Bleak Forest

Bleak Forest is a wind band piece for smaller ensembles and above all offers the musicians space to improve their sound and effects playing. The technical requirements are therefore deliberately not too high. With this piece, the composer won the "VLAMO International Composition Contest 2022". Thematically, the work is influenced by the composer's childhood memories. In his homeland, there was a dark, legendary forest that seemed magical to the children from the small village. For no specific reason, every excursion into this forest turned into an exciting, sometimes terrifying adventure. There were tales of threatening animals, which can be heard at the beginning of the play, as well as of magical beings. The magic of the forest is set to music in the Andante from bar 70. The snapping of fingers stands for isolated raindrops. From bar 99 onwards, the march home is described, with occasional queasy feelings arising as the children frighten each other with their imaginative tales. In the end, however, there is a safe arrival home, because magical creatures only exist in stories after all... don't they? Andreas Ziegelbäck studied music education at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg and history at the Paris Lodron University. In addition to his studies, he trained as an ensemble conductor for wind orchestra with conductor and composer Thomas Doss. It was Doss who sparked Ziegelbäck's interest in composing. In 2021, Andreas Ziegelbäck completed his composition studies with Johannes Maria Staud. In 2020 he took part in a master class in Bern with Oliver Waespi for brass band composition, followed by a premiere by the Swiss Army Brass Band.