Posts tagged as "strings"

Ólafur Arnalds Interview – Recording His New Album ‘some kind of peace’

November 6, 2020

Icelandic composer and producer Ólafur Arnalds has been at the vanguard of contemporary instrumental music for over a decade. A punk drummer turned ambient pianist (thanks in part to a supportive grandmother), Ólafur’s music has been streamed over one BILLION times (yes, with a B). Ólafur’s intimate compositions and organic production style have thrived in […]

Redi Hasa Interview – The Stolen Cello

September 15, 2020

Redi Hasa is best known to global audiences as the cellist for Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi. Hasa’s cello can be heard on Einaudi’s ambitious Seven Days Walking project. As a young man Redi Hasa was caught up in the Albanian conflict of the early 90s. He would go on to find a new life in Italy with […]

Mari Samuelsen Interview – Nordic Nouveau

June 19, 2020

I spoke with violinist Mari Samuelsen, over Zoom, from her home in the Norwegian countryside. Out of the generous windows behind her I could see a valley descend into a blue lake, with a mountain range in the distance. Somehow the sunroom in my small inner-Sydney apartment suddenly felt a little less – impressive? (Queue […]

Aurora Orchestra – Music of the Spheres

May 29, 2020

Deutsche Grammophon has announced the 12 June 2020 release of Music of the Spheres, a new album by UK ensemble Aurora Orchestra. The album is based on the ancient Greek concept of celestial harmony – the belief that the movement of the planets follows precise mathematical models that generate “music” inaudible to the human ear. […]

Best Neo-Classical Strings – 10 Essential Albums

May 14, 2020

Unlike the piano – which unless creatively modified is confined to the 12 pitches of the Western chromatic scale – the strings have access to the notes between the notes. This freedom allows for all manner of expressive wobbling, bending, and sliding. The emotional potential of stringed instruments is only magnified when they gather in […]