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Anja Lechner | Francois Couturier

Moderato cantabile

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Moderato cantabile epk
Maria Pia De Vito, Francois Couturier, Anja Lechner, Michele Rabbia - Il Pergolese
1 Georges I. Gurdjieff - Sayyid chant & dance no. 3 / Hymn no. 7
2 Francois Couturier - Voyage
3 Komitas - Chinar es
4 Mompou - Cancion y danza 6
5 Francois Couturier - Musica Callada 28/Impresiones intimas 1
6 Francois Couturier - Musica Callada 28/Soleil rouge
7 Francois Couturier - Musica Callada 28/Papillons
8 Georges I. Gurdjieff - Hymn no. 8 / Night procession
9 Georges I. Gurdjieff - Fetes Lointaines
10 Mompou - Impresiones intimas: Secreto
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After a decade of shared work in the Tarkovsky Quartet and an ongoing alliance in the Pergolesi Project with singer Maria Pia De Vito (see the recent Il Pergolese album), German cellist Anja Lechner and French pianist Franҫois Couturier unveil their new duo. The players approach the music from different vantage points: Lechner is a classical soloist, with an uncommon interest in improvisation, Couturier a jazz musician travelling ever further from jazz. On Moderato cantabile they present their own arrangements of works by three fascinating outsiders from the margins of music history – G.I. Gurdjieff, Komitas Vardapet, and Federico Mompou. To differing degrees the music of these composers reveals influences from the east, in terms of relationship to folk music traditions and ritual and religious music, and also philosophically. The program has connections to Anja Lechner's acclaimed account of Gurdjieff's music on the earlier Chants, Hymns and Dances (recorded in 2003 with Vassilis Tsabropoulos), but the new duo has its own distinct identity, and many visits to Armenia have deepened Lechner's understanding of the contexts from which the music emerged: her cello assumes almost a singer's role in these pieces, exploring the strong melodies. 

30 New  34 Total
SYND: PRI/Classical 24
Direct: Music Choice
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Atlanta, Seattle, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Denver, Baltimore, St. Louis, Austin, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Detroit
Online: Taintradio

  • Anja Lechner, Francois Couturier - Lontano makes KCRW: Rhythm Planet 'New Tunes to Close Out the Year'
    Posted At: December 15, 2020

    On Moderato Cantabile, their 2013 duo recording, Anja Lechner and François Couturier illuminated some musical and spiritual affinities linking Komitas Vardapet, George I. Gurdjieff and Federico Mompou, composers at the crossroads of East and West.  With Lontano, the German cellist and the French pianist widen the scope of their music.  Out of their shared work &nd...

  • Francois Couturier, Anja Lechner - Lontano is inner-directed jazz, meticulous as chamber music / JazzTimes
    Posted At: December 11, 2020

    Sixty years ago, "third stream" music was supposed to be the next big thing in jazz. At the time, Gunther Schuller defined it as "a new genre … located about halfway between jazz and classical music." Critics quickly deemed it a failure. But the third stream did not die. It went dormant for about 30 years until the right musicians came along and made it viable-conservatory-trained classical ar...

  • 'Lontano' allows Anja Lechner and Francois Couturier the space to improvise / LondonJazz News
    Posted At: October 12, 2020

    German cellist Anja Lechner is probably known above all for the album Chants, Hymns and Dances she recorded in 2004 with pianist Vassilis Tsabropoulos, which went to the top of the US classical charts. That earlier album explored the music of George Gurdjieff, the Armenian-born mystic and composer whose life inspired director Peter Brook to make the film Meetings with Remarkable Men. Gurdjieff's music co...

  • 'Lontano' allows Anja Lechner and Francois Couturier the space to improvise / London JazzNews
    Posted At: October 12, 2020

    German cellist Anja Lechner is probably known above all for the album Chants, Hymns and Dances she recorded in 2004 with pianist Vassilis Tsabropoulos, which went to the top of the US classical charts. That earlier album explored the music of George Gurdjieff, the Armenian-born mystic and composer whose life inspired director Peter Brook to make the film Meetings with Remarkable Men. Gurdjieff's musi...

  • Respite and high energy at Jerusalem Jazz Festival / The Jerusalem Post
    Posted At: December 4, 2017

    Another Jerusalem Jazz Festival has been and gone. It was the third edition thereof and it really feels, now, that the event is here to stay on the national cultural calendar. Once again, artistic director and internationally acclaimed trumpeter Avishai Cohen put together a diverse range of acts that ran the gamut of straight-ahead jazz, through more unfettered creative climes, to offerings of a more com...

  • Anja Lechner | Francois Couturier - Moderato Cantabile / Second Inversion / Album Of the Week
    Posted At: February 2, 2015

    "I believe that the music belongs to the true interpreter, the true artist," said 20th century Spanish composer and pianist Federico Mompou. "Here is the music. What does it suggest to you?" German cellist Anja Lechner and French pianist François Couturier took that challenge head-on in their new album, "Moderato cantabile." In addition to featuring compositions by Mompou, the album also inclu...

  • Anja Lechner and Francois Couturier - Moderato cantabile / All About Jazz review
    Posted At: October 27, 2014

    On Moderato Cantabile cellist Anja Lechner and pianist Francois Couturier interpret music that is simultaneously spiritual and folklore-ish with supple eloquence and sophisticated vibrancy. Intermixed with works from Greco-Russian guru George Gurdjieff, Armenian musicologist Komitas and Spanish composer Federico Mompou are Couturier's own jazz inflected pieces that maintain the overall mystical theme...

  • Anja Lechner and Francois Couturier - Moderato cantabile / The Classical Reviewer review
    Posted At: October 23, 2014

    After a decade of shared work, German cellist Anja Lechner has teamed up with French pianist François Couturier to form a new duo. The different backgrounds of these players bring mutually beneficial interests and experiences. Lechner is a classical soloist with an interest in improvisation whereas Couturier is a jazz musician travelling ever further from jazz. Together they have recorded a ne...

  • Anja Lechner | Franҫois Couturier: Moderato cantabile / WCLV October Choice CD
    Posted At: October 1, 2014

    Each month, WCLV - Cleveland Program Director Bill O'Connell selects a series of special CDs to be featured on the air throughout the month. For his October list, Bill has selected . Here are the highlighted tracks and airdates Bill has chosen and a few of his comments from about why this disc is a standout. After a decade of shared work in the Tarkovsky Quartet and an ongoing alliance ...

  • Anja Lechner and Francois Couturier release - Moderato cantabile on ECM
    Posted At: September 28, 2014

    After a decade of shared work in the Tarkovsky Quartet and an ongoing alliance in the Pergolesi Project with singer Maria Pia De Vito (see the recent Il Pergolese album), German cellist Anja Lechner and French pianist Franҫois Couturier unveil their new duo. The players approach the music from different vantage points: Lechner is a classical soloist, with an uncommon interest in improvisa...
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