BUENOS AIRES - MDG Dabringhaus und Grimm

He composed and arranged the complete
soundtrack for the film Henry IV produced
in 1984. From this film the pieces Tanti
anni prima (Many Years Ago), a reworking
of an earlier work entitled Ave Maria, and
Oblivion have above all found their way into
the concert hall.
Máximo Diego Pujol, born in Buenos
Aires in 1957, is one of the most interesting
representatives of a new Argentine
generation of composers. He too succeeds
in exemplary fashion in combining various
aspects of contemporary music with the
spirit of traditional styles. In his multimovement
Suite Buenos Aires he characterizes
various districts of his native city. He leads
the listener from the bustling Pompeya
through the villa neighborhoods and the
extended parks of Palermo to San Telmo.
The tango perhaps even had its origin in this
former slum zone; in any case, it is here like
nowhere else in the world that the tango is
played, sung, danced, and lived in the cafés
and on the street.
It is not without reason that music by
the important Spanish composer Isaac
Albéniz (1860-1909) is also heard on this
recording. As legend has it, in his youth
Albéniz fled to Buenos Aires as a stowaway
on a steamship. In Buenos Aires he worked
as a pianist in cafés and organized concerts
on his own. In this way he earned the
money to return to Spain by way of Cuba,
Puerto Rico, and the United States. Given
these experiences, it is thus not surprising
that Albéniz many years later incorporated
a Tango into his piano suite España. On this
recording it is framed by a dreamy Prélude
and the Malagueña dance from the south
of Spain.
Benjamin Ulrich, born in Berlin in
1980, studied timpani and percussion at
the University of the Arts in Berlin. He also
composed and arranged for various ensembles,
with his special predilection being for
jazz and above all big-band music.
A Night in Argentina was composed
by Ulrich as a commissioned work for the
duo mélange in the summer of 006 and
premiered with great success in October of
the same year. In this work the marimba,
vibraphone, flute, and piccolo as well as
the bongos, cymbals, and other percussion
instruments are assigned important
tasks. The composer himself offered some
explanatory words on the occasion of its
premiere: »The piece looks over the »Big
Pond« from a German perspective. The
overall form and especially the motivic
work are firmly rooted in the European
music tradition. Three typical Argentine
ideas, however, stamp its elaboration:
rhythm, passion, and pride. Furthermore,
the Argentine film composer Lalo Schifrin,
whom I admire, is to be named as a source
of inspiration.«
The duo mélange was founded by
Almut Unger and Thomas Laukel in 1998.
The two musicians combine the flute with
the marimbaphone and vibraphone, two
melodic percussion instruments, to create
a unique sound mix. Some works are also
enriched by the addition of the piccolo or
alto flute as well as by various other instruments
from the inexhaustible resources of
the percussion family of instruments.
The repertoire of the ensemble primarily
consists of works from a wide range of
epochs that have been arranged for this
special ensemble. Whether music from
Mozart’s The Magic Flute, piano compositions
by Maurice Ravel or Robert Schumann,
baroque sonatas, or even polkas and
waltzes by Johann Strauß, the compositions
always develop a special new appeal from
the finely crafted arrangements and the
fine touch of their musical realization, with
the character of the sources never being
lost in this process.
A whole series of contemporary original
works for flute and various percussion
instruments round off the ensemble’s
programs. From time to time the ensemble
commissions works, and a number of
composers have dedicated works to the
duo in the past.
The duo mélange regularly presents
concerts throughout Germany, has been
a guest in numerous renowned concert
series, and has produced various record-
6 7
ings – since 006 for Musikproduktion
Dabringhaus & Grimm (MDG).
Almut Unger studied flute at the
music colleges in Weimar, Budapest, and
Leipzig. She has played in many orchestras
and ensembles and regularly performs in
chamber ensembles of various kinds. She
also teaches at the Johann Sebastian Bach
Music School in Leipzig and at the Ottmar
Gerster Music School in the Leipziger
Land.
Thomas Laukel studied classical percussion
at the Hanover College of Music
and Theater, University of the Arts in Berlin,
and Orchestra Academy of the Berlin State
Orchestra. His work as a musician ranges
from regular orchestra assignments to
concerts and recordings in the chanson
and jazz fields. In addition, he teaches at
the Ottmar Gerster Music School in the
Leipziger Land as well as at the Delitzsch
Regional Music School. He is responsible for
the arrangements for the duo mélange and
plays a marimbaphone, various percussion
instruments, and a vibraphone made by the
Studio 49 Royal Percussion Company.