Album ImageSingleRelease date:
08.03.2024

Clemens Christian Poetzsch, Reentko Dirks

Riverine

"Imagine you're walking along a riverbank in the morning - everything is quiet, there's a light mist over the landscape and not a soul to be seen. The nearest supermarket is 20 minutes away by car, and reception on the phone is almost non-existent. Everything seems to stand still, only the river flows slowly and steadily. The peace that takes hold of you in such a situation can be overwhelming. Then you go straight into the house to the piano and play the first notes. This album was created in this environment, and "Riverine" describes one such morning." – Clemens Christian Poetzsch

Clemens Christian PoetzschReentko Dirks
Clemens Christian Poetzsch

Clemens Christian Poetzsch

Deep inside, pianist Clemens Christian Poetzsch always knew what music meant to him: freedom. Freedom to improvise; freedom to create new worlds of sound; freedom to follow his instinct wherever it may lead him. His publications in collaboration with various musicians and his solo debut album (People & Places, 2016) already distinguished him as a special talent. On his new master debut, "Remember Tomorrow", he finally does justice to the role of the modern composer and gives free rein to the entire spectrum of his musical abilities - and with astonishing results.

During his childhood in Dresden, Poetzsch received his first piano lessons from his grandfather, an opera singer, and immediately immersed himself in the worlds of Bach, Schubert and Clementis. Then, at the age of ten, a birthday present from his brother: a music book with Frank Sinatra standards that opened his ears to more extensive musical possibilities. Poetzsch soon played in the bar of the neighbouring house, improvising and throwing song structures over and over again.

These were formative experiences that accompanied Poetzsch throughout his classical music education at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden. During his piano and composition studies he spent his free time playing in jazz and free improvisation bands with friends and colleagues. He gave concerts, went on tour, discovered electronic music and absorbed all knowledge like a sponge. "I really like playing Bach and all the big ones," he says, "but from the beginning I just liked writing music myself and making my own songs. Playing in the orchestra or in big bands never really interested me".

And so what started as pure pleasure and the need to "find environments where I can surprise myself" became an ever-increasing influence on his music. "There never was a real plan," Poetzsch explains, "but I found that when I stepped away from all the sheet music and tried to find something for myself, it became my little language, and my voice and composition style really developed out of all of that."



Photo: Sandra Ludewig

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Reentko Dirks

Reentko Dirks

Reentko Dirks is a guitarist, composer and producer who has worked with prestigious ensembles and renowned artists throughout the world. He has written pieces for Cirque du Soleil and Semperoper Dresden, taken to the stage alongside stars including Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Bruns, Ben Becker and accordion virtuoso Ksenija Sidorova, and been invited to perform at legendary venues such as Carnegie Hall, 92Y (both New York), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (Moscow). From 2012 to 2015 he performed with and went on to compose for Giora Feidman. He also composes film music, his most recent project being the Czech blockbuster “Nationalstraße” (based on the bestseller by Jaroslav Rudiš; music composed in collaboration with pianist Clemens Christian Poetzsch).

Reentko has been a member of the European Guitar Quartet since 2012 and joined Masaa – winner of the German Jazz Award 2021.

In 2021 he and Turkish guitarist Erkin Cavus released their highly anticipated new album “Istanbul 1900”, which was even able to enter the charts in some countries.

Inspired by his intensive study of not only flamenco but also non-European and particularly Arabian music, Reentko’s unorthodox playing style blends a variety of genres, cultures and timbres to create an unconventional sound that has earned him multiple international prizes.

Reentko Dirks (born 1979 in Bad Gandersheim) studied Acoustic Guitar under Professor Thomas Fellow at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden before himself taking a teaching role at the school. He has initiated and participated in a broad range of artistic projects, with prize-winning examples including guitar duo “Dirks und Wirtz” (2006 European Guitar Award) and “Annamateur und Außensaiter” (2008 German Cabaret Prize). His role in the Grimme Prize-nominated television program “Zärtlichkeiten im Bus” involved collaborations with leading pop acts such as Bosse, Max Mutzke, Samy Deluxe, Yvonne Catterfeld, Enno Bunger and Andreas Bourani.



Reentko is a D’Addario artist.

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