Masters at work: With the celebrated experimental pianist Hauschka, the Finnish percussion wizard Samuli Kosminen and the cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, former member of the legendary Kronos Quartet, UM:LAUT brings three exceptional and internationally renowned musicians to its stage for their first group concerts ever in Germany.
Entirely based on free improvisation and the exploration of space with sound and rhythm, this unique live project fuses the musical biographies and manifold qualities of its protagonists – without the corset of a pre-defined genre, open for unexpected developments, experiments and spontaneous impulses. Hauschka Kosminen Zeigler celebrated their debut at the festival River to River in New York in 2013, with Feast of Music describing it as “a transporting, ecstatic experience.”
http://https://youtu.be/zOCAFIcEYFI
Wooden sticks, pieces of felt, tape strips, table-tennis balls – with great inventiveness and various everyday objects, the pianist and composer Volker Bertelmann alias Hauschka creates an unexpected world of sounds with the piano. He is regarded as one of the most remarkable modern proponents of the prepared piano.
The percussive or rustling sounds, which make one assume the usage of percussions and electronic devices, give the atmospherically dense, rhythm-based compositions of the Düsseldorf-based artist a lyrical quality. Hauschka’s music moves between sound art and experimental, modern classical and chamber music, electronica and pop – with his last solo records “Salon des Amateurs” and “Abandoned City” even broadening his spectrum to minimal techno and house.
Samuli Kosminen is one of the most sought-after and adventurous percussionists and producers of Scandinavia. Besides his virtuosity and unique sound creations, his rare live performances are particularly striking due to his extensive array of tools comprising collected and found objects and instruments.
Kosminen has contributed to more than 80 albums, composed music for theatre and film and collaborated with artists such as Ólafur Elíasson, Kronos Quartet, Emiliana Torrini, Jónsi Birgisson of Sigur Rós, or Pekka Kuusisto. Beyond, he regularly plays live with the Finnish star accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen – the duo’s project “Uniko” with the renowned Kronos Quartet was presented live in numerous countries. Kosminen is also part of the successful Icelandic band múm and regularly plays live with them on tour.
[vimeo 73952678 w=620&h=300]The New York Times describes Jeffrey Zeigler‘s playing of the cello as “excellent” and praises the “unforced simplicity and beauty of tone” of the American, who was a member of the legendary and award-winning Kronos Quartet until 2013.
The innovative and internationally acclaimed ensemble from San Francisco has worked with renowned composers such Arvo Pärt, Steve Reich or Philip Glass as well as with musicians from various backgrounds – thereby “influencing the contemporary paradigm of chamber music more profoundly than any composer or musician ever before”.
This event is presented by Digital in Berlin. Check out our Facebook page to win tickets.
Hauschka, Kosminen, Zeigler
Saturday, 12 September + Sunday, 13 September 2015 | 20:00 CET
Radialsystem V | Holzmarktstr. 33 | 10243 Berlin/Friedrichshain
umlautlive.de | radialsystem.de
