Frost Pattern - Eisblume for bass flute, electric guitar, electronic sounds and theatrical elements
World premiere: November 2019, Alte Feuerwache, Cologne / in the context of 3x3x3 by the Cologne Society for New Music (kgnm)
Trio NYT: Pavel Tseliapnou, Stephan Wolke, Emanuel Wittersheim
Frost Pattern - Eisblume
for bass flute, electric guitar, electronic sounds and theatrical elements
“Frost Patterns” or “Eisblumen” appear, on the one hand, as abstract patterns and, on the other, as flower- or fern-like formations. In this composition, I repeatedly break down a soundscape into opposing elements: rhythmic patterns and sustained chords of overtones.
The musicians are like workers at a machine, showing hardly any human traits. They follow the rhythm, merge with it, and carry it forward. The sustained sounds are associated with the minimal expressive possibilities of their suppressed dreams and longings.
“Eisblumen” emerge and develop as fragile constructs, changing at the slightest fluctuations in temperature and humidity. For this composition, I mainly use overtones, including those played as split tones, which are sometimes difficult to produce on the instruments. The overtones are combined in such a way as to create distinctive ‘colours’.
The two musicians on stage take on the roles of workers at least once during the performance by carrying out an action of their own choosing.
The world premiere of Frost Pattern - Eisblume was originally planned for 2016 at the Darmstadt Summer Courses.
Commissioned by Pyramidale Berlin, Germany
Composition for contrabass clarinet, electric guitar, violoncello, live electronics, fixed electronics, video and theatrical elements; world premiere at Radialsystem Berlin; Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin; Commissioned by Heroines of Sound Festival
Interdisciplinary music-theatre “The Mark on the Wall” was brought to the stage in London (in concert), Berlin and Ulm (as staged productions) between 2017 and 2019 – sponsored by the LAFT and the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs in Baden-Württemberg (among others) – was widely acclaimed by both the public and critics. On 4 December 2026, a 2-CD set is released featuring a studio recording of the entire work in the form of a musical audio play.
100 years of “The Mark on the Wall” – In her music-theatre “The Mark on the Wall”, Stepha Schweiger focusses on Virginia Woolf’s short story of the same name which was originally published in 1917.
The protagonist’s gaze is drawn to a mysterious stain on the wall, which makes their mind spin, both sensually and intellectually – leading their imagination to run wild. Split into 3 roles – singer, dancer and speaker – the protagonist embarks on a phantasmal journey between imagination and reality...
Written during the 1st World War, the story's topics are still as relevant today: human and women’s rights, safety, social norms, and the conflict between people and nature are analysed during the maelstrom of events that unfold in the process of a daydream.
“The Mark on the Wall” was brought to the stage in London, Berlin and Ulm between 2017 and 2019 – sponsored by the LAFT and the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs in Baden-Württemberg (among others) – was widely acclaimed by both the public and critics.
On 4 December 2026, a 2-CD set is released featuring a studio recording of the entire work in the form of a musical audio play.
The band The Moon Is No Door, initiated by Stepha Schweiger, merges experimental kraut and punk elements with a magical, poetic sensibility. On their first album, they revisited texts from the author Katherine Mansfield, transforming them into a fusion of psychedelic rock, indie-pop, and avant-garde improvisation. Stepha Schweiger especially values the collaboration within the band, along with the fact that the band project gives her the opportunity to create a harder, edgier, and more krauty sound to match Mansfield’s lyrics. The core lineup of the band features Stepha Schweiger on vocals, pianos, and synthesizers and production, Robert Pöschl on electric bass and co-production, Adam Goodwin on double bass and Mäx Huber on drums and vocals.
