Ensemble Modern – «Re-inventing Smetak» at Teatro Castro Alves, Sala Cecilia Meireles, Sala São Paulo and Festival Campos do Jordão

«Re-inventing Smetak» is a project by the DAAD’s Berliner Künstler-Programm (the German Academic Exchange Service’s Artists in Berlin Programme) and Ensemble Modern, in collaboration with the Goethe Institute. It was developed based on the work of Walter Smetak, a Swiss orchestral musician, poet, inventor of instruments and composer (b.1913, Zurich) who settled in Bahia (d. 1984, Salvador). Smetak was a very influential figure in the artistic and musical movements of Brazilian counterculture, including Tropicália. «Re-inventing Smetak» is the result of four composers’ meticulous work on Smetak’s syncretic world, incorporating the mode of creation from experimentation, improvisation and spiritual meanings. The concerts took place in four different cities in Brazil, complemented by lectures, classes and workshops.