in vain

Je ontwaart de symfonische grandeur van landgenoot Anton Bruckner, maar zijn zinsbegoochelende muziek roept ook herinneringen op aan de massieve, microtonale fantasieën van Giacinto Scelsi en James Tenney.

His composition for large ensemble in vain from 2000 is regarded as his absolute masterpiece. The audience is literally immersed in light and darkness, so that all concentration lies on the meticulous play of sounds. Much of the work is performed in the dark.

When the Italian magazine Classic Voice asked more than a hundred European music connoisseurs what timeless masterpiece this young century had produced so far, the answer was unequivocal: in vain by Georg Friedrich Haas.

Press quotes:

... waves of opulently strange, beautiful sounds ... it often seemed that supernatural forces were at work ... it was often hard to believe that these otherworldly sounds were coming from acoustic, not electronic, instrument ... a masterpiece. (Vivien Schweitzer, New York Times)

Austrian composer Georg Friedrich Haas's in vain was an hour-long ensemble work that made a shattering nocturnal impression ... a monumental work. (Tom Service, The Guardian)