With an unusual line-up and an unmistakable sound, the Duo Klare/Heisig will be making a guest appearance in Ilmenau.
The saxophonist Jan Klare and the pianist Wolfgang Heisig took place in 2019 at the invitation of the soundseeing festival to each other. For this occasion, they developed a special program that has been growing ever since.
Heisig plays on a phonola – a fascinating machine that uses punched paper rolls to mechanically transfer compositions to a piano. This combination of mechanics and virtuosity gives the duo its unmistakable charm.
A special place in the repertoire is occupied by works by the American-Mexican composer and jazz trumpeter Conlon Nancarrow who is considered a pioneer of the phonola. His complex compositions can be heard here in arrangements created especially for this duo. The duo also presents original works by Klare and Heisig, which were specially punched for the phonola.
What seems mechanical at first glance unfolds into lively, surprising music during the performance – a world of sound that is both composed and improvised, in which curiosity and the joy of experimentation are palpable.
“The collaboration between the two temperaments, music production methods and traditions is full of curiosity and a joy of experimentation, which is communicated as if by itself when listening attentively – it’s nice that attitudes can be infectious.”
– Frankfurter Rundschau
“…it’s going damn well with these two now.“
– New Music Newspaper
Cast
Wolfgang Heisig – Phonola
Jan Klare – Saxophone
