Florian Weber - Imaginary Cycle (album EPK) | ECM Records

Florian Weber - Imaginary Cycle Florian Weber: piano Anna-Lena Schnabel: flute Michel Godard: tuba, serpent Quatuor Opus 333 Corentin Morvan : euphonium ; Jean Daufresne : euphonium ; Patrick Wibart: euphonium ; Vianney Desplantes: euphonium Lisa Stick: trombone; Sonja Beeh: trombone; Victoria Rose Davey: trombone; Maxine Troglauer: bass trombone ECM 2782 Release: 13 September 2024 Idiosyncratic, large-scale and in its fundamental disposition one of a kind, Florian Weber’s Imaginary Cycle, conceived for the unique instrumentation of brass ensemble and piano, is a hybrid of multiple musical languages that seamlessly blends the harmonious with the oblique. Here Weber presents a cycle in four parts, plus an opening and an epilogue, in which the German pianist is joined by a group of four euphoniums, a trombone quartet as well as flautist Anna-Lena Schnabel and Michel Godard on the seldomly used “serpent” brass instrument, together performing a work that blurs the line where improvisation ends and composition begins. As the ensemble elegantly journeys across Florian’s multiple-idioms-spanning oeuvre, symphonic passages mingle with intricate counterpoint, pastoral notions are contrasted with textures more contemporary and each voice in the ensemble plays an independent part, adding to a whole. A daring and spectacular endeavour, Imaginary Cycle follows Florian’s contributions to the albums by Matthieu Bordenave, Ralph Alessi and his own quartet recording Lucent Waters – though the musical intersections between those albums and this one are few and equivocal. The project, recorded at Sendesaal Bremen in July 2023, was developed in close collaboration with Manfred Eicher, who produced the album. Website: https://www.ecmrecords.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecmrecords Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecm_records