With GAIA, Henning Fuchs acoustically captures the wild diversity and constant changes of the earth. Both stylistically and instrumentally, he manages to write "world music" in the truest sense of the word. Among others, the Chinese Erhu master Guo Gan (Erhu, Zhonghu), the renowned Icelandic violinist Elfa Rún Kristinsdóttir, Boram Lie on cello, the Spaniard Julián Olivares (flamenco guitar, charango, cuatro, tres cubano), David Kuckhermann (handpans, udu, percussion), the Bulgarian Voices Berlin and many others perform on GAIA. In the titles of the album the history of the origin of the earth is retraced. Musically, Fuchs also ties in with his previous album, A New Beginning.
Countless umbrellas, pils of jumble and two grand pianos stacked one upon another found in Erik Satie's apartment after his death were the inspiration of this new release. Pianist Tamar Halperin and producer Guy Sternberg strip down Satie's compositions into individual voices, play them on various instruments and stack the pieces on top of each other. Their goal is to find out what Satie's music would sound like, were it composed in modern times. Halperin and Sternberg want to reflect Satie's influence on the various generations of artists that followed him. Satie was a composer who blurred the lines between Classical Art music and non-classical, popular styles.
The Twelve" is a soundtrack, but it also is an album very much in it's own right, with tracks that stand on their own, "It tells the story of [..] twelve people even without you seeing the film" explains Federico Albanese. The pieces invoke feelings of meditation and anticipation that convey a wonderful sense of storytelling, and hearing about Albanese's inspiration for these only strengthens their narrative. Take "The Stars We Follow", a piece as gentle and contemplative as it is powerful. The track was inspired by Japanese master Aoki Hiroyuki and the special practice he developed in order to connect to nature, "It's something between a martial art and a dance. At some point Lucy sent me a short clip where they do a session of this on a beach, and I thought somehow the movements were like chasing stars," explains Albanese, "as well as the general idea of all these elders travelling, and following their own ideas and stars and trying to communicate them with the world." The wonderfully comforting piece "North Variation" was inspired by Master Lyudmila Khomovna, one of the last people of Uilta decent living in a remote island in Siberia, "She is a very particular person, and profoundly elder, a very wise person. I was having this idea in mind of something set in a very cold place but with a deep warmth within," says Albanese. "The Twelve" cemented Federico Albanese's abilities to work outside his comfort zone. Being simultaneously able to adapt to the collaborative efforts of filmmaking while following his own internal creative process, his album demonstrates the added value of organic partnerships between artists, "I would say cinema is my second love besides music. I'm probably not the kind of person who is willing to write music for anything, I am happy to pledge to a project when I can see there is something I can give to it.
The UberBach album is a collection of compositions by the Munich-based composer Arash Safaian on themes by Johann Sebastian Bach. Safaian starts off with various pieces by Bach- chorales, orchestral works, organ and clavier music- and works with them to create five concertos for piano, vibraphone and chamber orchestra. Arash Safaian’s musical partner is the internationally acclaimed pianist Sebastian Knauer. Sebastian Knauer writes of this project: “When I heard the first example of UberBach, I was enthusiastic about the project at once. The virtuosity of the piano part, the melodiousness of the compositions and the closely woven sound made a deep impression on me. I imagined I was listening to Bach and yet it sounded too modern for the original.” He called his long-time musical partner, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the very next day and organized the recording. Arash Safaian is an artist, composer, and producer. He is the son of artist Ali Akbar Safaian, an important representative of Iranian modernism. Born in Teheran, he grew up in Bayreuth, where he was exposed to Richard Wagner’s operas at an early age. Alongside his interest in music, painting and sculpture shaped his childhood and youth. He has made his mark as a composer with orchestral works, ensemble pieces, film music and operas. He currently lives and works in Munich.
ECARTELE is an imaginary soundtrack for a feature film dating from the 1970s about the meeting between two of the major thinkers of the 20th century – the Nobel Prize winning physicist Wolfgang Pauli and the psychoanalyst and creator of the theory of archetypes, Carl Gustav Jung. The album relates in musical terms the story of the unusual friendship between the two scientists and explores the mysterious grey area between physics and the psychology of the unconscious. The title of the album (from the French ‘écarteler’) refers both to the medieval tradition of quartering execution victims and to the Jungian concept of ‘quaternio’ – the intersection of two pairs of concepts that are polar opposites. Thus, in the exchange between Jung and Pauli, two other people play an important role: one is the young English doctor Erna Rosenbaum, who belonged to C.G. Jung’s circle in the late 1920s, and the other is the mathematician, astronomer and theologian Johannes Kepler, whose work was a powerful source of inspiration for Pauli. The album tracks are short, episodic, minimalistic and narrative – a musical screenplay and soundtrack for a film that was never made... In order to achieve a tonal range that is both modern and cinematographic, the composer Damian Marhulets uses electronic sounds as well as working with the four string players of the famous Szymanowski Quartet and Marina Baranova on prepared piano.
The UberBach album is a collection of compositions by the Munich-based composer Arash Safaian on themes by Johann Sebastian Bach. Safaian starts off with various pieces by Bach- chorales, orchestral works, organ and clavier music- and works with them to create five concertos for piano, vibraphone and chamber orchestra. Arash Safaian’s musical partner is the internationally acclaimed pianist Sebastian Knauer. Sebastian Knauer writes of this project: “When I heard the first example of UberBach, I was enthusiastic about the project at once. The virtuosity of the piano part, the melodiousness of the compositions and the closely woven sound made a deep impression on me. I imagined I was listening to Bach and yet it sounded too modern for the original.” He called his long-time musical partner, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the very next day and organized the recording. Arash Safaian is an artist, composer, and producer. He is the son of artist Ali Akbar Safaian, an important representative of Iranian modernism. Born in Teheran, he grew up in Bayreuth, where he was exposed to Richard Wagner’s operas at an early age. Alongside his interest in music, painting and sculpture shaped his childhood and youth. He has made his mark as a composer with orchestral works, ensemble pieces, film music and operas. He currently lives and works in Munich.
Helbig: I Eat the Sun & Drink the Rain / Jarvi, Helbig, Vocalconsort Berlin [Vinyl]
Neue Meister
Vinyl · 1 disc
$26.99Oct 28, 2016
EAT THE SUN AND DRINK THE RAIN is a work for choir and live electronics. Sven Helbig has created a concept album in which he appears both as composer and as author of almost all the song texts. Over the course of ten pieces he weaves a loose narrative that addresses pressing questions of the present day. The powerfully resonant work suspends delicate choral passages above pulsating synthesizers. Sublime a cappella chords spread out above digitally created sounds, in perfect balance between choir and electronics. I EAT THE SUN AND DRINK THE RAIN builds upon the musical principles underlying POCKET SYMPHONIES and POCKET SYMPHONIES ELECTRONICA. Folk?influenced pieces (ABENDGLÜHEN / red sky at night) are set alongside subtle harmonic complexes in the manner of Arvo Pärt (KYRIE) and minimalistic drone music (GEDENKEN / remembrance)
Pianist Clemens Christian Poetzsch has always known what he wanted from music - freedom. Freedom to improvise, to create new musical worlds, and to follow his instincts wherever they take him. As a child in Dresden, Germany, Poetzsch received his first piano lessons from his opera singer grandfather, and was soon immersed in the world of Bach, Schubert, and Clementi. But aged ten, a birthday gift from his father - a sheet music book of Frank Sinatra standards - opened his ears to wider musical possibilities, and he was soon playing in the bar next door to his house, improvising and messing around with the structure of songs. Such formative experiences stayed with Poetzsch through his classical training at the Conservatory of Music in Dresden. While studying piano and composition, his spare time was spent playing in jazz and free improvisation bands with friends and colleagues. The result is Remember Tomorrow, an expansive collection of thirteen songs that stand as self-contained worlds; "a house with thirteen rooms, and every composition is a little room," says Poetzsch. Music stirs up memories and fragments of remembrance too, and Remember Tomorrow is an attempt to make sense of it all, of bridging that gap between the past and the present. To do so, he stepped out of his comfort zone, adding new elements and instruments to his compositional mix, and simply let his ideas bloom. His approach to experimentation, as with collaboration, is simply to dive in and see what works, to discover through trial and error. Ditto with electronics and his use of samples; despite admitting that he's no expert, the austere, monochromatic moods he captures are far more important than any technical proficiency or purity. It comes back to freedom - to create without restrictions, and to dissolve preconceived notions around genres and instruments. And so Remember Tomorrow is Poetzsch's first step away from the staid world of concert halls and a classically harmonic language towards something more contemporary, more individual. "My goal was just to take the next step as a composer, and to form a language out of electronics and piano. That's the best language I can speak."
Two great German music traditions are fused together on this electro-acoustic album from Berlin-based composer Johannes Motschmann: the classics, and electronic music. Using analogue synthesizers, the Yamaha CP-70, and an old Wurlitzer piano, these dark and melancholic tracks mesh rhythmically with massive percussion and violin sounds. All of the components of these tracks, from percussive sounds to violin tracks, were recorded in the same acoustical space. This allows the handmade electrosounds to be perceived in their full, natural qualities. Boris Bolles helped to mix and master these works, as well as provide some of the violin tracks. Johannes Motschmann received his musical education at the University of Music Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden, then at the University of Music in Karlsruhe, and finally at the Hochschule fur Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin. He studied piano, composition, and electronic music with such scholars as Jorg Herchet, Wilfried Jentzch, Clemens Kuhn, and Wolfgang Rihm. Motschmann’s compositions have been performed by Ensemble Modern, the NDR Radio Philharmonic, and the SWR Symphony Orchestra.
Musicians Clemens Christian Poetzsch and Sven Helbig had known each other for years. They met in 2008 at Dresden’s conservatory, where Helbig taught drums and Poetzsch studied the piano. Soon enough they would be playing in the same Jazz trio, jamming to Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus every Sunday at the city’s famous Blue Note Club. But following their years in Dresden, the two lost touch. For ten years both would go their separate ways pursuing their distinct musical identities; Helbig delving deeper into orchestra and genre blurring music and Poetzsch developing his solo piano work. That was until 2019, when Helbig decided to invite his old jazz mate onboard a special project, “For a very long time I thought about the right interpreter for my music, and with Clemens I found the ideal combination of technical skills, feel for sound and musical background,” he explains, “We both share a passion for the extravaganzas of the piano gods, but also for the unique aesthetics that jazz pianists bring to the instrument, and we can also get lost in electronic music from the ambient and experimental world.” All ten pieces for the album were selected by Helbig from his previous three albums. The German musician has become known for his sound which fuses elements of classical and electronic music. The selected pieces embody this versatility, some being written for a string quartet, others for the orchestra and some for the choir. Although the scores were written down, transposing such vastness into solo piano tunes meant that there was so much that Poetzsch could play with, “No one has the same pace, the same rhythm, the same sense for details and what you can do with them - in music as in life,” says Clemens.
Narziss Und Goldmund (Narcissus and Goldmund) (Music From the Motion Picture)
Neue Meister
CD · 1 disc
$20.99May 21, 2021
Narziss und Goldmund is one of Hermann Hesse's best-known novels and has now been adapted for the big screen for the first time by Stefan Ruzowitzky, director of the Oscar-winning production "Die Fälscher. The soundtrack to this extraordinary production with a star-studded German cast (including Jannis Niewöhner, Emilia Schüle, Jessica Schwarz, Uwe Ochsenknecht and many more) was composed by Henning Fuchs, who already proved his talent for sensitive compositions and arrangements with his first album "A New Beginning". The former assistant of Max Richter delivers the most exciting film music of spring 2020 for a daring and fascinating film project.
Natthall is the latest project from internationally acclaimed Swedish house and techno producer and live performer Sebastian Mullaert. He was one half of the duo Minilogue and founded the live concert series Circle of Live. With Natthall, Mullaert takes his global fan base on a sonic journey of lush, warm synth sounds and vast soundscapes. Cello and violin, played by musicians from the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, are accompanied by Mullaert's sounds, providing the soundtrack for fifty minutes of relaxation and sheer beauty - much like the namesake landscape and home of Sebastian. An exciting mix of neoclassical and ambient music.
“…a lot of the time I play music from other worlds …. Welcome to My World” World premiere on the NEUE MEISTER label: International classical superstar NIGEL KENNEDY releases his first album of his own compositions, entitled “My World”. The first album by Nigel Kennedy in which he features his own compositions is at the same time the most intimate view yet of his world: a colourful kaleidoscope of sounds. He has written works inspired by his mentors Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern and Stéphane Grappelli, and artists like Mark O’Connor and Jarek Smietana, while composing a whole new suite to Anton Chekhov’s play “Three Sisters”. On “My World”, Kennedy shows how well string orchestra, rock band and piano go together once you forget the stereotypes. Nigel Kennedy, who turns 60 on December 28, 2016, has been true to his vision throughout his career: making music that transcends all conventions. “My World” retraces how meeting his mentors shaped his musical understanding and changed his career path. Yehudi Menuhin probably had the most important influence on Kennedy: “I feel that Yehudi Menuhin gives me a direct route back to the music of Bach. Also Menuhin paid for my education at his school so without him I would probably not be playing classical music at all.” Next to Menuhin, meeting Stéphane Grappelli was a crucial moment: “I met Stéphane for the first time when he was playing to us kids in the Yehudi Menuhin School; I surprised him by jumping on the stage and joining him in his performance, which was the catalyst for a long musical relationship with him. He loved it that a 14-year-old kid was into his music and could also play it. From my point of view, it was invaluable to meet a musician who, when playing, proved that serious music doesn’t have to be depressing.” Listening to “My World” it becomes very clear how strong jazz music has influenced Kennedy. This is to be heard in the dedications to Polish jazz guitarist Jaroslaw Smietana or Nashville based country-jazz-blues violinist and composer Mark O’Connor and also represented in the band line-up. Orphy Robinson, who has already played with Don Cherry, Wynton Marsalis, David Murray and many famous jazz musicians, plays vibes and percussion alongside Adam Czerwinski on drums. Tomasz Kupiec on bass has to lay the groundwork for three guitarists: long-time touring guitarist Rolf Bussalb, young Julian Buschberger and Doug Boyle, who used to play with Robert Plant and is now assistant producer of Nigel’s album. Considering this line-up, “My World” sounds surprisingly calm and classical. The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra has a permanent role throughout, while the band only plays some of the time. Overall Nigel demonstrates what a great soloist he is: virtuosic but never plays a note too many – just like his musical idols. He has written an album full of great melodies. “Three Sisters” is clear evidence of this. The inspiration for the suite comes from Nigel’s wife Agnieszka, who has produced the play by Anton Chekhov for the stage. Fascinated by the underlying psychological study of the play, Nigel started writing his own “Three Sisters” suite.“
Two great German music traditions are fused together on this electro-acoustic album from Berlin-based composer Johannes Motschmann: the classics, and electronic music. Using analogue synthesizers, the Yamaha CP-70, and an old Wurlitzer piano, these dark and melancholic tracks mesh rhythmically with massive percussion and violin sounds. All of the components of these tracks, from percussive sounds to violin tracks, were recorded in the same acoustical space. This allows the handmade electrosounds to be perceived in their full, natural qualities. Boris Bolles helped to mix and master these works, as well as provide some of the violin tracks. Johannes Motschmann received his musical education at the University of Music Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden, then at the University of Music in Karlsruhe, and finally at the Hochschule fur Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin. He studied piano, composition, and electronic music with such scholars as Jorg Herchet, Wilfried Jentzch, Clemens Kuhn, and Wolfgang Rihm. Motschmann’s compositions have been performed by Ensemble Modern, the NDR Radio Philharmonic, and the SWR Symphony Orchestra.
Helbig: I Eat the Sun and Drink the Rain / Jarvi, Helbig, Vocalconsort Berlin
Neue Meister
CD · 1 disc
$10.49$20.99Save 50%Oct 28, 2016
EAT THE SUN AND DRINK THE RAIN is a work for choir and live electronics. Sven Helbig has created a concept album in which he appears both as composer and as author of almost all the song texts. Over the course of ten pieces he weaves a loose narrative that addresses pressing questions of the present day. The powerfully resonant work suspends delicate choral passages above pulsating synthesizers. Sublime a cappella chords spread out above digitally created sounds, in perfect balance between choir and electronics. I EAT THE SUN AND DRINK THE RAIN builds upon the musical principles underlying POCKET SYMPHONIES and POCKET SYMPHONIES ELECTRONICA. Folk?influenced pieces (ABENDGLÜHEN / red sky at night) are set alongside subtle harmonic complexes in the manner of Arvo Pärt (KYRIE) and minimalistic drone music (GEDENKEN / remembrance).
Reentko Dirks is known for his genre-blending style, incorporating flamenco, jazz, and non-European influences, particularly from Arabian music. He has worked with artists and groups like Cirque du Soleil, Yo-Yo Ma, and Ksenija Sidorova, and has performed at iconic venues such as Carnegie Hall. In 2025, Dirks will release an Album featuring tracks dedicated to his late father, offering a reflective and emotional musical tribute. Dirks is part of the European Guitar Quartet and the ensemble Masaa, which won the German Jazz Prize in 2021.
Reentko Dirks is known for his genre-blending style, incorporating flamenco, jazz, and non-European influences, particularly from Arabian music. He has worked with artists and groups like Cirque du Soleil, Yo-Yo Ma, and Ksenija Sidorova, and has performed at iconic venues such as Carnegie Hall. In 2025, Dirks will release an Album featuring tracks dedicated to his late father, offering a reflective and emotional musical tribute. Dirks is part of the European Guitar Quartet and the ensemble Masaa, which won the German Jazz Prize in 2021.
Bridging Tradition and Innovation: This album redefines lute music by blending the instrument's rich historical sound with electronic textures. A Fusion of Acoustic and Electronic: Bergmuller merges the lute's intricate, classical tones with subtle electronic layers?. For both contemporary and classical music audiences.
Mendelssohn's music contains a fascinating duality: deeply rooted in German Romanticism, inspired by Bach and Beethoven, but at the same time shaped by his Jewish origins and the tension between these two worlds. This complexity unfolds in a special way at Christmas time in particular - as a bridge between traditions, cultures and spiritual experiences. An album that combines the festive warmth and spiritual depth of the Christmas season with the radiant music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. A unique musical language - full of light, inwardness and festive joy
Music as a timeless connection-this is the essence of Ground. Tamar Halperin's latest album bridges centuries, blending Baroque masterpieces with contemporary compositions, harpsichord with synthesizers, and tradition with reinvention. Featuring works by Bach, Buxtehude, Francesco Tristano, Michael Wollny, Idan Raichel, and more, Ground explores the invisible thread that links musical eras and styles. Through bold reinterpretations and fresh compositions, Halperin transforms historical influences into a deeply personal, yet universally resonant, listening experience. A celebration of music, friendship, and cultural continuity- Ground is where past and present converge in harmony.
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