Ensemble Proton Bern

The subtlety of Naomi Pinnock and Nuño Fernández Ezquerra’s musical languages entices listeners to immerse themselves in the slowly unfolding sounds as if they were different tactile textures. Their music does not impose itself, but invites listeners to lend their ears and allow themselves to be emotionally touched by its almost microscopic clarity.

Nuño Fernández Ezquerra wrote the work «Il tempo si riversa verso un orizzonte infinito» for Proton back in 2024 and has now been selected for a larger commission as part of the newly designed «Protonwerk» No. 15’ competition in collaboration with Pro Helvetia.

«Immersion, mysticism, disembodiment, the search for other planes through sonic and aesthetic experience – the exploration of these concepts has always been rooted in my work, but recently it has led to longer, even concert-length works in which the treatment of extended forms allows one to lose oneself in a sea of sounds.»

He particularly impressed the Proton jury with his ability to shape time using traditional compositional means, which he also enriches with live electronics and lighting design for the new work.

Naomi Pinnock is writing a work for Proton for the first time. Erosion (as a metaphor) has seeped into her work over the last ten years. She is fascinated by geological formations created by abrasion, wear and weathering: «Hoodoos gradually take shape when water freezes and thaws cyclically in the rock over thousands of years, and sinkholes, called dolines, are created after slow processes of rock dissolution in karst areas. These places, where erosion has left clear traces in the landscape, can also become sacred, liminal spaces, passageways to the underworld.

A material world that is decaying and disintegrating. How can these erosion phenomena be reflected in music?»

The concert will be complemented by floating meditation and (sound) sculptures in the foyer of the Dampfzentrale, inviting visitors to immerse themselves individually.

Nuño Fernández Ezquerra *1992, new work [2026] premiere

Naomi Pinnock *1979, new work [2026] premiere