For Estonian electronic music, Sven Grünberg is a pathmaker. His life as a musician began in the beginning of the 1970s, as a keyboard player and singer in bands Mikronid and Ornament, and later as the spearhead of the prog-rock ensemble Mess. Grünberg’s electronic works reflect his deep interest in Eastern culture, as well as a transposition of mythological and figurative images from Asian traditional music onto a contemporary, global worldview, melding the musical thinking of various cultures and eras into a new, integral whole. A large part of Grünberg’s work is in film music. In addition to collaborations with many Estonian directors, he has created music for foreign films that have won international awards.

Sven Grünberg and the Ensemble of the Estonian Electronic Music Society will perform Grünberg’s early electronic work and music from cult classics in Soviet era Estonian film: sci fi fantasy Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel as well as cartoons Naksitrallid, and Klaabu. Since the author has never committed these pieces to writing, the preparations of this ensemble for the performance have developed into deciphering the Grünberg code. Performances of the film music will be accompanied by a live video treatment by Tencu. The pearl of this concert will be the performance of Hingus – considered to be the first electronic music album that was released in the Soviet Union forty years ago.

Ensemble of the Estonian Electronic Music Society is a group established in 2017 that is dedicated to playing electronic chamber music. The aim of the ensemble is to overcome technological constraints and develop sensitive music making, reacting to each other and sharp listening, taking advantage of the incredibly rich sound possibilities of various electronic instruments. The ensemble is a collaboration of six musicians: Doris Hallmägi, Ekke Västrik, Mihkel Tomberg, Taavi Kerikmäe, Tarmo Johannes and Theodore Parker.

Sven Grünberg’s concert adaptation of “Hingus” was commissioned by Eesti Kontsert and brought to the stage for the first time in June 2021.