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Barbara Lüneburg Weapon of Choice (DVD) Label: Ahornfelder Catalogue Number: AH21 Release Date: July 15th 2011 Format: DVD + Digital Download Packaging: 6-sided Digipack Barcode: 708527882122 Distributed by A-Musik (EU), Plop (JP), Darla (US) Realisation or documentation of all works was supported by ZKM. A coproduction of Deutschlandfunk, Centre for Arts and Media Technology (ZKM) and Ahornfelder.

Violinist Barbara Lüneburg invited composers and visual artists to collaborate with her in the creation of new multimedia works for electric or acoustic violin with the goal of exploring artistic relations between the classical instrument violin, mediated sound, and visuals. The approaches of the individual artists varied greatly, in extremes ranging from the manga-inspired Alias for electric violin, electronics, lighting and laser by Marko Ciciliani to the more classical approach in Fluid calligraphy, a joint work by Dai Fujikura (composition) and Tamayo Yamaguchi (video). In Vega/Flores' Stream Machines and the Black Arts sound track, electric violin and video images merge into a single morphing Gestalt. Flores’ gradually transforming geometric visuals interact with linear, pulsating grids in Vega’s electronic sound track, while the violin melts into both worlds adding an element of expressiveness through simple sleek lines. Alexander Schubert's Weapon of Choice is the body-movement of the violinist. He gives the violin a meta-body that includes the physical gestures of the playing captured by a motion sensor affixed to the violin bow and a camera in front of the player, both of which are feeding data to the processing software for the live-video and electronics. Barbara Lüneburg, who was intensively involved in the composition process, also provides the musical material of the violin part by improvising and at the same time manipulating the electronic processing through her gestures. Re: Mad Masters by Yannis Kyriakides is based on Jean Rouch's legendary film "Les Maîtres Fous". It plays with the colonial subtext of the film and the relationship between music and possession as displayed in a Hauka ritual from Ghana in the 1950's. The texts shown are transcriptions of Rouch's original spoken commentary, and there are some sound samples and images taken from the original film. Mirroring this possession ritual, the violinist in Re: Mad Masters, takes on changing roles; the sound of her instrument is also hijacked by the animist spirits colliding with the colonial military machine. Fujikura understands Fluid Calligraphy as an acoustic expression of the ancient art of Japanese calligraphy. The violin bow becomes the equivalent of the calligraphist's brush. Phrasing and accents don't necessarily follow the melodic lines but develop a life of their own replicating finesse as well as the roughness of the brush's movement on the paper. In his video, Yamaguchi works with linear and curved shapes capturing the intensity of the music and translating it into the motion of images. For Marko Ciciliani, audio and visual concept play equal parts in his composition Alias. In his hands music, light and laser transform the space into an immersive, almost physical experience for performer and beholder alike. The look-and-feel of Alias is inspired by Japanese mangas, pop and the visual phenomenon of aliasing. Ciciliani supplies a firework of energy and light, abducting us into new worlds off the beaten track of classical violin repertoire.

Barbara Lüneburg violin, electric violin Barbara Lüneburg's work as a soloist and chamber musician has inspired numerous composers to write solo works, violin concertos and chamber music for her. Already as an adolescent and student she was awarded prestigious scholarships and various prizes in violin competitions. Barbara studied at Musikhochschule Karlsruhe and Lübeck, in London (Guildhall School of Music and Drama) and at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. She combines Russian and Western European virtuosic violin tradition with a fresh contemporary approach to music. Barbara Lüneburg has featured on many CDs and radio productions documenting the versatility and high standard of her performing abilities. Critics have described her playing as viciously virtuosic, passionate, translucent, of an amazing capacity for purity of sound and integrity of pitch, detailed and nuanced, expressive and gripping. As a soloist she has performed with groups as diverse as SWR Radiosymphonic Orchestra, Xenakis Ensemble Netherlands, Slagwerkgroep Den Haag, ASKO Ensemble, Landesjugendorchester Hessen and Rheinland Pfalz, Pfalztheaterorchester Kaiserslautern or Schwerin Philharmonics. Her touring schedule has taken her through Europe, both Americas, the Middle and Far East to major festivals such as Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Aldeburgh Festival – Great Britain, Wien Modern – Austria, Tongeyong Festival - Korea, Roaring Hooves – Mongolia, Cervantino Festival – Mexico, Music Marathon Chicago- USA, Fadjr Festival - Iran, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Munich Biennial or Schleswig Holstein Music Festival - Germany. Barbara's PhD-research on the topic of "The creative role of a performer as an interface between instrument, composer and audience in contemporary music" includes theoretical and practical work on creativity and collaboration, programming, and concert aura. For this research alone she commissioned almost 30 new solo and chamber music works for violin, viola and electric violin in the years 2008 to 2010. 16 years ago Barbara Lüneburg founded ensemble Intégrales and remains its artistic director today. Since then the group has come to enjoy an international reputation as one of the foremost ensembles for non-conducted chamber music. In 2008, they were awarded the annual prize of the Oscar and Vera Ritter Stiftung, Hamburg, for their continuous outstanding work. Barbara Lüneburg teaches at Medienhochschule Darmstadt, has been invited as lecturer at the European Orchestra Academy, and the LandesJugendEnsemble Neue Musik Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) and has given workshops, talks and seminars at major European and American universities.