With Nachtmusik, German composer Hans Thomalla constructs an exploration of darkness as an acoustic, spatial, and perceptual experience, transforming night into an unstable material that is at once intimate and unsettling. Commissioned by Ensemble LUX:NM and supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, the work unfolds as an immersive landscape in which silence, echo, noise, and memory gradually accumulate, redefining the relationship between sound, space, and body. More than a simple “night music,” Nachtmusik reflects on the threshold between waking and dreaming, vulnerability and violence, calm and nightmare, becoming a score that inevitably evokes the shadow of our contemporary “dark times.” Distributed throughout the performance space, the musicians of LUX:NM transform listening into an immersive experience that surpasses the frontal concert format, as sound propagates in all directions and space becomes an active component of the composition; what initially appears as a sparse texture of scales, resonances, and repetitive figures slowly condenses into an increasingly dense fabric, culminating in a second movement that erupts like a wall of noise, a spectral deformation of what was previously heard. This sonic expansion is further shaped by the light design of Periklis Lazarou, which does not accompany the music but interprets it, turning darkness and light into a parallel dramaturgy. The result is a total sensory environment, suspended between meditation and threat, in which the hall itself becomes a living organism and night, rather than a theme, becomes a condition to be traversed.
Hans Thomalla is a German-American composer based between Chicago and Berlin. A central part of his work is dedicated to music theatre, a field in which he has composed four operas: Fremd (Staatsoper Stuttgart, 2011), Kaspar Hauser (Theater Freiburg and Theater Augsburg, 2016), Dark Spring, and Dark Fall (both at Nationaltheater Mannheim, in 2020 and 2024 respectively).
He is Helen A. Regenstein Professor of Composition at the University of Chicago. He studied composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt and received his Doctor of Musical Arts from Stanford University in 2007. Between 1999 and 2002 he worked as assistant dramaturg and production dramaturg at the Staatsoper Stuttgart. He has been closely associated with the Darmstadt Summer Course for many years, where he regularly teaches composition. Throughout his career he has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation Award, the Kranichstein Music Prize of the Darmstadt Summer Course, the Christoph Delz Prize, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2014/15 he was a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, and in 2024/25 he is a fellow at Villa Massimo in Rome.
He has composed works for numerous ensembles and soloists, including the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Munich Philharmonic, the SWR and SR radio symphony orchestras, The Crossing, Talea Ensemble, ICE, Ensemble Modern, Musikfabrik, Ensemble Recherche, the Arditti Quartet, the Spektral Quartet, Nicolas Hodges, and Sarah Sun. His works have been produced by Staatsoper Stuttgart, Theater Freiburg, Theater Augsburg, and Nationaltheater Mannheim.
Hans Thomalla is also co-founder of the Chicago-based record label Sideband Records. He also appears as a fictional character in Alexander Kluge’s short story collection Wer ein Wort des Trostes spricht, ist ein Verräter. 48 Geschichten für Fritz Bauer.
Since its foundation in 2010, Ensemble LUX:NM has made a significant contribution to the contemporary music scene, establishing itself internationally through an innovative lineup, rich timbral diversity, and strong aesthetic freedom. One reviewer described the group as “light, predator cat and luxury,” capturing its identity effectively: the “predator cat” evokes tireless curiosity and a constant drive to explore new territories, while “LUX” refers to illumination and underlines the ensemble’s freedom to traverse all facets of new music.
Made up of award-winning soloists, LUX:NM has established itself as a collective in which musicians act not only as performers but also as composers and curators. The ensemble sees itself as an initiator and developer of new concepts for contemporary music, creating its own dramaturgical and scenic ideas. This creative process is at the core of its work and is based on close collaboration among the musicians in developing interdisciplinary and intercultural projects.
A key aspect of the ensemble’s work is its commitment not only to performing existing repertoire but also to activating new works and formats, which are then integrated into its artistic trajectory. LUX:NM regularly appears on international stages and at major festivals such as Warsaw Autumn, World New Music Days, MaerzMusik, Ultraschall Festival, and the Festival de Música Contemporánea in Chile.
Through its productions, the ensemble develops thematic pathways that highlight different perspectives on new music. Notable projects include Fluxus reloaded (F)LUX:NM, in collaboration with the Staatsoper Berlin, HOME SWEET HOME, a staged concert project, the multimedia opera Aaron S. by S?awomir Wojciechowski, and the immersive music theatre Antigone Exp. N° 2, based on Tommaso Traetta, created with augmented reality technologies.
The ensemble has also released several albums that have received critical attention. Its first record, LUXUS, was included in 2017 in the Bestenliste der deutschen Schallplattenkritik; its second, STRANDGUT (2018), was nominated for both the German Record Critics’ Award and the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) 2020. In 2021 it released the album associated with the production DARK LUX, in its radio-drama version created in collaboration with Deutschlandfunk Cologne. In 2025 LUX:NM will also release its first children’s radio drama featuring contemporary music.
Since 2023, together with Skulpturieren Berlin, the ensemble has curated a concert series in which sculpture and contemporary music meet in new forms. Through the diversity of its productions and its continuous commitment to new music, LUX:NM has built not only a significant musical platform but also a cultural and artistic space that goes far beyond the act of performance.
commissioned by Ensemble LUX:NM and supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation
