Facets of Infinity Spark

• Johannes Motschmann (b. 1978): Facets of Infinity:
• 1I. Choral04:02
• 2II. Moderato10:43
• 3III. Andante05:26
• 4IV. Piu Lento02:29
• 5V. Rondo10:14
• Johannes Motschmann:
• 6Interlude03:12
• 7Darkness and Silence05:54
• Total Runtime42:00

Info for Facets of Infinity

Spark is simply different. The five-strong grouping combines the finesse and precision of a classical chamber ensemble with the energy and bite of a rock band. The American Record Guide describes Spark as “a genuine classical music phenomenon not unlike Yo Yo Ma or the Kronos Quartet, but even more vital”. The ensemble won the 2011 ECHO Klassik Award for “Classics without Borders”.

Notable invitations have taken the Classical Band to some of the world’s most prestigious concert platforms, from the Vienna Musikverein and Berlin’s Konzerthaus to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, and to numerous music festivals. July 2017 sees the release of the Classical Band’s fourth album, Facets of Infinity, featuring SPARK in the eponymous work by Berlin rising star Johannes Motschmann as a solo group alongside the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra under the direction of Sebastian Weigle.

Johannes Motschmann is one of Germany’s most instructive present-day composers. He and his electro trio play in clubs like Berlin’s Berghain, plus he performs works with Ensemble Modern and radio symphony orchestras. At first sight there seems to be no musical interface, but deep down there is total identity! Motschmann builds up his music from small motivic cells – like Mahler or Wagner – into higher-level structures. That applies as much to his pieces for trio as to his orchestral works.

Facets of Infinity, with the Frankfurt Opera orchestra – Museumsorchester Frankfurt – at full strength and Spark as solo performer, makes that perfectly clear: not only does Motschmann quote from his Electric Fields album in this huge work, he combines these quotations with a seemingly endless melody – almost in the manner of Morton Feldman. Orchestral expanses with the inimitable Motschmann sound encounter the ensemble’s virtuosic versatility, in truly magisterial teamwork from two acts we’d like to hear much more from in future – and will.

Spark
Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester
Sebastian Weigle, direction

Spark
Hot chamber music that ignites passion: This provocative collective is a coming together of five individual performers from five diverse cultural backgrounds. They’re from Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bohemia. Their destination is the stage. Together they are radical and incredibly sexy. They are the Classical Band. Together they are Spark!

The group’s founders, Andrea Ritter and Daniel Koschitzki, emerged from the world’s leading recorder quartet, the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet. With Spark they resort to extreme measures and extreme flutes like the Paetzold Bass, Modern Alto and Helder Tenor. Together with violinist Stefan Glaus, cellist Victor Plumettaz and pianist Mischa Cheung they are designing a new classical style, smashing the boundaries between various genres. Balkan beats and jazzy grooves pop into the classical avant-garde. Baroque tunes melt into movie sounds and minimal music.

In addition to their own songs and arrangements, Spark plays music by internationally renowned composers. The majority of these pieces were commissioned especially for the group. Film composer Ljova, rising stars of the American composing scene, such as Kenji Bunch and Daniel Kellogg, German newcomer Johannes Motschmann and Dutch enfant terrible Chiel Meijering are currently collaborating with Spark. For this purpose, this lively ensemble received funding from the Ernst von Siemens Foundation for Music. Additional support came from the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S. Their CD-debut "Downtown Illusions" was awarded with "ECHO Klassik 2011". Only one year later their CD "Folk Tunes" is published with Deutsche Grammophon. Again the five musicians stick to their principles. They are interested in the interplay of Old and New, they adapt folk music for the 21st century and basically have a lot of fun playing their music on stage and entertaining their audience.

This unconventional fivesome captivates audiences with 30 different recorders, three string instruments, two pianists, melodica, vocal performances and moments of spontaneous improvisation. It’s music at the highest artistic level and now right at your fingertips. Young people will be astounded.

Spark – a unique classical act from a new generation at the cutting edge.

This album contains no booklet.