Georgia Koumará: I wonder if I should start accessing pleasure a whole lot

Ying Wang’s »SCHMUTZ« is a work of extremes, of eruptions and collapses, of jubilation and silence. The solo violin rolls mountains of material before it, losing itself in the omnipresent mass of sound, noise and information as well as in moments of solitude. ‘SCHMUTZ’ is a chamber concerto, but often has an orchestral breadth, sometimes even a secret double concerto with electric guitar. This music very convincingly conveys the longing for liberation and, at the same time, the need for purification.”

(Jury’s statement on the Composition Prize of the State Capital Stuttgart 2025)