Absent Presence

With «Absent Presence», the ensemble eeek – the Ensemble of the Season for 2026/27 at the Gare du Nord – explores questions of memory, visibility and artistic identity. Drawing on Virginia Woolf’s call for «A Room of One’s Own», the programme focuses on female composers who have shaped Basel’s contemporary music scene, yet whose works are still too rarely listened to today. Their works enter into dialogue with a new commissioned composition by Eleni Ralli, which further explores the tension between presence and absence, memory and the present.

The concert is conceived as an artistic quest for traces and invites the audience to bring hidden perspectives to life and to experience the history of contemporary music from a new viewpoint.

With

Eleni Ralli (composition)
ensemble eeek: Clara Giner Franco (flute/curation); Martijn Susla (clarinet); Marc Baltrons Fàbregas (saxophone); Adrián Albaladejo Díaz (trombone); Alexandre Silva (percussion); Raphäelle Proust (piano/curation); Ioanna Boultadaki (violin/curation); Elijah Spies (viola); James Morley (cello); Pietro Elia Barcellona (double bass/curation); Ferran Planas Pla (artistic director)

Program

Clara Iannotta (*1983): «D‘après» (2012), for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello
Anda Kryeziu (*1993): «time - rate – change» (2018), for flute,
bass clarinet, percussion, violin, cello and elektronics
Carola Bauckholt (*1959): «Treibstoff» (1995), for flute, clarinet,
percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass
Sara Glojnarić (*1991): «Sugarcoating» (2017/20), for flute, clarinet,
saxophon, euphonium, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass
Eleni Ralli (*1984): «Absent Presence» (2026/27), for flute, clarinet,
saxophon, trombone, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass

Duration

60 minutes, no break

Prices

CHF 35.-/25.-/15.- (free choice at the box office or in advance)
Free admission applies to persons with residence permit N, F or S. / CHF 5.- students of the Hochschule für Musik FHNW and the Musicology Seminar of the University of Basel / CHF 10.- members Colourkey, KulturLegi and children under 12 years.

Links

→ ensemble-eeek.com
→ Instagram ensemble eeek
→ eleniralli.com