Orchestral Sessions Winter Edition - Works by Saunders, Simon, Noori, Turbo, Segal and Caspi

The winter edition of the Orchestral Sessions unfolds on the Berghain floor, transforming the dance floor into a vast resonator for amplified string instruments, exploring the threshold between orchestra and electronics. Each performance expands the natural resonance of the instruments through contact microphones, feedback systems, and subtle electronics. The result is neither purely acoustic nor electronic, but a hybrid zone where the physical gesture of performance meets the spatial power of sound reinforcement. Through this meeting of electricity, breath, gestures, signals and extreme registers, the winter edition continues the ongoing evolution of orchestral sound at Berghain.

Nazanin Noori’s performance uses the format she refers to as a sound scenario, a term she coined to describe a method in which she combines sound collages with her own compositions to form a hybrid set. In this presentation, she integrates rearranged classical material and elements from Eastern musical traditions within one structural framework. The set links acoustic and electronic sources, notated and improvised music, and fixed recordings and live processes, establishing a dramaturgy of emotions within a single continuous form.

Rebecca Saunders’ music often treats sound as matter: something to be carved, eroded or exposed. In fury, the double bass becomes a slab of resonance scraped open to reveal the unstable forces inside it. According to the publisher’s note: “Despite the choleric nature of the sound material, silence is regarded as the canvas upon which all sounds surface out of, and disappear into. fury was conceived of as a melody, stretched to breaking point over the full 8 minutes of this solo.”

Under the Voice is a composed improvisation for three violas, in which the instruments are partially muted with a metal damper. This subtle intervention alters each viola’s resonance, enhancing its internal vibrations and selectively filtering the sound spectrum. The result is a palette of timbres that evoke electronic textures. yet remain entirely acoustic. Through this transformation, Under the Voice unveils poetic soundscapes and the fragile presence of unheard voices. Originally conceived as a solo work by Grégoire Simon, the trio version, developed together with Yodfat Miron and Allan Niles through a shared creative process, opens new possibilities in which the strict formal shape allows for spontaneous interactions and unexpected sonic encounters.

Avi Caspi presents a new work for eight amplified double basses: a piece that explores the instrument’s physical and psychological limits. The double basses become eight monolithic objects under pressure, transforming the ensemble into a dark choir of low frequencies. The piece positions low frequency energy as a kind of epistemological fog: a substance that obscures clarity while revealing deeper structural realities.

Maxim Turbo is an experimental music and sound art performer whose work centers around noise, trumpet, voice, and electronics. His practice is both performative and musical, driven by an emotionally charged, chaotic approach to real time improvisation. His live shows often involve ritual intensity and a blending of folk traditions with avant esoteric textures, combining elements of religious themes and pop culture. Active in both club and exhibition contexts, he creates a dense sonic atmosphere characterized by thick layers of rough and poetic noise, extended trumpet techniques, and a ritualistic vocal presence.

Liam Segal is Berlin based sound artist moving between ambient, musique concrète, and textural experimentation, Segal shapes subtle shifts in timbre into an immersive environment, where source and texture dissolve into one another. His practice spans quadraphonic installations, live performances, and curation of The Lodge, a Berlin venue for unconventional acts alongside his role in the experimental performance series Wum. His releases, including Fog Variations (2024), appear on the Alapam label.

Program:

Nazanin Noori: sound scenario
Rebecca Saunders: fury for solo double bass performed by Caleb Salgado
Grégoire Simon: Under The Voice for viola trio (world premiere) performed by Grégoire Simon, Yodfat Miron and Allan Niles. Live processing by Filippo Schelde
Avi Caspi: Pillars for 8 double bass (world premiere) performed by Antonio Fonseca, Caleb Salgado, Franzi Aller, James Banner
Maxim Turbo: Live
Liam Segal