EPRelease date:
22.09.2017
Pantha Du Prince, Sebastian Knauer, Pascal Schumacher, Zürcher Kammerorchester
Mondholz
"Mondholz: Remixes & Canons" continues the unique concept behind Arash Safaian’s acclaimed album ÜberBach, which won the 2017 ECHO Klassik Award in the category "Classics Without Borders". Just as ÜberBach was not about quoting Bach, but about creating music in which his spirit could be felt, Mondholz extends this idea into a new sonic dimension. The album features two original compositions by Safaian, as well as two remixes by renowned electronic artist Hendrik Weber, better known as Pantha Du Prince. With his signature approach to electronic soundscapes, Weber applies “the rules of Pantha Du Prince” to Safaian’s music—melding classical structures with immersive electronic textures. "For me," says Safaian, "the poetry of this album lies in the fusion of the universal architecture of the canon with the principle of dance." Safaian and Weber view their collaboration as a natural fit. "I felt that he shared the same deep connection to Bach," Safaian explains. "Black Noise is, in my opinion, one of the greatest electronic albums ever made. I hear in it a hidden polyphony rooted in nature. There was no one else I wanted to work with." Performed by pianist Sebastian Knauer, vibraphonist Pascal Schumacher, and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, and rounded out by Pantha Du Prince’s refined electronic compositions, Mondholz is a seamless blend of Bach’s revolutionary spirit, Safaian’s bold reinterpretations, and Weber’s hypnotic minimalism.
Pantha Du Prince
Weber, already a successful composer, producer and concept artist, published his début album as Pantha du Prince entitled "nowhere", in 2002. A few years later his first Studio album "Diamond Daze" (2004) appeared, followed by a Remix-12" ("Butterfly Girl Versions", 2005), as well as new material ("Lichten/Walden", 2006).
His second studio album as Pantha du Prince was "This Bliss", (2007), which generated great interest amongst the critics. In 2010 he presented his third album "Black Noise" on London's legendary Rough Trade Records. The label's founder Geoff Travis, personally introduced him to the English independent music institution, which has published many celebrated albums since its founding in the late 1970's. "Black Noise" with digitalised natural sounds and those of crackles and also bells, is already considered a classic of its genre. With this album, Weber won the critics prize at the distinguished German music awards "Echo" in Berlin in 2011.
As Pantha du Prince & The Bell Laboratory Weber was joined by the Norwegian composer Lars Petter Hagen, developing a modern musical piece in Oslo and Berlin in 2010. In "The Bell Laboratory" Weber and Hagen investigate bells and melodic percussion, both rhythmically and tonally, set in a percussion piece for a 64 bell carillon, accompanied by a six-person ensemble. The world première of this piece was celebrated enthusiastically in August 2011 at the Oya Festival in Oslo.
In May 2012 Weber presented his new project "Ursprung", created together with Stephan Abry (who played with the artist Kai Althoff in the Kraut-Elektronika-Group “Workshop”). A performance-group will be showing this live.
In addition Weber has composed remixes and arrangements for Depeche Mode, Animal Collective, Philipp Glass, Bloc Party,Hurts and Trentemöller. Weber's work has been shown at solo and group exhibitions in numerous institutions and galleries.More releases
Sebastian Knauer
In 2005, East meets West, a joint project with his duo partner Daniel Hope, was awarded the ECHO Klassik and a Grammy nomination. The Hamburg Philharmonic have performed with Sebastian Knauer in a cycle of all 27 Mozart concertos and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra have played all the Haydn concertos, in each case to his direction from the keyboard. He has also performed in concert with the Dresden Staatskapelle, the NDR Symphony Orchestra, the Konzerthaus Orchestra of Berlin, Philharmonia Zürich, Camerata Salzburg, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Lucerne Festival Strings, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and the New York City Opera Orchestra, conducted by Fabio Luisi, Thomas Hengelbrock, Neeme Järvi, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ingo Metzmacher, John Axelrod, Simone Young, Michael Sanderling and Jaap van Zweden. An artist with a close affinity with chamber music, he has contributed to numerous projects with such impressive colleagues as the Emerson String Quartet, Philharmonia Quartett Berlin, Sol Gabetta, Sabine Meyer, singers Anne Sofie von Otter, Bernarda Fink, Michael Schade, Olaf Bär and the late Hermann Prey, and with choreographer John Neumeier and the drummer of “The Police”, Stewart Copeland. Already this century he has put together a series of Word meets Music programmes, always focusing on one composer. Sebastian Knauer creates the texts about the composer’s life, which are recited on stage by noted actors. With well over 300 appearances in this format since 2001 he regularly plays alongside Klaus Maria Brandauer, Hannelore Elsner, Martina Gedeck, Katja Riemann, Iris Berben, Gudrun Landgrebe and Barbara Auer. 2012 saw Sebastian Knauer establish his own festival, mozart@augsburg, of which he has assumed artistic direction.
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Pascal Schumacher
He played with many of exciting musicians such Francesco Tristano, Bachar Mar-Khalifé, Jef Neve, Kenny Barron & Magic Malik, wrote music for theater and film and leaded a jazz quartet. Today he mixes emotional classical music with minimal electronic sounds, although Schumacher himself considers each classification obsolete. To him, music is a single, limitless playground.
2018 also marked a new beginning for Pascal Schumacher, who upon invitation to play at Jazz & The City Festival In Salzburg, started to develop his own solo material. The experience opened up an entirely new path for the composer culminating in his debut solo album, SOL. SOL captures Schumacher’s newfound passion for solitude in all its magnetism all the while remaining true to the main characteristic of his relationship with the vibraphone; intimacy. SOL has ben released via Neue Meister in June 2020.
Pascal is a Yamaha Artist and a Professor for Jazz and Classical Percussion at the Conservatoire de Musique de Luxembourg. - He is the Artistic Director of the innovative 'Reset' Music Festival at Abbaye Neimenster and an Ambassador for SOS Children's Villages International - Luxembourg.More releases
