Public Listening Series
ascolta is the public listening series of the ICST Composition Studio: acousmatic and electroacoustic music presented in an intimate, immersive setting.
Sessions connect studio practice, residency projects, and international repertoire through higher-order Ambisonics listening at ZHdK.
Next session: #18 ascolta is dedicated to Éliane Radigue (24 January 1932 – 23 February 2026). At the centre is The Resonant Island, released on Shiiin (2005), a 55-minute sound sculpture of extraordinary slowness and concentration.
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Next session
Go straight to the current ascolta date and programme.
Listening Guide
Questions, categories, and exercises for active spatial listening.
Residency projects
Artists and projects connected to many ascolta programmes.
All Sessions
2026
2025
2024
2023
#09
Hans Tutschku — Remembering Japan
05 Dec 2023
#08
La Canción de la Tierra — Mesias Maiguashca
24 Oct 2023
#07
ICST Artists in Residence — concert with works by former residents
06 Jun 2023
#06
Zbigniew Karkowski — noise and experimental electronic music
04 Apr 2023
#05
Field-Recordings & Soundscapes — Philip Samartzis
14 Mar 2023
2022
Listening
→ Ascolta Listening Guide — Smalley’s spatial categories, five analytical questions, three exercises for active spatial listening.
A selection of online resources for listening to Ambisonics and spatial audio:
- Sounding Future — Tracks — spatial audio archive
- Sounding Future — Artists — composer and artist profiles
- HOAST Library (IEM) — Higher-Order Ambisonics recordings
- Nimbus UHJ — classic Ambisonics UHJ recordings
ICST B-Format Archive
The ICST maintains an archive of works recorded and encoded in ambiX B-format.