (on Apollo 11, perhaps); and scouts and hunters.
Michal Rataj (*1975) composes predominantly electroacoustic and instrumental music. He is the author of many scores for radio, television, film, and theatre. His pieces have been broadcast and performed in a number of countries around the world. He also performs live, particularly with sensors scanning the movements of the human body. He has studied, worked, and carried out research in England, Germany, Austria, and the US. For years, he was a music director and producer for Czech Radio. He teaches electroacoustic music at the composition department at HAMU and at NYU Prague.
www.michalrataj.com
