Der Gletscher/Oper 2.0 can be experienced as a cubist montage of aural puzzle pieces. Confusing? Not at all, only it requires a specific form of empathy to fully fathom and appreciate it. Anyone who recently found Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri their 'George Enescu - Deconstructed' top should certainly pay due attention to this.
Georges Tonla Briquet, jazzhalo.be
Klinkenberg has created a composition of about 80 minutes, which is a congenial symbiosis of groovy rock rhythms, jazz improvisations, some sound collages and mainly different systems of contemporary musical language ...
Hans Reul, BRF (Radio)
Since the success of his first opera "Das Kreuz der Verlobten" two years ago, Eupen composer Christian Klinkenberg's self-confidence, joy of experimentation and wealth of experience have grown enormously. With his second attempt, Der Gletscher (The Glacier), which has now been premiered at the Eupen cultural centre Alter Schlachthof with great approval by the premiere audience, Klinkenberg presented a musically refined sound and an opera format in which the intended interlocking of various multimedia elements is smoothly achieved... All in all, a clear progress by Christian Klinkenberg on the way to a new opera format. The audience in the packed Alte Schlachthaus is accordingly enthusiastic.
Pedro Obiera, O-Ton Magazine
The Belgian composer and multimedia artist Christian Klinkenberg (Eupen, 1976) offers with Der Gletscher - Opera 2.0 an enriching and exciting listening experience. He shows that microtonality can open up many new areas.
Wynold Verweij, Klassiek-Centraal
An opera performance in East Belgium is already a special event. When, as in Christian Klinkenberg's second opera "Der Gletscher", such an ingenious musical symbiosis of different systems of contemporary music is created, then one can speak of a cultural highlight.
Grenz-Echo
...contemporary composers consider the use and experimentation of the available technology part of their language. This is the case of the digital documentary opera Three Tales with music by the great totem of electronic music Steve Reich and video by Beryl Korot, which will be shown at the Matadero in Madrid on March, or the premiere of The Glacier - An opera by the Belgian microtonal composer Christian Klinkenberg, which has a video score created from more than a hundred paintings by the artist Marc Kirschvink that serves both as a score for the same music as the setting for the opera. We can see, then, that the most radical experimentation also involves complex digital techniques, such as video or electronics, as well as musical creation.
Generalitat de Catalunya - Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals
Cultura Digital - Tendències - Cultura digital a Catalunya
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