Fünf Szenen für Vibrafon
Nr. 1) Intrada. Auf einer Yacht im Hafen von Karlsberg. Tag.
Nr. 2) Auf der unbeleuchteten Heide. Nacht.
Nr. 3) Ein Flur mit sieben Türen.
Nr. 4) Auf der Veranda. Abend.
Nr. 5) Finale. Im Biergarten. Tag.
(-) Premiere performance: 1987, Haus Berggarten, Mönchengladbach, Germany; Ralf Baumann
(-) Dutch premiere: 1994, De Waag, Leiden; Miguel Bernat
(-) Spanish premiere: 1994; Miguel Bernat
(-) Australian premiere: 1995, Melbourne University; Ben Dickson
(-) American premiere: 1999, First and Second Church, Boston; Robert Schulz
(-) First broadcast: 2000, KTOO-FM, Juneau, Alaska; recording by Ralf Baumann
(-) North-West premiere: 2001, Ketchikan, Alaska; Wilbert Grootenboer
Program notes
"Five Scenes for Vibraphone" is an early piece of mine. Each of the five pieces is a compilation of bits of the solo part of an earlier "Concert Piece for Vibraphone and Percussion" Both the "Concert Piece" and the "Five Scenes" were written for an old high school friend of mine, Ralf Baumann, who was also the drummer of the Fusion band I was playing with back then and who later became the solo tympanist of the "Niederrheinische Sinfoniker." Besides applying a simple but uncommon harmonic language, in which harmonies involving higher pitches are more dissonant than those involving lower ones, I was interested in diversity of tempi and of metric organization, and the inclusion of aleatoric elements in the musical setting. These technical aspects of "Five Scenes" have again become more prominent in my more recent pieces like "Jacques," "Sir Donald," and "Wild Landscape and Underbrush." The evocative titles of the "Five Scenes" -- "Intrada. On a Yacht in the Port of Karlsberg. Day." / "On the Unlit Heath. Night." / "A Hall with Seven Doors." / "On the Porch. Evening." / "Finale. In the Beer Garden. Day." -- are modeled after scenic instructions in a play and serve as contrasting backdrops for the "Five Scenes" to help set them apart from one another.
(Stefan Hakenberg, 2000)
Reviews & press
Sub-caption: "A kind of mist hovered over Hakenberg's miniatures, and Robert Schulz gave a dream of a performance."
"What is it about the vibraphone that's not quite of this world? Stefan Hakenberg has had his ear cocked to the genius of that instrument, and has taken it into his psyche, to judge from his "Five Scenes," (. . .). Hakenberg's miniatures ("A Hall With Seven Doors" and "On the Unlit Heath" were typical titles) combine a certain snapshot-specific quality with something elusive, about-to-jell, improvisatory; a kind of mist hovered over them, refracting rather than obscuring."
Richard Buell, Boston Globe
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Each of the Five Scenes for Vibraphone by Stefan Hakenberg bears a title evocative of a particular mood and place. These are charming, unpretentious entities that effectively explore a number of colorful special effects (including use of stick handle strokes, pitch bending, and varied vibrato settings). But the beauty here is not just surface-thick - each "scene" is effectively structured and the five movements fit together to form a well-balanced whole.
David Cleary, 21st-Century-Music