Heinz Röthlisberger is currently in charge of the "New financing of elementary school" and "ERZ portal" projects. He will retain responsibility for both projects during the interim management of the Office of Culture.

Lukas Vogel has been working at the Office for Culture as project manager for the total revision of the Culture Promotion Act since April 1, 2010. Before that, he was Head of the Office for Culture in the Canton of Nidwalden for eleven years.

The head of the Cantonal Office for Culture, Anita Bernhard, resigned from her position at the end of October 2012 with effect from the end of March 2013. She will leave the Directorate of Education in mid-February 2013. Barbara den Brok, Head of the German Cultural Promotion Department, also resigned at the end of October 2012.

The Festival of Early Music in Basel - which will receive CHF 220,000 from the Swisslos fund in 2013 - was held for the first time in 2011 under the theme "Autumn of the Middle Ages", directed by Peter Reidemeister, the former director of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and the entrepreneur Renato D. Pessi, who co-initiated the Les Muséiques festival in Basel.

The cantonal government has allocated a total of CHF 350,000 from the Swisslos fund. The Basel-Stadt Senior Citizens' Conference (special presentation "Growing older - staying active" at MUBA 2013, CHF 60,000), Top Event GmbH Pratteln (24th Top Volley International, CHF 40,000), Theater Arlecchino Basel (theater production Die Schöön und s Biescht, CHF 20,000) and Ultimo, Artists & Eventmanagement, Steffisburg (Night of Faith - Festival for Art and Church, CHF 10,000) will also be considered.

The booklet by composer, bandmaster and teacher Bruno Stöckli fills a gap for these two mobile instruments. I can already see young people happily playing these pieces as street musicians. It's good that more M-III arrangements are appearing: The accordion setting M III, manual three, allows the buttons of the left hand to sound as single notes; the notation of the second system in bass clef for the left hand therefore contains real tone movements, which encourages pupils musically more than M II, with whose setting each button press with the left hand converts a harmony symbol into a chord.

The range deliberately extends only to the lowest note of small instruments. Some of the 16 song movements are very easy to play. In most cases - unfortunately not always - the lyrics are also written under the notes. Melody and accompaniment change instruments on an equal footing, there are many variations, the accompanying figures require a wide variety of techniques, sometimes even noises, evoking atmospheric moods. The players are challenged by chamber music with rallentandi, fermatas, tempo changes and brilliant endings. Sometimes the violin is used as a banjo, sometimes it sounds like English folk, sometimes we are melancholically transported to Russia, sometimes it swings ternary, like in an American barn. The rumba goat deservedly gives the album its title: Dört äne am Bärgli is not in three-four time as usual, but in four-four time with a typical three-three-two-quaver rumble rhythm as a demanding two-minute piece.

Bruno Stöckli, Rumba-Ziege, 16 folk songs for violin and melodic bass accordion, score and violin part, published by IG Akkordeon, No. 77300030, € 14.50, Musikverlag Jetelina, Durchhausen 2012

The interim agreement stipulates, among other things, that the rates in the event sector, which are the subject of the negotiations, will be adjusted upwards by 5 percent. This affects events with live or recorded music, in discotheques, music pubs and variety venues as well as at city festivals.

The tariff for clubs and discotheques will be increased by a further 10 percent from April 1. As announced, the so-called laptop surcharge will be replaced by a new tariff or an adjustment to the VR-Ö tariff from April 1.

GEMA represents the copyrights of more than 65,000 members (composers, lyricists and music publishers) in Germany as well as over two million rights holders from all over the world. It is one of the world's largest authors' societies for musical works.

The origins of so-called "new music" now date back a century. Not only has compositional practice changed enormously since then, but the academic world has also developed new perspectives. Musicology has moved from a goal-oriented development à la Theodor W. Adorno to a pluralistic interpretation of the 20th century that emphasizes the simultaneousness of the non-simultaneous. The editor of the anthology published by Schott, the Stuttgart professor of musicology Andreas Meyer, like Gianmario Borio, describes the survival of popular, primitive styles, while Arnold Schönberg, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez subtly refine their serial constructions. It is precisely such contrasts that make it so difficult to grasp and define New Music. No one is able to put into a concise formula what it is today. Music education, which Sointu Scharenberg deals with, is faced with particularly difficult tasks. Her essay How does New Music find its way into German music education? offers a historical review and surprises with the conclusion that New Music arrived in music lessons in West Germany in the early 1970s at the latest. One wonders why so many music students (and adults) hardly know more than two composers after 1950.

The title What remains? is not only to be understood with regard to established works of New Music. Rather, the question is also aimed at what musicological findings of the 20th century have remained. There are not many, one gets the impression. Of course - a hermeneutic commonplace - the present always determines the view of history. The academic fixation on sheet music has long blocked musicology with an evil "will to the system". Today, music researchers are more relaxed about looking beyond the score. While Simone Heilgendorff does not shy away from looking directly at the present and asks about the current meaning of the terms avant-garde or progress for today's composers (and receives skeptical answers in the process), Matthias Tischer examines in his essay Music in the era of the Cold War The importance of the occupying powers for the development of music after 1950 is not primarily mentioned, but rather the competition for cultural sovereignty in Germany after the supposed zero hour. As painful as it may sound for the "critical avant-garde", New Music after 1950 was also able to flourish in Germany because it was generously supported by America in the West and Russia in the East. Politics, power and music are more closely linked than some "aesthetes" might believe - this is another thing you take away from this entertaining and highly readable anthology.

What remains? 100 Years of New Music, Stuttgarter Musikwissenschaftliche Schriften Vol. 1, edited by Andreas Meyer, 221 p., paperback, € 29.95, Schott, Mainz 2011, ISBN 978-3-7957-0754-5

The Spanish guitarist Rafael Catalá, who works in Austria, is making a name for himself with those parts of 19th century Spanish guitar music that have not yet entered the general repertoire. In the fifth volume of his series Música Ibérica he juxtaposes pieces by the Catalan José Broca (1805-1882) with those by José Ferrer (1835-1916), who, like Broca, was active in Barcelona, but also in Paris. Ferrer's late romantic minuets, tangos and other musical "bouquets", often dedicated to his friends or advanced female students, always impress with their effective musicality. The pieces by Broca, his teacher and friend thirty years his senior, are also pleasing, but do not quite come close to those of his successor.

In the fourth volume of the same series, published at the same time, the editor presents all ten works by José Costa y Hugas, who is largely unknown but also active in the Catalan capital. Here is the waltz El Fagot which was also arranged by Daniel Fortea, among others. And with the wedding piece Rêverie Nupcial is for all those guitarists who are looking for substantial tremolo pieces.

José Costa y Hugas, Complete Works, (=Musica Iberica, Spanish Guitar Music of the 19th Century, Vol. 4), edited by Rafael Catalá, D 35 917, €22.95, Doblinger, Vienna 2010

José Ferrer & José Brocá, Die kurzen Stücke, (=Musica Iberica, Spanische Gitarrenmusik des 19. Jh., Band 5), ed. by Rafael Catalá, D 35 918, €22.95, Doblinger, Vienna 2010

Born in Kent in 1936, Bennett came from a musical family; his mother was a pupil of the composer Gustav Holst. He won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in 1953. His teachers were Lennox Berkeley and Howard Ferguson. He was introduced to avant-garde music by the composer Elizabeth Lutyens and, with the support of the French government, he studied with Pierre Boulez for two years. He was also a frequent guest at the Darmstadt Summer Course.

Bennett developed his own language, known as "neo-romantic serialism". In the 1960s, Bennett wrote several operas, including the children's opera "All the King's Men", which is still very popular today.

In addition to orchestral music, Bennett also wrote a number of successful film scores, for which he was nominated for an Oscar three times. His last work for film was the music for "Four Weddings and a Funeral" in 1994. He was also active as a jazz pianist.

After a year and a half ago (SMZ 7-8/2011p. 34), some new double bass schools have already been discussed, further new publications have now enriched the range.

The "Sassmannshaus" is anything but new. What is new is that the school originally conceived for violin and cello for early lessons from the age of four has now been adapted and published for the double bass. At this age, it makes sense to work with text-backed exercises, a concept that runs through the entire first volume. Immediately after the first simple rhythms on empty strings, the placement of the 1st finger is practiced. Experience has shown that this is less favorable on the bass. Fingers that are not used quickly cramp up, and the same applies when playing on the low strings and when placing and immediately lifting the fingers on empty strings. The latter makes it difficult for the youngest children to find their position. More suitable Mary had a litttle lamb On page 27, the young players can start from the fully placed hand and "feel their way" to the notes below by lifting the upper fingers.

The legato exercises, often leading over the next string, and the introduction of the change of register from the 1st to the 2nd position (instead of the preferred change from the 1st to the 3rd position in most current schools) show that a successful concept for high strings cannot simply be transferred to the double bass. In the third band (up to the 4th position), such an early start requires a few more intermediate steps. Nevertheless, many pieces and attractively arranged duos are suitable for classically oriented lessons. The publisher Bärenreiter is to be highly commended for its commitment to early instrumental teaching on the double bass.Bärenreiter's Sassmannshaus, Early Beginnings on the Double Bass, edited by J. Peter Close and Holger Sassmannshaus; Volume 1, BA 9660; Volume 2, BA 9662; Volume 3 BA 9663; € 14.50 each, Bärenreiter, Kassel 2012

To anticipate this: The promise announced on the cover page that the Double Bass ABC The idea that the piece is suitable for young and older players is realized. The musical material moves between classical musical language and standard jazz. The latter, however, is exclusively written out. After one volume each in spring 2011 and 2012, a third booklet now continues the development.

The introduction in the first volume with harmonics and 3rd position is physiologically favorable, but requires a basic understanding of the tonal material and musical notation in bass clef. The introduction of the bow is followed by the pizzicato technique in jazz. The objectives of the respective materials, which include scales, exercises and pieces, are presented in a factual, competent and appealing manner, both in the text and by means of photos and graphic elements. The two CDs (exclusively for the first volume) are also of unpretentious quality and support self-study. They contain corresponding model recordings and accompanying parts for all exercises. While the author uses traditional and classical melodies in addition to the jazz exercises in the first volume, from the second volume onwards most of the music is composed by the author himself. This enables a consistent step-by-step and goal-oriented structure, but in the long run it seems predictable and offers too little musical substance.

In summary, it can be said that the school is particularly suitable for advanced lessons with young people and adults. However, it urgently needs sufficient supplementary material from the diverse original repertoire, which is fortunately increasingly available again today.

Thomas Grossmann, Double Bass ABC, School for young and older double bass players; Volume 1, GH 11746, with 2 CDs, Fr. 32.80; Volume 2, GH11747, Fr. 28.80; Volume 3, GH 11748, Fr. 29.80; Hug Musikverlage, Zurich 2011/2012

In Bern, the composer Scartazzini, born in Basel in 1971, is best known for his opera Anger (2010 in the repertoire of the Stadttheater). The miniatures, which last around four minutes, prove that he is also fascinated by the smallest ensembles with singing voices Night low and moon.

The demands on the singer are not primarily in hitting the notes, which do not seem abstract even in harmony with the violoncello; the dynamic markings - lying between pppp and mp - are demanding, notes come out of nowhere or disappear into nothingness. In addition, the counter or the female voice (preferably a mezzo) has to play crotales (small cymbals), in the first movement with a double bass bow, in the second with metal brushes.

The texts are referred to as "boutades". (I had to look up this expression: conceit, idea, whim.) The airy word creations such as "Blattanbeter" or "Windverehrer" are composed coherently; only in the third movement does the composer dispense with text altogether and assigns the voice a sotto voce vocalise, corresponding to the line of text set to music: "Ich lausch dem Winde, schweigend und versonnen". Instead, the cello, which until now has played around, trilled and accompanied with glissandi, is given the task of embodying the wind with all the sound possibilities of the bow and instrument.

The instructions are clearly notated in the musical text, which saves you having to leaf through an index.

Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini, Nachttief und Mond, Three miniatures for counter (or female voice) and violoncello on texts by Arno Schmidt, BA 9366, € 9.75, Bärenreiter, Kassel 2012

The Englishman James Rae (*1957) has published several series of beginner pieces for various wind and string instruments with Universal Edition (Debut series). Young cellists will enjoy the collection Cello Debut - 12 easy pieces for beginners for 1-2 cellos will certainly have great pleasure. With his varied compositions, Rae strikes just the right note to make it easier for music students to enter the world of music. Whether you are just starting out with the TV Tangothe Pineapple Rumbathe Motorcycle Rock or the eerily creepy Skeleton in the broom closet busy: Making music with this popular mix of styles is fun.

The booklet is cleverly designed to be multifunctional: It contains solos with accompaniment (Nos. 1-4), ensembles with accompaniment (Nos. 5-8) and ensembles with accompaniment that can be combined with booklets for other instruments from the Debut series (Nos. 9-12). The accompanying CD with upbeat piano and combo accompaniments, each with a play-along version and a complete recording to listen to, enables and facilitates practicing at home. The cello part is limited to the first (narrow) register. Despite their simplicity, the pieces contain varied musical and technical tasks. Pizzicato-arco changes, syncopations, tremolos, sul ponticello playing, but also the use of dal segno repetitions are used in a pedagogically meaningful and stimulating way.

The piano accompaniments can be purchased separately or, like the pretty drawings in the edition, can be downloaded free of charge from the publisher's website.

James Rae, Cello Debut, 12 easy pieces for beginners for 1-2 violoncellos, with CD and piano accompaniment, UE 21534, € 12.95; piano part, UE 21535, € 14.95; Universal Edition, Vienna 2012

Review of the debut booklet for flute: SMZ 3/2012  P.38, 3rd column

As in the chamber music piece related to Robert Schumann Hommage à R. Sch. by György Kurtág prevail in the work dedicated to Robert Suter (1919-2008). Hommage à R. S. expressive miniatures. These include not only the two suites for piano (1943 and 1945) and the very short piece Epilogue - tome reminiscence (1997) by Robert Suter, but also the composition inconceivable en Forme de Suite for singing and speaking voice and piano (2011) by Claudia Sutter.

The musician, who has become known as a pianist, singer, lyricist and director of the Basel concert series "Le Salon bleu", feels a kinship with Robert Suter. His basic principles served her as a model for her vocal suite, which combines her own texts with a poem by Ingeborg Bachmann: Archaic, intimate, abstract and virtuoso. With its inclusion of the speaking voice and expressive gestures, the composition is reminiscent of unbelievable to Schönberg's Pierrot lunairewhich stood at the beginning of Robert Suter's compositional development.

Like Claudia Sutter in her composition, Robert Suter also circles around the German chansons for voice and piano (1978 and 1987) by the Viennese twelve-tone pioneer. In his German Chansons (Brettl songs) with the Swiss composer, along with the lyricists Otto Julius Bierbaum and Frank Wedekind, the light tone, irony and that typical Viennese charm that also characterizes Georg Kreisler's chansons, which are related to Suter. In Suter's witty refrain songs and the other gems, the artist is just as convincing as a sensitive alto as she is as a pianist in the free-atonal piano suites. The way she shapes trill chains and legato slurs, astounds with a wealth of tonal color even in pianissimo passages and remains faithful to the musical text down to the smallest dynamic detail is deeply impressive.

Hommage à R. S. Robert Suter: Suites for Piano No. 1 & 2, German Chansons for voice and piano ; Claudia Sutter : unfassbar en forme de Suite for voice and piano. Claudia Sutter, piano, alto voice and Sprechgesang; Leslie Leon, mezzo-soprano. Guild GMCD 7382

The official figures for the University of Basel's fall semester 2012 are now available. As in previous years, the number of students continued to increase this year. The university currently has a total of 12,995 enrolled students, compared to 12,617 in the previous year (+378). This means that the total number of students rose by 2.5 percent and reached a new high.

Three applicants are aiming for a Master's degree in Musicology, 12 students are applying for a Bachelor's degree in the subject. English (27), History (26) and German Philology (18) have the highest number of Master's applicants at the Faculty of Humanities.

Swiss percussionist Pierre Favre, pianist Colin Vallon and composer and pianist Nik Bärtsch open the "Suisse Diagonales Jazz" festival in Lucerne.

From January 12 to February 17, it offers ten young Swiss jazz bands the opportunity to perform in at least five clubs outside their region of origin in order to gain national recognition. The festival opens its program, supported by Pro Helvetia, on 12 January at the Südpol in Lucerne. The festival is organized by the Suisse Diagonales Jazz association.

More info: www.diagonales.ch

Photo: FM Trio (zvg)

The reason for Ruth Schweikert's resignation is time overload and because she wants to devote more time to her core activity - writing - again, writes Suisseculture.

Johanna Lier became known as an actress in Fredi Murer's "Höhenfeuer". She later switched to literature. Poetry and lyric poetry is her literary focus. She also works as a freelance journalist. She is a member of the association "Autorinnen und Autoren der Schweiz" (AdS).

Johanna Lier takes office as President of Suisseculture with immediate effect. She will be supported by an eleven-member board, in which the Swiss associations of professional cultural practitioners from all sectors are represented.

As an umbrella organization, Suisseculture is primarily involved in the nationwide and overarching interests of its affiliated associations and organizations.

Members from the music side are the Swiss Performers' Foundation SIS, the Swiss Music Syndicate SMS, the Swiss Musicians' Association, SUISA and the SUISA Foundation for Music as well as the Swiss Musicians' Association SMV.