Ulrich Mitzlaff
ULRICH MITZLAFF
Violoncello player (acoustic and electric) & composer
ULRICH MITZLAFF completed his cello studies in the seventies at Tübingen (Germany) with Professor Stefan Zarnescú. Since 1996 he lives at Lisbon, Portugal, where he works as cellist and composer of contemporary and experimental music, improvisation, free-jazz, conceptual composition and sound-art. He collaborates with various artists in multidisciplinary and electro-acoustic projects including music creations for dance, theatre and cinema. He was member of the art-association “granular” (http://www.granular.pt).
Musical Activity
At the moment, he participates in music-projects like: the Duo I/O, electro-acoustic music with Carlos Santos; the Duo Carlos “Zíngaro / Ulrich Mitzaff; the “Zíngaro” / Mitzlaff / Viegas / Rosso - 4tet with Carlos “Zíngaro”, João Pedro Viegas and Alvaro Rosso; the duo Albert Cirera / Ulrich Mitzlaff; the “Zíngaro” / Parrinha / Mitzlaff-3io; the duo Ulrich Mitzlaff / Miguel Mira, presenting free improvised music and surprising sound creations; the quintet Nuova Camerata with Pedro Carneiro, Carlos “Zíngaro”. João Camões and Miguel Leiria Pereira; Separados Frutos an experimental music and spoken word formation with Nuno Rebelo, Vera Mantero and Manuel Guimarães; the Open Speech TRIO with Carlos Bechegas and Carlos Santos; the trio Carlos Bechegas / Carlos “Zíngaro” / Ulrich Mitzlaff and the Fruit Music Quartet with Franziska Schroeder, Pedro Carneiro and Pedro Rebelo.
With Carlos “Zíngaro” he was performing in many different constellations and formations that had a significant impact on his playing. The same is to say about his collaborations with Nuno Rebelo, Carlos Bechegas, Carlos Santos, Albert Cirera and Miguel Mira.
In November 2010 he was invited to join the Evan Parker Improvisation Collective “Call them Improvisors”, to play at the “Sonorities Festival 2010” at Belfast Northern Ireland.
For the theatre play “Torcicolo” written and directed by João Silva, Ulrich Mitzlaff created and presented live the music for this play in 2016/2017.
He composed and presented live in 2014/2015/2018 the music for the solo choreography, created and presented by Romulus Neagu “Stretto”, a piece inspired by the poetry of Paul Celan. He composed and presented also live in 2008 the music for the choreography created by Romulus Neagu “The Invisibility of the Small Perceptions”. With Romulus Neagu he works also in the duo “ImproFormance”, an instant dance-performance.
In 2008 he created and interpreted the music for the documentary film by Miguel Clara Vasconcelos over the choreographic project of Romulus Neagu “The Invisibility of the Small Perceptions”, and in 2009 he composed and interpreted the music for the dramatic short film by Miguel Clara Vasconcelos “Pedrinez”. He interpreted the original music written by Paulo Curado for the animation film “Cândido” by “Zepe” – José Pedro Cavalheiro in 2007.
He was interpreting the original music composed by Nuno Rebelo in 2001 for “como rebolar alegremente sobre um vazio interior”, choreography by Vera Mantero for the Ballet Gulbenkian, and in 2003 for “Silicone Não”, choreography by Paulo Ribeiro for the Companhia Paulo Ribeiro. He was collaborating in 2000 and 2001 with Américo Rodrigues in his multi-dimensional piece “…como um relâmpago…”.
Festivals
He participated in many international festivals like “Ciclo de Teatro e Artes Performativas MIMESIS” (Coimbra 2020); Festival “Dos Modus Nascem Coisas“ (Albergaria-a-Velha 2020), “Festival LEM Outono” (Barcelona, 2019), Festival “Lá Fora” (Évora 2019), Festival "Silencio" (Lisbon 2017), “Ciclo Guarda In Jazz" (Guarda 2017), “Lumina 2015” (Museu Paula Rego, Cascais 2015), “Granular Festival” (Lisbon 2015/2016/2017), “Jazz ao Centro” (Coimbra 2015), “XVI Ciclo de Música Contemporánea” (Museo Vostell Malpartida, Cáceres, Spain 2014), “Musica Viva” (Lisbon 2012), “Jazz em Agosto” (Lisbon 2012 and 2010), “Tempo para Criar” (Guimarães – European Capital of Culture 2012), “ImaxinaSons” (Vigo, 2011), “Sonorities” - festival of contemporary music (Belfast, Northern Ireland 2010 and 2005), “Metasonic III” (Lisbon 2010), “Festival LEM Primavera” (Barcelona, 2009), “Festival Portugal and the World” (Brussels 2007), “Metasonic LX” (Lisbon 2006), “Festival Músicas do Mundo” (Sines 2006), “Festival Alkantara” (Lisbon 2006), “CAMP 03 - international festival for electronic music, sound art and visual arts” (Tübingen 2003) and “CAMP 05” (Montemor-o-Novo 2005), “Encontros de Música Experimental- EME” (Setúbal 2000 and 2001), “Ó da Guarda” (Guarda 1999, 2005 and 2008) among many others.
Concerts
He was playing in various concerts with Albert Cirera, Yedo Gibson, João Madeira, Kurt Laurenz Theinert, Fried Dähn, Rodrigo Amado, Emídio Buchinho, Reinhold Friedl, Mark Trayle, Gascia Ouzounian, Vitor Joaquim, Dominic Lash, Thomas Maos, Thollem McDonas, Stefano de Bonis, Josep-Maria Balanyà, Chris Brown, Han-earl Park, Bart Maris, Miguel Cardoso, Pedro Lopes, Hernâni Faustino, Stefano Zorzanello, Dan Goren, Dominic Lash, Gregg Moore, Liba Villavecchia, Paulo Curado, Bertrand Gauguet, João Pedro Viegas, José Tavares, Steven Davis, Gustavo Aguilar, Miguel Leiria Pereira, João Maderia, Ernesto Rodrigues, Mark Whitecage, Phill Niblock and many others, and he was collaborating with the Lisbon Improvisation Players of Rodrigo Amado.
https://www.facebook.com/ulrich.mitzlaff, https://soundcloud.com/umitzlaff/,
https://soundcloud.com/zmvr-4tet; https://ulrichmitzlaff.bandcamp.com
Video-links
Separados Frutos at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, May 2007: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN12qeHM_7c; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm2hdN20fNY; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxjnNReXrk4; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWYNW5g5V60)
Evan Parker Improvisation Collective “Call them Improvisors”, “Sonorities Festival 2010” at Belfast Northern Ireland: https://vimeo.com/55792259
Manuel Guimarães | Ulrich Mitzlaff
Grass: https://www.facebook.com/ulrich.mitzlaff/videos/10151624597209410/
Lodo: https://www.facebook.com/ulrich.mitzlaff/videos/t.786859409/10151273718919410/?type=2&theater
I/O – Ulrich Mitzlaff | Carlos Santos present “BLAU”, at “EKA Palacea”, Lisbon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIFuH64CuLo&feature=share&fb_ref=share
Visual Piano - Kurt Laurenz Theinert | Ulrich Mitzlaff present “Visual Piano” at Museu Paula Rego - Casa das Histórias, Festival LUMINA 2015, Cascais: https://vimeo.com/139681042
Stretto at Festival FINTA, Tondela, November 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5piUSoIRSW0&feature=share
“Specific site – Specific body” by Romulus Neagu, Jornadas Europeias do Património 2020, https://youtu.be/B1jb5KiUZso
Audio-links
I/O – Ulrich Mitzlaff (violoncello, objects) | Carlos Santos (digital electronics, objects) present “BLAU”, at “XVI Ciclo de Música Contemporánea”, Museo Vostell Malpartida, Cáceres, Spain: https://soundcloud.com/umitzlaff/io-blau-live-mvm-exa
Duo Carlos “Zíngaro” | Ulrich Mitzlaff no Festival LEM 2019 em Barcelona, Catalunia: https://soundcloud.com/umitzlaff/czum-lem-ex1-mix1-16102019 e: https://soundcloud.com/umitzlaff/czum_lem_ex2_mix1_16102019
ZCMVR-5tet – CARLOS “Zíngaro” (violin) | Pedro Carneiro (marimba) | Ulrich Mitzlaff (violoncello) | João Pedro Viegas (bass clarinet) Alvaro Rosso (double bass)
Example #1: http://ficheiros.pedrocarneiro.com/audio/5tet/1___Zingaro_Carneiro_Mitzlaff_Viegas_Rosso__5tet.mp3; Example #2: http://ficheiros.pedrocarneiro.com/audio/5tet/2___Zingaro_Carneiro_Mitzlaff_Viegas_Rosso__5tet.mp3
Discography
Soliloque Sonore, Ulrich Mitzlaff, Bandcamp 2021
https://ulrichmitzlaff.bandcamp.com/album/soliloque-sonore
“Illocution synthétique de déchets plastiques” une pièce radiophonique musicale sans paroles, Ulrich Mitzlaff, Bandcamp 2020
Transparent – Fluorescent Sound Fibres, Ulrich Mitzlaff, Creative Sources Recordings 2020
https://ulrichmitzlaff.bandcamp.com/album/transparent-fluorescent-sound-fibres; https://ulrichmitzlaff.bandcamp.com/; https://creativesourcesrec.com/catalog/catalog_677.html
Tin, String Theory, Creative Sources Recordings 2020
https://www.creativesourcesrec.com/catalog/catalog_643.html; https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/tin?fbclid=IwAR1DjkntzSacOyigHALb9gnG8Ck6Cbt-Nsy8tc_Wdj_EAHfU6WYEA6OdeK4
Krypton, String Theory, Creative Sources Recordings 2019
https://www.creativesourcesrec.com/catalog/catalog_608.html
Ten Sonic Miniatures about Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”, Ulrich Mitzlaff, Creative Sources Recordings 2018
https://ulrichmitzlaff.bandcamp.com/album/ten-sonic-miniatures-about-edvard-munch-s-the-scream; https://www.creativesourcesrec.com/catalog/catalog_531.html
HAN – Tuning the Invisible, Vitor Joaquim / Emídio Buchinho / Carlos “Zíngaro” / Ulrich Mitzlaff / Nuno Canavarro, Author Edition (Vitor Joaquim) 2018
https://vitorjoaquim.bandcamp.com/album/tuning-the-invisible
Cròniques 5: Ao Vivo! Albert Cirera / Olle Vikström / Ulrich Mitzlaff / Alvaro Rosso / Carlos “Zíngaro”, Discordian Records 2018
https://discordianrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cr-niques-5-ao-vivo
Tellurium, String Theory, Creative Sources Recordings 2018
https://www.creativesourcesrec.com/catalog/catalog_500.html
Chant, Nuova Camerata, Improvising Beings, Junho 2016
https://improvising-beings.bandcamp.com/album/chant
X-RUN-4-PRISMATIQUE, Ulrich Mitzlaff, Crónica Electrónica, Junho 2016
https://cronica.bandcamp.com/album/x-run-4-prismatique
Cròniques 2, Albert Cirera / Ulrich Mitzlaff, Discordian Records 2015
http://discordianrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cr-niques-2-2
Day One, “Zíngaro” / Mitzlaff / Viegas / Rosso - 4TET, JACC-Records 2015
https://soundcloud.com/zmvr-4tet
Cellos, Ulrich Mitzlaff / Miguel Mira, Creative Sources Recordings 2010
https://www.creativesourcesrec.com/catalog/catalog_174.html
Spiritualized, Lisbon Improvisation Players (LIP), Clean Feed/Trem Azul 2006
https://rodrigoamado.bandcamp.com/album/spiritualized
A morte do príncipe D. Afonso e outros romances tradicionais da Guarda, Teresa Aurora Gonçalves, Aquilo 2004
Compact Disconcert, Nuno Rebelo, Raka Records & Teatro Nacional S. João 2002
Miles Away, Ulrich Mitzlaff, Elroi Record Productions 1994