Wolfgang Voigt - Freiland Klaviermusik (Kompakt)
4/5
By: Stephen Maughan
Oh yes, Wolfgang to us Brits is a funny but cool name, but in German it remains a popular moniker. Yet worldwide, Wolfgang conjures up an image of musical genius, the boy wonder Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart, arguably the finest composer and brilliant musical mind of the 20th Century. Brian Wilson wrote Pet Sounds, sure, but Mozart wrote over 600 pieces in his short 35 years of life.
So, stepping into this platform is the ultra-talented Wolfgang Voigt, with the honestly named Frieland Klaviermusik (“outsider piano music”), a follow up to his widely respected Gas project a few years back. Much of the beauty of this record lies in the title. If you happen to understand German, and find yourself in a classical record shop and knew nothing about Herr Voigt, but felt like owning a bit of outsider piano music, these minimal, adventurous, and occasionally pretty tracks will do the job just fine.
Heavily influenced by the renowned classical pianist Conlon Nancarrow's sonic playing, this will delight those who appreciate, either with force or naturally, the finer things in life. Wolfgang Voigt knows how to create pure and original compositions. From the thumping repetitive 80's beats of ‘Schweres Wasser’ to the expermental brooding of ‘Kammer’ and the haunting melody of ‘Mondlicht’, it's the kind of stuff you might hear late at night on Radio 3, and I certainly hope there is a place for it on the dance floor.
It won't immediately make sense, it can be completely confusing and at times wilfully abstract, but my word is it a compelling listen. Thank God individual and challenging records like this are still being made in the X-Factor dominated world of 2010.
Artists in this article: Wolfgang Voigt
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