How did the New Sounds Cookbook actually come into being?
Helmut Lorenz, principal of the music school of the town of Burghausen (Germany), stated an acute need of new classic music literature for the instrumental lessons of the elementary and middle school which should not be orientated by specific instruments and solo instrumentation. In 2004, he drew up a working plan and called on Reinhard Febel who held a composition class at the university Mozarteum in Salzburg. They were looking for three professional composers who should neither be interested music students anymore nor venerable masters yet. They were found and were inspired by the unusual project of cooking up twelve pieces each which followed certain criteria. Together with the teachers of the music school, the criteria were stated (variable instrumentations in mixed and equal registers, 2-4 voices, 1-4 minutes in length, 9-16-year old instrumental students’ level of difficulty). The composers designed working titles and at the end of the year, the pieces were written. In March 2005
