Tiersen:
Die fabelhafte Welt der Amélie
EUSA
Kerber

Yann Tiersen The French musician Yann Tiersen was born in Brest in the French province of Brittany on 23 June 1970. His exceptional musical talent was already evident at an early age, for he began playing the piano at the age of four and the violin at six. He shattered his violin when he was thirteen years old and distanced himself from classical music, subsequently playing keyboards in several bands. He then acquired a new electric guitar and founded a rock band, although he did, however, continue to study classical music, composition and general music theory at the music academies in Rennes, Nantes and Boulogne. The success he sought as a rock musician failed to materialise, so he turned to music for film and also composed for the theatre. This CD presents a musical cross-section of his life, from his time in Paris to quote Tiersen himself, “I hate Paris”, “the city is a shithole” to his retreat many years ago to the island of Ushant / Ouessant, about 30 kilometres distant from Brest and the the westernmost point of metropolitan France off its Atlantic coast. His music Yann Tiersen combines many different musical forms in his music: Traditional French music such as folk and chanson as well as avant-garde rock and pop music. It is also striking that most of his works are recorded entirely by himself, as a kind of “one-man orchestra”. His instrumental studio releases often feature electric guitar, piano, synthesiser, violin, but also melodica, xylophone, harpsichord and accordion. His music can probably be categorised as “neoclassical”, in which the fields of classical, pop, jazz and electronic music intermingle. There is also a connection to minimalism/minimal music, a musical style in which the repetitive aspect and the reduction of the material used are the strongest. Michael van Krücker has given concerts over the years throughout Europe and Asia as well as in South America and the USA. He has also performed at many renowned festivals, including the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival, Heidelberger Frühling, Festival de la Roque d’Anthéron (France), Pomeriggi Musicali (Italy), and the Julius Röntgen Festival Den Haag (The Netherlands). He has also collaborated with the Gürzenich-Orchester/Kölner Philharmoniker, the Kölner Rundfunkorchester and the Bamberger Symphoniker. He has performed as guest artist with the Festlichen Tagen Alter Musik Knechtsteden, the Friedenauer Kammerkonzerten and the Kulturfesten im Land Brandenburg as well as with the Chorus Musicus Köln and the Rheinischen Kantorei, as well as with René Berman and the singers Barbara Schlick, Christiane Oelze and Klaus Mertens. He has made CD recordings for RCA Red Seal, Sony/BMG, Koch Schwann, Berlin Classics, NCA and NM Classics, as well as EtCetera Records. Michael van Krücker also appears regularly as a member of the Trio Ostwestinato with Kayako Bruckmann and René Berman.