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Ivan Hewett presents a round-up from the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik (Witten Days for New Chamber Music), which took place in April and is one of the most important contemporary music festivals in the world. This year's festival features a portrait of the Austrian composer Beat Furrer and also taps into the mining history of the Ruhr with a sound-walk through the Muttental, a wooded valley near Witten which is marked by the decorated wrought-iron entrances to early mine shafts.

This edition of Hear and Now presents musical highlights from the festival, including a European premiere by Chaya Czernowin and World premieres by Martin Matalon, Joanna Wozny, Beat Furrer, Ondrej Adamek, James Clarke and Vito Suraj. Plus Four Bits Counters for eight hands by Masahiro Miwa, which completes the Muttental sound-walk.

CHAYA CZERNOWIN
Slow Summer Stay III - Upstream (European premiere)
Ensemble KNM Berlin
Manuel Nawri (director)
oenm . österreichisches ensemble für neue musik
Johannes Kalitzke (director)

MARTIN MATALON
Traces XI (World premiere)
Uwe Dierksen (tenor trombone)
Max Bruckert (electronics)

JOANNA WOZNY
Lacunae (World premiere)
Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart

BEAT FURRER
Zwei Studien (World Premiere)
WDR Symphony Orchestra, Cologne

ONDREJ ADAMEK
Steinar (World premiere)
Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart

JAMES CLARKE
Untitled No.7 (World premiere)
Nicolas Hodges (piano)

VITO SURAJ
Aftertouch (World premiere)
oenm . österreichisches ensemble für neue musik
Johannes Kalitzke (director)

MASAHIRO MIWA
Four Bits Counters for eight hands (2013)
Schlagquartett Köln

Elizabeth Arno (producer).