in the fields

Vision String Quartet: in the fields CD / Vinyl (LP, 180g) / digital  Florian Willeitner violinDaniel Stoll violinLeonard Disselhorst celloSander Stuart viola Five years on from their last album, vision string quartet are back, and they’re on stupendous form. ‘In the Fields’, their debut on ACT, is a brilliant demonstration of new worlds opening up to the musically curious, and also a statement of how astonishingly versatile a modern string quartet as good as this one can be. This Berlin-based ensemble - Florian Willeitner (violin), Daniel Stoll (violin), Sander Stuart (viola) and Leonard Disselhorst (cello) - has established itself in recent years as the ‘string quartet of the future’ (Sydney Morning Herald) and is known for its way of traversing between classical music, folk, jazz and new and original compositions. The release is also significant in the context of the ACT label, marking a further step beyond the world of jazz. ACT CEO Andreas Brandis comments on the collaboration: "My connection with the Vision String Quartet goes back many years – it began with the Concerto.21 masterclasses that I lead, and has continued through my close collaboration with the quartet’s first violinist Florian Willeitner. In the future, ACT will open up even more to connections between classical music, contemporary music and improvisation – and Vision String Quartet is an excellent example of this new pathway."The new album is a journey in sound, with a consistent dramaturgy from start to finish. Its shape and structure are based on Béla Bartók's five-movement String Quartet No. 4. For the members of the quartet, Bartók, who found his inspiration ‘in the fields’ and in the folk music of Europe, is their point of departure and their guiding figure. “We were infected by his fascination with what is familiar but also unknown,” the musicians explain, inviting listeners to dive with them into the depths of this music.The opening track, ‘Kopanitsa’, a Bulgarian folk song in 11/8 time, already reveals the earthiness and rhythmic fire that pervades the album. In the booklet, the quartet also refer to this introduction to the new recording as the ‘first movement of our work’. Florian Willeitner heard the piece played by a bagpipe player on the streets of Sofia – authenticity and the simple joy of playing are the order of the day here. This is followed by the second movement from the string quartet in F major by Ravel, an evergreen of the quartet repertoire, to which Willeitner and pianist Joel Lyssarides add a post-impressionistic sound world in ‘Ravel Reloaded’. Bartók's String Quartet No. 4 is the centrepiece of the album: its movements are not only interpreted classically, but also expanded in collaboration with Austrian percussionist Bernhard Schimpelsberger to include a ‘percussive dimension’ that opens up new dimensions for the listener. The musicians describe the experience of playing this work in 13 concerts on their 2023 tour of Australia as a “living in a compositional dream”; living and breathing a work until it became a part of them.In addition to working with Schimpelsberger, the vision players have had many exciting and inspiring encounters and collaborations with other musicians on their numerous concert tours around the world. For ‘In the Fields’, they composed and recorded pieces together with Iranian guitarist Mahan Mirarab and Swedish pianist Joel Lyssarides. These original compositions and arrangements provide the chance to hear further surprises. ‘Lydian Rose’ celebrates the colourfulness of the Lydian mode, “Raindance” allows plucked melodies to dance in the rain, and ‘Convalescence’ by Mahan Mirarab, written during the pandemic, is a wild ride between poetic gentleness and unremitting drive. The final ‘Skymning’ by Lyssarides is a gently flowing folk song that lingers in the ear. The vision string quartet remain true to their approach of performing as a band, playing the classical repertoire from memory and standing up – a trademark “that means maximum freedom and liveliness for us,” Willeitner explains. The group’s concert formats are equally innovative: dark concerts, cross-genre projects and collaborations with artists such as Fatma Said, Gabriel Kahane and Golnar Shahyar - all are demonstrations of the quartet's versatility.  It is definitely worth coming out of shuffle mode, and listening to this album straight through from start to finish in its intended order. That allows a true appreciation of the thoughtful interplay and contrast between the quartet movements by Bartók, Ravel and Dvořák and the quartet's own compositions. Heard like this, the dramaturgy and the utterly convincing shape of the album can unfold as intended, in all their depth. Together with their extraordinary guests, the four musicians on ‘In the Fields’ have demonstrated with complete conviction what the string quartet in the 21st century can be: packed with life, driven by curiosity, a place where the possibilities are limitless. CreditsRecorded between 7–12 October 2024 and 29–30 October 2024 at Studio 1,BR Franken, NürnbergProduced by vision string quartetExecutive producer for BR: Beate SampsonRecording producer, engineer, editing, mixing: Christian JaegerRecording and editing technician: Tatjana SchewtschenkoPiano tuner: Theo KretzschmarMastered by Christoph Stickel, Vienna Cover photo by Sander Stuart

The famous compliation "Magic Moments", curated by Siggi LochTracklist: 01 Elevation of Love // Album: e.s.t. 30 Magnus Öström, Dan Berglund, Magnus Lindgren, Joel Lyssarides, Verneri Pohjola, Ulf Wakenius 02 Second Nature // Album: Life Rhythm Wolfgang Haffner03 Raw // Album: raw Nils Landgren Funk Unit 04 The Answer // Album: The Answer Jakob Manz 05 Shots // Album: Bloom Bill Laurance 06 Das Handtuch // Album: Tough Stuff Iiro Rantala 07 She’ll Arrive Between 10 & 11 // Album: Guitar PoetryMikael Máni 08 Terrible Seeds // Album: While You Wait Little North 09 Se Telefonando // Album: Ennio Grégoire Maret, Romain Collin 10 Wonderland // Album: Wonderland Daniel García Trio 11 Fresu // Album: Inner Spirits Jan Lundgren, Yamandu Costa 12 Hands Off // Album: Stealing Moments Viktoria Tolstoy 13 Hidden Prelude // Album: What the Fugue Florian Willeitner 14 Pralin // Album: Let Them Cook Emile Parisien 15 My Brother Rolf // Album: Komeda Joachim Kühn 16 Passacaglia // Album: Passacaglia Adam Bałdych, Leszek Możdżer 17 Linden Tree Rag // Album: Rag Bag Bernd Lhotzky 18 Zafeirious Solo // Album: Arcs & Rivers Joel Lyssarides, Georgios Prokopiou

Florian Willeitner - What The FugeCD / digital Florian Willeitner violin Ivan Turkalj violoncello Alexander Wienand piano Now here’s a challenge: to take the fugue, possibly the most complex compositional procedure in Western classical music, and to transform it to reflect the modern age. The ‘New Piano Trio’ - violinist Florian Willeitner, cellist Ivan Turkalj and pianist Alexander Wienand – has taken this task to heart. Rather than being in any way daunted by the towering achievements of the baroque period, these three classically trained and extremely open-minded musicians have risen to the occasion, and achieved a fine balance between the rigour of the art of fugue and the freedom of jazz in their album ‘What the Fugue’. Florian Willeitner, the violinist who is the principal composer and organiser behind the project, combines the streams of classical music and jazz, both of which run deep in him, in a unique way. This phenomenally talented and multifaceted musician was born in Passau – a city where major rivers converge – in 1991. He began improvising and writing his own music at an early age. Since his youth, he has been fascinated by music from all over the world. His peregrinations with a rucksack and a violin have taken him to Ireland, Spain, Bulgaria, Cuba and Brazil...where he has expanded his horizons by forging links with local musicians. He later studied classical violin at the Salzburg Mozarteum, founded the ‘New Piano Trio’ and became first violinist of the renowned ‘vision string quartet’. In 2021, his first ACT release ‘First Strings On Mars’ was released - for Jan Brachmann, one of Germany's most important classical music journalists, an ‘album to refresh both the heart and the mind.’ Florian Willeitner says of the background to his new project ‘What The Fugue’: ‘The fugue, the supreme discipline of the Baroque era, has fascinated me for decades. My studies of the counterpoint of both Bach and Shostakovich provided me with one important source, but there was another: I was equally captivated by West African groove music. It inspired my to involve its highly complex interplay of many layers and the harmonious intertwining of several equal voices.’ Developing an entire programme based on this fascination for music with multilayered interlocking rhythms and melodies was a long-cherished wish for Willeitner. However, it wasn’t until the pandemic in 2020 that he actually found the time needed to immerse himself fully and properly in it. Drawing inspiration from diverse musical traditions, he carefully set about the task of crafting compositions based on four distinct “keys”, each representing a unique musical language. The key “Orient” is influenced by the vibrant colours and rhythmic ideas of Middle Eastern music, and in particular one of Willeitner’s greatest musical heroes, Tigran Hamasyan. In “Dimensions,” he delved into the exuberant understanding of harmony of Jacob Collier. The key “Bach,” though not an attempt to mimic Bach’s tonal language, pays tribute to his preludes from the Well-Tempered Clavier. And lastly, “The Twinkle” sought to capture the mischievous spirit of Sergei Prokofiev, a favourite composer, infusing the compositions with his playful energy and wit. ‘What The Fugue’ has captured some of the typical and exciting traits of current jazz artists and that is what makes this music both appealing and so substantial, interesting and eventful: outstanding musical skills from all the players, a spirit of inquisitiveness and openness, a broad musical horizon across styles, eras and borders. And, above all, the will and the imagination to use all of these ingredients to create new, fresh and unexpected music.

Various Artists - Magic Moments 14 "In The Spirit Of Jazz"CD / digital"More than any other art form, music touches people directly," is ACT founder Siggi Loch's credo. For nearly 30 years, the core of what the label does has been to find and to promote the artists who can inspire the mind, reach the heart and touch the soul, and who do so in ways that have a lasting impact. Perhaps this has never been more important than now in the time of the pandemic, when culture has been silenced, when people have felt emotionally isolated and – far too often – the only “reality” has been virtual. With sixteen tracks from the current ACT release schedule, "Magic Moments 14" gathers together all of the power of "Music in the Spirit of Jazz", this world language beyond words which is understandable to everyone. It not only brings people together, it also moves and inspires them. ACT’s main mission is in the absolute foreground on this album: to be a discovery label. ACT’s main focus has always been on European jazz, to document this art form growing and developing, to show it reflecting on its own musical traditions, linking them back to jazz’s American roots and thereby opening up new paths. So, in that spirit, "Magic Moments 14" begins with a "Canzon del fuego fatuo" from the remarkable young Spanish pianist Daniel Garcia. Here is a fascinating new voice from Spanish jazz, taking up the music of his homeland in a refreshingly new way. We also mark here the ACT debut of mesmerising Austrian actor Birgit Minichmayr. Here is a voice and a personality with charismatic presence, delivering a Shakespeare Sonnet in the grand manner, together with Quadro Nuevo’s versatile world music team and the early jazz specialist Bernd Lhotzky. Other examples of new shining stars in the European musical firmament are the French-Algerian cellist and singer Nesrine and Austrian pianist David Helbock’s new trio. This focus on new and recent arrivals at the label does not mean neglecting the artists who have been with ACT since the beginning and who have made it the leading label for Swedish jazz: trombonist Nils Landgren contributes a new humdinger from his Funk Unit, a band which has been giving soul jazz a European face for over twenty-five years. Bassist/composer Lars Danielsson again celebrates the combination of classical music, jazz and Nordic sound with "Cloudland" from his new Liberetto album. Ida Sand conti-nues the tradition of Scandinavian singers who enrich the world's songbook with their pop "in the spirit of jazz". And for the final track, Jan Lundgren and Lars Danielsson, toge-ther with Emile Parisien, the French musician who has single-handedly redefined the soprano saxophone, show us Euro-pean art music with a Swedish accent at its most communicative and inspired. Last but not least, ACT was one of the first important labels to promote contemporary German jazz. There are more German artists on "Magic Moments 14" than ever before, demonstrating this important strand: violinist Florian Willeitner from Passau; guitarist Philipp Schiepek who has made a meteoric rise in the South German scene; the feisty attitude of KUU! led by singer Jelena Kuljic – like Minichmayr also primarily known for her acting and stagecraft; the Jazzrausch Bigband, whose techno jazz is attracting attention worldwide; and two rising stars who are currently harvesting all of the major awards, Johanna Summer and Vincent Meissner.Summer and Meissner - like Garcia, Lundgren and Helbock - also stand for the special place ACT has always found for the best pianists in Europe. Thus it is two German pianists of major international significance who complete the offering on "Magic Moments 14": 77-year-old Joachim Kühn is still utterly driven and a major force; his heir apparent Michael Wollny can also be heard here in his new all-star quartet with Emile Parisien, Tim Lefebvre and Christian Lillinger. The drummer was a multiple award-winner at the new German Jazz Prize, including one for KUU!. "Magic Moments 14" is a quintessence of the many directions which genre-crossing, innovative jazz is currently taking. These difficult times need remedies that are both energising and emotionally affecting: here are musicians who unfailingly show us the value and importance of trust and dialogue.Credits: Compilation by Siggi Loch Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Florian Willeitner - First Strings on MarsCD / digital Florian Willeitner violin, soulfiddle, mandolin & vocals Georg Breinschmid bass &vocals Igmar Jenner violin & vocals In the past the violin in jazz could sometimes seem a bit exotic, even outlandish, but all that has changed. Classical music and jazz are no longer mutually exclusive worlds; these days they enrich each other, and it is the norm for string instruments to take centre stage. The ACT label has played its part in this transformation, with artists such as the Bartolomey/Bittmann duo, the radio.string.quartet.vienna and the incomparable Adam Baldych among the pioneers who created the paradigm shift, and who continue to take their music in new directions. And yet, as violinist/composer Florian Willeitner from Passau in Southern Germany sees it, there is still further to go: “The full potential of the violin, with its unique versatility and its kaleidoscopic possibilities of timbre and texture, is rarely to be heard in conventional jazz settings.” And from this he has derived his credo as both composer and instrumentalist: “It is my firm belief that in order to write music which uses the violin’s great spectrum of possibilities, it is crucial not just to have an awareness of the classical tradition, but also of the many other cultures which feature string instruments prominently and in which unique approaches and techniques have been developed. To blend these different ingredients into a transcultural style which is respect-ful to each of these distinct traditions is what inspires me.” Willeitner, who was the star student of top violinist Benjamin Schmid, has been travelling the world and studying a wide variety of different musical cultures since the age of 19. During his classical studies, completed in 2017, he experimented with new ways of writing for orchestra, notably in his Violin Concerto No. 1, which had its first performance in the Vienna Musikverein. With his “New Piano Trio” he has spent several years refining this cross-genre composition and performance. In 2018 he founded “Pool of Invention”, an international artists' collective. With this collective he has focused his efforts on highly efficient transcultural art. The collective is a creative partner of leading festivals such as Mozart Week in Salzburg, directed by Rolando Villazón. With his first album on ACT, we witness a first culmination of these endeavours: a trio project with Florian Willeitner and two similarly inclined musicians who are also opening up new paths for stringed instruments: They are, on the one hand, violinist Igmar Jenner, who founded the string orchestra “String Syndicate” during his classical training at Graz, and whose enthusiasms venture into genres such as tango and Irish folk. Igmar has been a member of the radio.string.quartet for 10 years. His duo with Slovenian accordionist Borut Mori won the 2010 Austrian World Music Award. The third member of the trio is legendary double bassist Georg Breinschmid, who gave up his permanent position with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra because other things were more important to him: musical freedom and what he calls “a carefree approach to music.” Since then he has opened up to genres from blues to ‘Wienerlied’, and is a pioneer in combining jazz-inspired composition and performance with that particular kind of ironic humour which the Viennese call ‘Schmäh’. Here we have the perfect line-up for “a feast of musical freedom and curiosity," as Willeitner calls "First Strings on Mars.” And if that sounds like hyperbole, it isn’t. There has never been a string trio with a range of sounds and techniques like this, nor players who can res-pond so effortlessly to one another's ideas. It begins with Willeitner's “Novemberlicht”, simultaneously poetic and powerful. Then we hear Sting's “Fragile”, in a version that breaks all the boundaries of string-playing, Breinschmid's exquisitely tender “Reminiscence”, Willeitner's mysterious “Dark Romance or The Short Life of Mister Gimli Hope”, his folky pop song “The Green Wind”, Breinschmid's virtuoso reinter-pretation of alpine folk music with “The Swindler” and “Hochkar” - and finally a yodel into which the sounds of "Ho Chi Minh” have been smuggled. Willeitner's hard-grooving tune “Brazil Imported” has it all: the trio show the range of techniques, tempi and thematic variety that is possible with their combination of bass, violin, mandolin and soulfidd-le (an instrument custom-made by Weilleitner's friend, luthier Valen-tin Kaiser). And again when they dig hard into “Searching” by Georg Breinschmid, they bring us back what this album is all about: “Our goal as a band,” says Willeitner, “is to be traditional in the best way. To learn from the past while writing for the future. To push the limits of our instruments. And to be the First Strings On Mars.” They're already well on their way.Credits: Recorded by Franz Schaden at Wavegarden Studios, Mitterretzbach/ Austria, July 2019 “Fragile” recorded at POI Studios, Passau/Germany, October 2018. “The Swindler” recorded live by Peter Tomic at Enter Enea Festival, Poznan/ Poland, May 2018 Mixed by Franz Schaden & FSOM, 2020. “The Swindler” mixed by Peter Tomic Mix Panorama (from left to right): Florian Willeitner, Georg Breinschmid, Igmar Jenner Mastered by Philipp Treiber at PDV Records Produced by Florian Willeitner, Georg Breinschmid & Igmar Jenner Cover art by Peter Krüll