News

12/11/2016 - 17:34
Elf neue Stücke!

This month I published eleven new pieces! Three recorder quartets, two recorder quintets, one flute quintet, one piece for two flutes and marimba, one piece for two flutes and piano, and three new pieces for recorder orchestra! Just look around here. To most of them you can also listen here. Who orders something in December will get a recording of the Tokyo Concert for free!

12/08/2016 - 19:15
Door 8

Door 8: Imagine you are travelling on a boat down a large African river, watching the landscape passing by, and then you observe a hilarious wedding ceremony. Next, move into the evening light, view the sunset and finally arrive in the village where they are waiting for you and you receive an enthusiastic welcome. This is what this piece is about. Umculo wamanzi in Xhosa means Water music. I hope you can hear the waves going on and on until the very horizon. The premiere of the quite symphonic piece was in Basel and Lenzburg on the 10th and 11th of september, conducted by Gisela Colberg. Many thanks!

12/06/2016 - 18:00
Njagala Nnyimba

Door 6: Njagala Nnyimba in Luganda means I love music and the people of Uganda really do love music! Nowhere in Black Africa have I found a more positive and chill atmosphere. I tried to catch some of it in this piece. The first movement is a kind of welcome celebration, the second describes the view on the tranquil Victoria Lake from a boat that floats in the mild evening light. The third feels like little children rolling and running down a hill, funny and naughty children like the ones I found everywhere in Uganda. I wish to express my biggest thanks to Reinhilde Klinghoff-Kühn, who asked me for this piece, and to the Ensemble Flötissimo for their great performance at the July 17 premiere at the Mountain Church in Büsingen.: Melanie Sobieraj, Jana Bürchner, Annika Stöckle, Max Schaudt, Charisma Neuberth, Laura Straub, Laura Waldmann, Claire Pfeifer, Sarah Andris and Reinhilde Klinghoff-Kühn. You did a marvellous job - and finally that can be heard by everyone here on the website!

12/05/2016 - 09:32
Injabulo. Für zwei Querflöten und Marimba

The Marimba was developed in Africa, she was already played in the 14th Century at the Court of the King of Mali. Hence I was really happy when Iris Höfling, Anna Rheingans and Tomoyo Ueda asked me to write a piece for two flutes and marimba for her concert programme called AFRICA. The result was INJABULO, my African Suite No. 8, which had its Premiere at the 25th of April in the Historic Museum in Bremerhaven in a breathtaking Concert with another Premiere of a South African Composer. And now the music sheet is ready and you can listen to the audio recording of the Premiere here on the site. Enjoy! And many thanks to Anna, Iris and Tomoyo for their wonderful performance. I especially like the second movement Sula inyembezi - Wipe your tears, where the piccolo flute comforts the bass flute.

12/04/2016 - 20:01
Door four

Door four: Journey to Jinja. On the 23rd of January I went from the Airport Entebbe to Jinja at the White Nile to attend a music festival. In June I wrote a piece about this for recorder quartet and recorder orchestra. In August it was performed the very first time by the National Youth Recorder Orchestra and the Landesjugendblockflötenorchester Baden-Württemberg, conducted by Daniela Schüler. And now the music sheet is printed and published, and you can listen to the recording of the Premiere here on the site. Just look it up under MUSIC. Enjoy!

12/03/2016 - 19:34
Japan Edition!

Door three: After one year of work, hundreds of mails, three months Crash-Course Japanese, three weeks in Japan and many, many corrections I can proudly announce: Since the 1st of December my works are available in Japan in a Japanese edition with Japanese titles and prefaces! I wish to thank Mr. Natsukoshi for his very accurate corrections and Mrs Tomoko Otsuki for her more than patient correspondence over many, many months. Here is the Japanese website: http://placebo-recorder.com/scorelist.html

12/02/2016 - 09:18
Tür 2 des Adventskalenders

Door 2: The second new edition of the year is KUNJANI for recorder quartet für Blockflötenquartett AATB, my fifth African Suite! It had its premiere in Tokyo on the 12th of Oktober, played by the Consort Company of Takashi Yasui. You can listen to the recording on this site. By the way: Who orders music sheet till the 24th of december will get a recording of the whole Tokyo Concert for free! KUNJANI is a concert piece, but also suitable for amateurs. I especially love the second movement ILNKUMBULO, the great longing.

12/01/2016 - 10:57
INXAXHEBA

In autumn of 2015 I wrote my African Suite No. 16 INXAXHEBA for the Flanders Recorder Quartet. In March 2016 they asked me to write a quintet version for their jubilee CD with Saskia Coolen - which was a great idea! The quintet version is musically even richer and more colorful - I even rewrote the quartet afterwards. You can order the just printed INXAXHEBA quintet for 24,90€ on this page. (just look up under music). There is a great Video on Youtube from the first movement, performed by the Flanders at the Premiere in Antwerp. You can find the Link on this page under the description of Inxaxheba. Have fun!

12/01/2016 - 10:06
Concerts and Workshops 2017

WORKSHOPS 2017: 15.- 19.2. Lyme-Régis, England, with Tom Beets (FRQ). - 29. / 30.4 Fulda, Mollenhauer. - 13./14.5. Issy-Les-Moulineaux near Paris. - 1./2. July Taiwan - 22.9. ERTA Congress Michaelstein, Germany. CONCERTS: In 2017 three concerts will be dedicated only to my works: 11.2. Hamburg; 2./3.7. Taipeh/Taiwan. PREMIERES: 24.6., Hamburg, Recorder Orchestra Nordwind: UMOYA. 2.7. Taipeh, Meng-Heng Chen and me: African Suite No. 18 for piano and recorder. 15.7. Berlin, Recorder Orchestra Berlin: MARRAKECH. 23.9., Michaelstein, Boreas Quartet: African Suite No. 19. I am looking forward to it!

12/01/2016 - 09:28
Musikalischer Adventskalender!

This Dezember I will publish twelve (!) new pieces and present them here day by day. Today: Inxaxheba for recorder quintet (look at the column on the right). Attention please: Who orders music sheet till the 24th of december will get as christmas gift a recording of the Tokyo Concert on the 12ht of October, that was dedicated to my works for recorder. Have fun!