Title: Iberischer Klangzauber
Artist: Von Albrecht, Dorothea & Martin Manch
Label: CD Baby
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 4041649200402
Genre: Classical Artists

The Magic of Iberian Sound Music that is full of the fire of the South and the passion of it's inhabitants. Cultural pearls among other rarities that Martin Muench was able to capture in his "Canto Sevillano" (No.4) during his first trip to Spain in the early eighties. An emotional declaration of love for the Iberian Peninsula... for example, Catalonia: always open to the world, a mixture of cultures elevated to an art form that remains conscious of it's own roots, it's language and it's own traditions preserved in honor-with an undeniable whiff of banditry and anarchy...Or Andalusia: a variety of sensory allurements that has always inspired the world's poets, aesthetes and hedonists to new heights of consciousness. Intensity of light, warmth, changing landscapes and climates. Eight hundred years' enduring epochs of Moorish and Arabic hegemony have more deeply influenced the appearance of Andalusia than that of any other Spanish region. Both of us share an enthusiasm for Spanish music: it is very passionate and expressive--but at the same time extremely disciplined. It imparts feelings of suppressed emotion, deep sadness, love and zest for life. Inherent in these musically dominated emotions is great pride and strength which bind the works performed here with artistic perfection. Purists who may object that not all the works are original compositions should be aware that we are dealing with a very old tradition that served to communicate it's musical message before the advent of sound recordings. Even today--despite the availability of media-one cannot presume that all the cultural and performance-related aspects of this music are known. To everyone. For the present CD, two live improvisations were created: Tango habanera exaltada (No.6) and Valse jongleuse (No.7). For the improvisation other criteria are relevant. Nothing is repeated, everything is unique and unpredictable. Many elements that formed our musical tastes merge in our improvisation, consciously or subconsciously. There even appear passages in the microtonal dimension, where slurs are heard and where the diatonic system seems to get out of joint. Especially attractive and inspirational for our live improvisations is, among other things, the cultural influence from the Orient. With reverence for classical music and it's masterworks which serve as the background for our improvisations, a new musical kaleidoscope is born again and again. DvA and MM Pianist and composer Martin Muench from Heidelberg studied music pedagogy and philosophy in Mainz and subsequently composition with Wolfgang Rihm in Karlsruhe. He gives approximately 40 concerts yearly, some of which take place in North and South America, Eastern Europe, Germany and Italy. As a composer, he has written 46 works ranging from piano and chamber music to orchestral compositions. Critics highly acclaimed his CD "Katharsis" with three piano improvisations of concise individual style. Since 1994 Muench has been Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Bamberg and the Director of the Neckar Music Festival since 2005. Dorothea von Albrecht studied cello with Christoph Henkel, David Soyer and William Pleeth in Freiburg, New York and London. Among other engagements, she performed as a soloist and chamber musician at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the Biennial in Venice, the Salzburger Festspiele and "Music of the Present Day" in St. Petersburg. Inspired by her encounters with musicians of other cultures and by her diverse tours overseas, she recognized, as did Martin Muench, her affinity for improvisation. She cultivates a close working relationship with Earle Brown (now deceased), Matthew Burtner, Luca Tessadrelli, Martin Muench and Violeta Dinescu, who have written works for her and her ensembles. Since 2006 she has held the artistic directorship of the side program at the Neckar Music Festival.

Tracks:
1.1 Manuel de Falla, Pantomima y Canción
1.2 Manuele de Falla, Melodia
1.3 Gaspar Cassadó, Requiebros
1.4 Martin MÜNCH, Canto Sevillano
1.5 Enrique Granados, Orientale
1.6 Live -Improvisation, Tango. Habanera Exaltada
1.7 Live -Improvisation, Valse Jongleuse
1.8 Enrique Granados, Intermezzo
1.9 Martin MÜNCH, Tango- Valse Violent
1.10 Gaspar Cassadó, Intermezzo E Danza Finale
1.11 Manuel de Falla, Romanza
1.12 Manuel de Falla, Danse Espagnole