PIANO WORKSHOP
October 16, 2021 | All day Event
Max Reger Konservatorium Meiningen
[ OVERVIEW 2024 ]
January
✦ 08/01 Publication of the anthologies «Resplendences around Bach» and «In the Secret of the World» including Sef Albertz’s piano music recorded by pianist Anna-Maria Maak, on the two highly praised self-titled albums
✦ 20/01 | Jury member at the competition "Jugend musiziert"
February
✦ 23/02 Single Release N° 1 from upcoming Album «Sef Albertz: Bunch of Strings» A Trilogy Con Guitarra!
March
✦ 22/03 «Sound as a Metaphor for Life - The composer Sef Albertz in Focus» Lecture with live music at the Leipzig Book Fair
✦ 22/03 Single Release N° 2 from upcoming Album «Sef Albertz: Bunch of Strings» A Trilogy Con Guitarra!
✦ 23/03 «What we talk about when we speak about rhythm - Sound & Body» Panel discussion at Leipzig Book Fair
April
✦ 16/04 «...in the work of composer Sef Albertz» - Text publication in the cultural magazine KulturPort.de
✦ 18/04 «Sound as a Metaphor for Life - The composer Sef Albertz in Focus» Lecture I, Leipzig City Library
✦ 19/04 Single Release N° 3 from upcoming Album «Sef Albertz: Bunch of Strings» A Trilogy Con Guitarra!
May
✦ 07/05 «Sound as a Metaphor for Life - The composer Sef Albertz in Focus» Lecture II, Leipzig City Library
✦ 17/05 Album Release «Sef Albertz: Bunch of Strings» A Trilogy Con Guitarra!
✦ 22 & 24/05 Concert with Albertz’s reimagined version of Mendelssohn’s «Lieder ohne Worte», Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra & Karin Schaupp (Soloist) - Queensland Performing Arts Centre & The Empire Theatre (Australia)
✦ 30/05 «Sound as a Metaphor for Life - The composer Sef Albertz in Focus» Lecture III, Leipzig City Library
June
✦ 14/06 Video Release «Space of Dreams»
July
✦ 26/07 Album Review of «Sef Albertz: Bunch of Strings» A Trilogy Con Guitarra! in German magazine Akustik Gitarre
August
✦ 22/08 «Sound as a Metaphor for Life - The composer Sef Albertz in Focus» Lecture IV, Leipzig City Library
September
✦ 06/09 Guitar Recital with the world premiere of Albertz‘s new full evening guitar cycle «...was man mir einst erzählte!», Cammerspiele (WERK 2) Leipzig
✦ 14/09 Piano Recital with the world premiere of Albertz‘s new full evening piano cycle «Some Enlightened Alleys», “art Kapella” Schkeuditz
✦ 20/09 Piano Recital «Some Enlightened Alleys»,
Schwartzsche Villa, Berlin
October
✦ 12/10 Piano Recital in Hamburg
✦ 18 & 19/10 Piano Recital and Workshop, “Max Reger” Music Conservatory Meiningen [NOTE: Rescheduled to spring 2025]
✦ 25/10 «Sound as a Metaphor for Life - The composer Sef Albertz in Focus» Lecture at the Regional Conference in “Robert Schumann” Music Conservatory Zwickau
November
✦ 01/11 Piano Recital, Stadtbibliothek Leipzig
✦ 13/11 Piano Recital, gausz Ottensen - Hamburg
✦ 22/11 Piano Recital, Bösendorfer Salon in Vienna's Musikverein
More events are to come!
Closing the tour that took her to cities such as Berlin, Schkeuditz, Leipzig and Hamburg, Pianist & UE Ambassador Anna-Maria Maak presents Sef Albertz's music, this time to the Vienna audience, in two events on November 22nd, organised in partnership with Bösendorfer and Universal Edition:
LECTURE
on Albertz's transcultural work
(5 p.m. | Emil-Hertzka-Raum at Universal Edition)
PIANO RECITAL
with Albertz's new evening-length cycle
«Some Enlightened Alleys»
(7 p.m. | Bösendorfer Salon)
All events in Musikverein Vienna.
Watch the video where the artist herself invites to the Vienna events:
IMPRESSIONS
Thrilling recital by Maak & Albertz on November 13th at Hamburg's Gausz Ottensen, where Pianist Anna-Maria Maak performed Sef Albertz's new cycle «Some Enlightened Alleys» in front of a wonderfully attentive audience that thanked the two artists with resounding applause.
After stops in e.g. Berlin, Schkeuditz, Leipzig, Hamburg - twice inclusive - the tour will end on 22 November in Vienna, where a full house recital has been confirmed since 2 weeks before the event.
Albertz's music score of the transcultural piano cycle will be available through Universal Edition coinciding with the tour's closing recital in Vienna. Check it out here:
https://www.universaledition.com/P0267354
FULL HOUSE
ANNOUNCED
Full house concert for Maak & Albertz's recital in Vienna has just been confirmed, two weeks before the event on 22 November at the Bösendorfer Salon in Musikverein Vienna, organised in cooperation with the publisher Universal Edition.
Pianist Anna-Maria Maak performs Sef Albertz's new cycle «Some Enlightened Alleys», closing triumphantly the tour that took both artists to cities such as Berlin, Schkeuditz, Leipzig, Hamburg and now to the Austrian capital.
Albertz's music score of the transcultural piano cycle will be available through Universal Edition coinciding with the tour's closing recital in Vienna. Check it out here:
https://www.universaledition.com/P0267354
After the concert is before the concert!
So, following the amazing concert in Leipzig, the next stop on Anna-Maria Maak's Tour is Hamburg once again this year.
The pianist continues performing Sef Albertz's new evening-length cycle «Some Enlightened Alleys», an exciting transcultural approach to musical composition.
The event will take place on 13 November at 7:30 p.m. at gausz Ottensen / Atelier für Kunst & Kultur.
TICKETS directly HERE
Albertz's music score of the transcultural piano cycle will be available this autumn 2024 through Universal Edition. Check out here:
https://www.universaledition.com/P0267354
IMPRESSIONS
Another exciting musical evening, this time in Leipzig! Continuing Anna-Maria Maak's Tour performing Sef Albertz's new piano cycle «Some Enlightened Alleys».
The interdisciplinary recital combining music, theatrical actions, texts and electronic sounds was fervently celebrated and attracted the attention of a large and varied audience of people from different ethnic backgrounds, including a Venezuelan theatre director, who stated:
"Sef Albertz is a musician who emerges in the world of musical art as a creator who transcends into the spheres of the great universal classical composers.
Anna-Maria Maak explores Sef Albertz's musical work and is able to decode the Maestro's language, giving eloquent nuances on stage. Her voice, moreover, is combined in Albertz's scenic and dialectic play [...] she fills the stage, with suggested spaces, guttural sounds, percussion and murmurs; she doesn't wallow in scenographic ornamentation. She fills everything, her dazzling stage presence is a great contribution to universal music in its post-modernity and Sef Albertz is a Venezuelan artist who wins and deserves the extraordinary universal stages of contemporary music". (Raiser Montoya)
Albertz's music score of the transcultural piano cycle will be available this autumn 2024 through Universal Edition. Check out here:
https://www.universaledition.com/P0267354
Pianist Anna-Maria Maak continues touring Sef Albertz's new evening-length cycle «Some Enlightened Alleys» through several cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Schkeuditz, Vienna, etc). Once again in an interdisciplinary version, which represents a new way of the piano recital combining music, theatrical actions, texts and electronic sounds.
The event will take place on 1 November at 7 p.m. in Leipzig City Library's Oberlichtsaal.
Albertz's music score of the transcultural piano cycle will be available this autumn 2024 through Universal Edition. Check out here:
https://www.universaledition.com/P0267354
As part of the further education programme of the German Music School Association, pianist Anna-Maria Maak presents the multifaceted piano works of the Venezuelan-German composer Sef Albertz in a lecture with live music under the title «Sound as a metaphor for life», intended for piano educators and learners.
Current projects, new publications of the composer's scores, as well as the integration of this new repertoire into strategies with innovative approaches that encourage the active participation of teachers, pupils and students in educational projects and artistic activities will also be topics of the seminar, which will take place in the Clara Wieck Auditorium of the Robert Schumann Conservatory in Zwickau on October 25th 2024.
The event includes the performance of Albertz's work «...was man mir einst erzählte!», recently premiered by Maak in Hamburg.
Watch the video where the artist herself invites to this event:
INCLUDING PREMIERE
Pianist Anna-Maria Maak continues touring Sef Albertz's music. This time including the premiere of «...was man mir einst erzählte!» (…what once was told to me!), in its piano version.
The audience celebrated the achievements of Maak & Albertz, leaving enthusiastic evidence in the visitors' book, with statements such as:
"Thank you very much
for this wonderful and inspiring evening".
"Thank you for the opportunity to be present when music history was written..."
The recital took place in Musiksalon Thimm-Haker (Hamburg) on October 12th, 2024.
Albertz's music score is available through Universal Edition. Check out here:
https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/...was-man-mir-einst-erzaehlte/P0291433
In the context of her tour through several cities (Schkeuditz, Hamburg, Leipzig, Vienna, etc), pianist Anna-Maria Maak was once again performing Sef Albertz's new evening-length cycle «Some Enlightened Alleys», this time in Berlin at Kulturhaus Schwartzsche Villa on 20 September.
"wonderful [...] the concert and the gathering afterwards",
according to a special guest - Prof. Wolfgang Welsch, who since the 90's has been a pioneer in researching and further developing the concept of transculturality in the German-speaking area.
Albertz's music score of the transcultural piano cycle will be available this autumn 2024 through Universal Edition. Check out here:
https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/Some-Enlightened-Alleys/P0267354
As part of her multi-city tour (Hamburg, Leipzig, Vienna, etc) presenting Sef Albertz's new evening-length cycle «Some Enlightened Alleys», pianist Anna-Maria Maak will be giving a recital at the Kulturhaus Schwartzsche Villa Berlin (Grunewaldstraße 55) on Friday 20 September at 7 p.m., following the successful premiere of Albertz's transcultural work in Schkeuditz, just a week before!
Watch the video where the artist herself invites to the Berlin event:
In a full house concert at the art Kapella Schkeuditz on 14 September, pianist Anna-Maria Maak played the world premiere of Sef Albertz's new evening-length cycle «Some Enlightened Alleys» to an enthusiastic audience, which celebrated with fervent applause the interdisciplinary recital that included alongside music also paintings, theatrical actions, texts and electronic sounds.
"They are always coming up with new creative ideas on how to inspire the audience with sounds that, however, do not fit into any stereotypes.
[...] Turning serious music into something enjoyable is the speciality of Anna-Maria Maak and Sef Albertz [...] and together they want to make sure once again that the new sounds [...] find the best place in our ears.
[...] the music is everything at once: philosophical and poetic, sophisticated and simple, thoughtful and passionate. It draws from the full source".
(MDR Kultur)
After the world premiere in Schkeuditz, Anna-Maria Maak goes on tour through several cities, including Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig and Vienna, presenting Sef Albertz's transcultural work.
In sold-out event on September 6th, Sef Albertz's «...was man mir einst erzählte!» (…what once was told to me!) received its world premiere.
Albertz - himself a skilled guitarist “who dominates his instrument masterfully” (KulturAspekte) - played the large-scale guitar cycle, one of his most recent compositional works - “a milestone of good music” (Akustik Gitarre Magazine) at the emblematic venue WERK 2 in Leipzig.
In a captivating combination of music and reading, whose inspiration comes from the heart-warming story ‘The Little Prince’, the cast was completed by Gabo Albertz and Anna-Maria Maak, who read excerpts from the book, in addition to the projection of the fascinating illustrations by Eduard Alberto Maak.
"Rarely has an event gripped me from so many perspectives. It was with great joyful thrill and engagement at the highest artistic level to introduce a wonderful new work to the world.
The fact that such a touching, exciting, heart-warming total work of art has been created also makes me deeply happy.
It was performed in such a natural, creative and empathetic way..."
(R. Sonntag, event attendee)
Published by Universal edition, the music score book - including illustrations! - is available here:
www.universaledition.com/en/Works/...was-man-mir-einst-erzaehlte/P0267357
Pianist Anna-Maria Maak is going on tour through various cities in Germany and Austria.
After a successful series of lectures (between March and August 2024) presenting the essential aspects of the works that make up her new recital project, created in collaboration with the Venezuelan-German composer Sef Albertz, Maak will be presenting the world premiere of the full evening cycle «Some Enlightened Alleys», where in addition to her musical talent, she presents her histrionic skills in an interdisciplinary and transcultural performance.
The tour starts in Schkeuditz on 14 September.
Composer and guitarist Sef Albertz performs the world premiere of his new composition «...was man mir einst erzählte!» - a full evening cycle for guitar based on the touching book «The Little Prince».
The recital includes a staged reading of extracts from the celebrated book with Gabo Albertz & Anna-Maria Maak.
The event will take place on September 6th (8 p.m.) at the Cammerspiele (WERK 2) in Leipzig. More Information HERE
In an interview for the German podcast Feuilletöne, Sef Albertz talks about his work as a composer and performer, about cultural background and his cosmopolitan artistic vision. He also talks critically about the management and situation of today's cultural scene and tells about his current and upcoming projects.
The interview (only in German) can be listened to
HERE
Pianist Anna-Maria Maak presented the last session of her successful lecture series with live music under the title «Sound as a Metaphor for Life - The composer Sef Albertz in focus», introducing the multifaceted work of the Venezuelan-German composer to a wide and interested audience:
Each of the encounters has been a fantastic discovery and a journey full of exciting moments.
How exuberant is Sef Albertz's artistic world and what a captivating way of communicating Anna-Maria Maak demonstrated!
One can only fall in love with such proposals!
(M. Voigt),
according to one of the regular attendees of these events, hosted by the Leipzig City Library, between April and August 2024, in cooperation with Florentyn Music and Universal Edition.
Now released as an audiovisual production, Pianist Anna-Maria Maak presents Sef Albertz's «Space of Dreams», a composition recorded on their highly acclaimed 2021 Album «In the Secret of the World» ("Such a super exciting recording [...] A beautiful mixture of different influences [...] full of musical discoveries" - Feuilletöne).
The piece, though imbued with the vitality of musical pop culture, begins with a fleeting allusion to a Beethovenian gesture, symbolic of the value of "giving space to desires". The musical discourse then expands to the limits of improvisation, giving the work a natural equanimity.
The music score, available from Universal Edition and including Maak's detailed fingering, can be purchased HERE.
Pianist Anna-Maria Maak has continued to present Sef Albertz's multifaceted work in the third of a successful series of lectures with live music under the title «Sound as a Metaphor for Life - The composer Sef Albertz in focus» at the Leipzig City Library.
The fourth and final lecture will be on 22 August, before Maak embarks on a concert series starting in September, in which she will be premiering and successively performing an extensive piano cycle by Albertz, on stages from Leipzig, Berlin, Zwickau, Meiningen, Hamburg, Vienna and other cities.
Find out more in the article Sef Albertz in Focus, available from the Vienna-based publishing house Universal edition:
https://tinyurl.com/albertz-focus-ue
An amazing Australian premiere from composer Sef Albertz. On May 22nd & 24th Guitarist Karin Schaupp and Camerata - Queensland's Chamber Orchestra gave "A passionate serenade of guitar and strings featuring [...] Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words with a new arrangement by Sef Albertz for guitar and strings. The string arrangement worked well, using double bass to meter the bouncing violins with an effective mix of pizzicato and bowing [...] with the vibrant guitar notes glowing among the strings, finishing with a tender two plucks in unison", according to Limelight - the Australian magazine for music, arts and culture.
Find out more in the article Sef Albertz in Focus, available from the Vienna-based publishing house Universal edition:
https://tinyurl.com/albertz-focus-ue
Exciting May days in composer Sef Albertz's calendar. After the release - last Fri. 17th - of his acclaimed Album «Bunch of Strings» (For the world of music, the album is an enrichment, on many levels”- KulturAspekte) is following the Australian premiere of Albertz's Suite Concertante for guitar and orchestra, reimagining Mendelssohn's «Lieder ohne Worte», a work featured in that recent production.
Guitarist Karin Schaupp and Camerata Queensland's Chamber Orchestra will perform this work on Wed. 22nd (Queensland Performing Arts Centre, with Live stream) and Fri. 24th (The Empire Theatre, Toowoomba) .
Find out more in the article Sef Albertz in Focus, available from the Vienna-based publishing house Universal Edition:
https://tinyurl.com/albertz-focus-ue
A wonderful review from the German online Magazine KulturAspekte about the new Album «Bunch of String | A Trilogy Con Guitarra!», where Sef Albertz presents as composer and performer a unique and exciting new guitar repertoire:
“...the musician Sef Albertz preserves the character of the originals and designs the new musical excursions as a tribute to the genius of the classics, while at the same time clothing them in an extraordinary musical garment that gives the melodies an undiscovered dimension that is well worth exploring - and more than once [...] For the world of music, the album is an enrichment - on many levels”.
All album scores available in Universal Edition, here:
www.universaledition.com/albertz
In the second installment of the lecture series under the title «Sound as a Metaphor for Life - The composer Sef Albertz in focus», pianist Anna-Maria Maak has continued her fascinating exploration of the creative world of the Venezuelan-German composer.
One attendee commented on the event as follows:
"...insightful explanations [...] imaginative ideas that create such stimulating musical experiences. It makes me curious about the upcoming events. In factual words, what a captivating, moving, thought-provoking music [...] thank you so much for everything!" (G. Christoph)
The next conference is on 30 May at the Leipziger Stadtbibliothek (Leipzig City Library).
Find out more in the article Sef Albertz in Focus, available from the Vienna-based publishing house Universal edition:
https://tinyurl.com/albertz-focus-ue
Composer Sef Albertz's work was beautifully presented by pianist Anna-Maria Maak, in the first of a series of lectures with live music under the title «Sound as a Metaphor for Life - The composer Sef Albertz in focus» at the Leipzig City Library.
After the successful opening event at the Leipzig Book Fair late March, Maak will keep introducing Albertz's music in lectures, workshops and concerts during 2024 in Leipzig, Berlin, Zwickau, Meiningen, Hamburg, Vienna and other cities.
Find out more in the article Sef Albertz in Focus, available from the Vienna-based publishing house Universal edition:
https://tinyurl.com/albertz-focus-ue
«Sound as a Metaphor for Life» is a comprehensive article by pianist Anna-Maria Maak that has just been published on the Hamburg-based online portal 'KulturPort.de': In the text she thematises the transcultural aspect and other connotations in the musical work of Sef Albertz. A wonderful introduction to the world of the Venezuelan-German composer, with whom Maak has created a new programme under the title «Some Enlightened Alleys», which she will premiere in September to continue touring for the rest of 2024.
Read the full article (only in German)
HERE
The Venezuelan press also reported on the successful presentation of pianist Anna-Maria Maak & composer Sef Albertz at the Leipzig Book Fair (March 2024), sponsored by Universal Edition.
Read the article - in Spanish - written by Juan Antonio González, Editor-in-Chief of 'Arts and Entertainment' of El Universal, one of the most important newspapers in Venezuela, a journalistic reference in the Latin American country.
Leipzig Book Fair puts the spotlight on musician Sef Albertz
The Viennese publishing house Universal Edition presented the books with the scores of the Venezuelan composer.
Pianist Anna-Maria Maak and composer Sef Albertz made a great appearance during the Leipzig Book Fair (March 2024) at two events, which the large audience of this renowned German cultural highlight fully attended and received enthusiastically:
Lecture with live music (Friday 22) - «Sound as a metaphor for life - The Composer Sef Albertz in focus», organised by the renowned Viennese publishing house Universal Edition.
Panel discussion (Saturday 23), «What we talk about when we speak of rhythm», organised by the Translation Centre of the Leipzig Book Fair.
In December 2019, pianist Anna-Maria Maak premiered «Ludovicus and the Allegories of the Sea», a work commissioned to Venezuelan-German composer Sef Albertz, in the context for her programme «Beethovens Geist», which she toured as part of the Germany-wide initiative of the «Beethoven Jubiläums Gesellschaft» to start the commemoration of The Bonn genius' 250th anniversary.
In the newest episode (N° 12) of Maak's successful Podcast Series, she provides details about the transcultural reflection implicit in Albertz's music and her programme, inspired by Beethoven.
Sef Albertz's Piano Concerto | Edited, fingered and with foreword by Anna-Maria Maak
Dedicated to Anna-Maria Maak and premiered by her in 2016 at the MDR «Festival of Lights» accompanied by the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sef Albertz's Piano Concerto is now available through the publishing house Universal Edition.
The score, including detailed fingering and a foreword by the pianist, can be purchased HERE.
Discover also Anna-Maria Maak's work insight of this concertante composition by Sef Albertz,
HERE
Anna-Maria Maak plays the world premiere of Sef Albertz's Piano Concerto
Renowned Universal Edition has recently published the sheet music of Sef Albertz's unprecedented guitar quartet version of Robert Schumann's celebrated «Kinderszenen» (Childhood Scenes).
Commissioned by GfzM e.V. Leipzig, this work was premiered during the 2010 edition of «Con Guitarra!» and recorded by Sef Albertz on double concept album «Hommage».
The score of this unique contribution to the chamber music repertoire for guitar can be purchased at the following LINK.
During «Con Guitarra!» 2009, Sef Albertz premiered his reimagined version for guitar and strings of Felix Mendelssohn's «Lieder ohne Worte» at the Gewandhaus Leipzig. "An excellent work...undoubtedly extraordinary", expressed Leo Brouwer, who was present at the Festival.
Recorded by Sef Albertz on double Album «Hommage», the sheet music of this exceptional work in the instrument's repertoire can now be purchased from Universal Edition:
1. For Guitar & String Orchestra
2. For Guitar & String Quartet
Sef Albertz has reimagined Bach's monumental Ciaccona, completing with it his so-called Leipzig Trilogy, where he previously reworks the music of Schumann and Mendelssohn in a likewise unprecedented way.
This Bach-Albertz Ciaccona has been premiered and later recorded by Pianist Anna-Maria Maak.
Check out and purchase Albertz's scores of this work from the publishing house Universal Edition:
1. For Solo Piano
2. For Piano & String Quartet
3. For Piano & String Orchestra
WITH WORLD PREMIERE
In her most recent recital, besides playing Mozart, Scriabin, Szymanowski and Silvestrov, pianist Anna-Maria Maak performed the music of Sef Albertz, including a world premiere by the Venezuelan-German composer as a highlight, to create a trans-cultural concept based on Slavic, Latin-American, Central European and contemporary elements.
The event took place on September 3, 2023
in the Art Kapella Schkeuditz.
Sef Albertz appears in a dual role as composer and, in addition, guitarist in the «Theater Collage - Art in Exile» accompanying the Special Exhibition
«RE-CONNECT. Art and Conflict in Brotherland»
of the Museum of Fine Arts (Museum der bildenden Künste - MdbK) Leipzig.
The event will take place on August 2, 2023 in MdbK at 6 p.m.
Presented by the prestigious publishing house Universal Edition, Maak & Albertz CDs are now also at the Vienna Musikverein. Conductors, musicians, promoters and all visitors to the renowned concert hall can already discover - on the way to the events taking place there - the "fruitful collaboration" between pianist Anna-Maria Maak and composer Sef Albertz for creating music "with impressive sovereignty [...] entirely committed to modernity, [...] which comes up with interesting as well as innovative ideas" (PIANONews, 2019).
During the annual Leipzig Book Fair (Leipziger Buchmesse) 2023 pianist Anna-Maria Maak visited Sef Albertz's publisher, Universal Edition, at their exhibition stand to talk about new plans with his music.
Fables and Solitudes is the new video production, in which Maak & Albertz have created an artistic polyphony of light and colour, visual, sound and choreographic elements.
In Episode 7 of her successful podcast series, pianist Anna-Maria Maak reveals interesting details about Sef Albertz's music used in the video, which is also included in the acclaimed album In the Secret of the World by the artistic couple.
The commemorative 25th Anniversary Edition of PIANONews magazine features an exclusive article/interview that Anna-Maria Maak, accompanied by German-Venezuelan composer Sef Albertz, conducted with the Ukrainian music creator Valentin Silvestrov.
«There was an invisible bond between the two composers from the very beginning, even before the words or the music itself appeared: "Quite wonderful! Many influences can be felt in this music, which harmonise well with each other, a very modern, an absolutely contemporary musical language! One can feel that it is a natural consequence of avant-gardism", commented the Ukrainian about his Leipzig-based colleague».
The magazine's new issue with Maak's text can be purchased HERE
In full house concert, Anna-Maria Maak presented an extended version of her celebrated programme In the Secret of the World.
In addition to intercultural music by the Venezuelan-German composer Sef Albertz, which included a world premiere, Maak interpreted works she herself has recently premiered by Ukrainian Valentin Silvestrov and Polish Krzysztof Penderecki; all dramaturgically accompanied by theatrical performances and narrated texts.
The innovative recital was warmly embraced by standing ovations from the audience.
Supported by the German Federal Government, the event took place on 2 June 2022 at the Leipzig Public Library (Oberlichtsaal) in the context of the project "Kunst im Exil - Geschichten der Migration".
The music of Sef Albertz will be touring through various German cities as part of the dance project »Frauen - Frieden - Flügel« with Anca Huma & Liliana Osorio, who present dance performances based on choreographies of works from the album In the Secret of the World, in which pianist Anna-Maria Maak plays exclusively world premiere recordings by the German-Venezuelan composer.
"[...] Albertz's music is modern, distinctive, finely structured in terms of sound and pianistically tailored to the instrument. And some time or other one can always hear the musical references without them being quotations.
[...] Anna-Maria Maak shows herself as an interpreter who is always stylistically confident, is perfectly up to all demands and presents an exciting album that should be heard!"
This is how the magazine PIANONews (March-April 2022 issue) has praised the album In the Secret of the World, in which pianist Anna-Maria Maak plays exclusively world premiere recordings of works by Sef Albertz & Krzysztof Penderecki.
"[...] a unanimous decision after reviewing your scores [...] we consider your work to be very interesting [...] We are very much looking forward to distributing your work and are excited about your future artistic activities!".
Thus commented the Universal Edition's Artistic Committee on Sef Albertz's music and the new artistic partnership, which includes the publication of orchestral and chamber music as well as works for solo instruments, such as some of those included on the highly praised new album In the Secret of the World, in which pianist Anna-Maria Maak plays exclusively world premiere recordings of works by Sef Albertz & Krzysztof Penderecki.
Check out Albertz's profile on the website of the prestigious publishing house under:
www.universaledition.com/sef-albertz-8128
...and the wonderful feedback continues! This time the German Klassikblog Ouverture reports about Maak & Albertz's new album In the Secret of the World, in which Anna-Maria Maak plays exclusively world premiere recordings of piano works by Sef Albertz & Krzysztof Penderecki:
"[...] in Sef Albertz's music, compositional ideas, atmospheric images, continents and centuries flow into one another [...] and contemplation meets passion. Anna-Maria Maak proves to be a brilliant interpreter of his complex works.
[...] the multi-faceted album reaches beyond the medium of music; it is also worth reading the titles of the pieces attentively and taking a look at the booklet. Here it becomes evident that the creative concept of Maak and Albertz, in good Leipzig tradition, is not least a deeply romantic one. In 1835, Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff wrote: "Sleeps a song in all things / Which dream on and on, / And the world begins to sing, / If only you find the magic word".
Der Sächsische Musikrat (SMR) hat Maak & Albertz einen hervorragenden Yamaha Konzertflügel als Dauerleihgabe zur Verfügung gestellt.
"Wir sind dankbar und fühlen uns sehr geehrt. Der Erhalt dieser überraschenden Nachricht war ein Highlight. Nun sind wir besonders inspiriert und motiviert. In unseren vielfältigen Tätigkeitsbereichen als musikalische Vermittler wird sich dies sicherlich auf facettenreiche Art und Weise widerspiegeln!", so Maak & Albertz.
Der Erwerb des Instruments wurde ermöglicht durch Steuermittel auf der Grundlage des vom Sächsischen Landtag beschlossenen Haushaltes.
The Saxon Music Council (SMR, in German) has provided Maak & Albertz with an outstanding Yamaha Concert Grand Piano on permanent loan.
"We are grateful and very honoured. Receiving this surprising news was a highlight. At this point we are especially inspired and motivated. And this will certainly be reflected in our many areas of activity as musical mediators in a multi-faceted way!" said Maak & Albertz.
The purchase of the instrument was made possible by tax funds based on the budget passed by the Saxon state parliament.
El Consejo de Música de Sajonia (SMR, en alemán) ha puesto a permanente disposición de Maak & Albertz un extraordinario piano de concierto Yamaha.
"Estamos agradecidos y nos sentimos muy honrados. Recibir esta sorprendente noticia fue todo un acontecimiento. En este punto, estamos especialmente inspirados y motivados. Y ello, ciertamente, se verá reflejado de forma polifacética en nuestros amplio ámbito de actividad como mediadores musicales", han comentado Maak & Albertz.
La compra del instrumento fue posible gracias a los fondos fiscales basados en el presupuesto aprobado por el parlamento del estado de Sajonia.
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The German online Magazine KulturAspekte reports about Maak & Albertz's new album In the Secret of the World, in which Anna-Maria Maak plays exclusively world premiere recordings of piano works by Sef Albertz & Krzysztof Penderecki:
"...a listening experience with musical demands but light-footed character. Peace and relaxation [...] but also joy and pleasure through the exciting arc of the music. For a longer musical enjoyment there is also a piece of almost fifteen minutes, 'Like Flames In A Shadow Riddle', which is both the opening and the highlight of the album.
Another recommended track is 'Ludovicus and the Allegories of the Sea - Part III', which experiments with dissonances and alternates them with harmonies in just under two minutes to make the rough, surging sea sonically perceptible. Anna-Maria Maak demonstrates her abilities with the demanding composition by Albertz, which challenges the pianist with a wide variety of playing techniques and tempi".
Sonorous inauguration of the concert hall
"The piano recital inaugurated the recently finished venue [...] With her fascinating programme, Anna-Maria Maak ensured that it would also be a very special musical experience".
"The concert hall stopped breathing [...] The audience was very touched and enthusiastic".
"A wide range of playful skills and compositional diversity [...] A first-class artist and a moving programme".
Full text HERE (only for newspaper subscribers)
"What the artist lets us hear is overwhelming [...] A moving concert, [...] and special because, thanks to Anna-Maria Maak's brilliant interpretation and Sef Albertz's creative compositions, it stimulates and transports feelings. And because it rightly provokes abundant applause".
An extract from another great review (Südthüringer Zeitung) on Maak & Albertz's release concert in Thuringia (Suhl, Oct. 1st) presenting their new album In the Secret of the World, in which Anna-Maria Maak plays exclusively world premiere recordings of piano works by Sef Albertz & Krzysztof Penderecki.
"Live in the beauty of the incredible reality that music represents"
Anna-Maria Maak talks about repertoire choices, challenges, successes and influences in her career. Also on her unique artistic collaboration with composer Sef Albertz and their brand new album In the Secret of the World.
The text is accompanied by extensive audio-visual material. Read the full interview HERE.
The newspaper Südthüringer Zeitung reports about Maak & Albertz's upcoming release concerts in Thuringia and the new album In the Secret of the World, in which Anna-Maria Maak plays exclusively world premiere recordings of piano works by Sef Albertz & Krzysztof Penderecki.
"Anna Maria Maak won everyone over with her sovereign, friendly and natural presence even before the first note.
The music then came upon us suddenly like a natural phenomenon.
[...] many facets of feeling from stirring, gentle, melancholic, dance-like to powerful. A reverent silence reigned in the hall; It gave the impression as if each one was absorbing the tones like long-desired water".
The premiere concert on September 17 in Leipzig is SOLD OUT...!
This first event coincides exactly with the worldwide release (digital and physical) of the album In the Secret of the World, which includes all world premiere recordings of piano works by Sef Albertz and Krzysztof Penderecki. This production is now completing a large artistic concept started by Maak & Albertz with their 2018 successful first album Resplendences around Bach.
Both recordings are HERE available on label Florentyn Music
CD & Streaming | Sept. 17, 2021
Pianist Anna-Maria Maak plays an All World Premiere Recording
with music by Sef Albertz and Krzysztof Penderecki.
With In the Secret of the World the artist couple Maak & Albertz spans a dramaturgical arc and completes a large artistic concept that started with the previous 2018 production Resplendences around Bach:
“...a recording that comes up with interesting as well as innovative ideas”
(PIANONews, June 2019).
The concept album features exclusively world premiere recordings of the intercultural music of German-Venezuelan composer Sef Albertz and Krzysztof Penderecki's first solo piano music - the result of a collaboration between the late Polish composer and Maak & Albertz.
The whole release brings together a musical kaleidoscope of multi-faceted and moving piano works: A creative approach to the exploration of identity and the truthful perception of the artistic phenomenon.
Along with the influences of Bach, Beethoven and other music creators, Ibero-American culture, pop and electronic music also find their place in this album. Thus, the artistic-creative discourse transforms into a cosmopolitan vision.
“With our music we move in the secret of the world without the urge to unveil a secret, but in the perception of these inexplicable, deep sensations that enrich the experience of life and human connections”, comment Maak & Albertz.
On July 22, as part of the Series 'Music from Saxony', Anna-Maria Maak will be playing a live streaming concert
with music by Sef Albertz, J.S. Bach, J. Brahms, R. Schumann & K. Penderecki
at the beautiful Albrechtsberg Castle in Dresden.
The project hat been developed by the New York Streaming Platform Dreamstage
with the support of the Saxon Ministry of Culture and Moritzburg Festival.
October 16, 2021 | All day Event
Max Reger Konservatorium Meiningen
October 15, 2021 | 7:00 p.m.
Struppsche Villa, Max Reger Konservatorium Meiningen
Music by Albertz, Bach, Brahms,
Schumann & Penderecki.
October 2, 2021 | All day Event
Music School 'Alfred Wagner', Suhl
October 1, 2021 | 6:00 p.m.
Rathaus Suhl
Music by Albertz, Bach, Brahms,
Schumann & Penderecki.
September 21, 2021 | 7 p.m.
Schwartzsche Villa (Berlin Steglitz)
Music by Albertz, Bach, Brahms,
Schumann & Penderecki.
September 17, 2021 | 7 p.m.
Stadtbibliothek Leipzig (Leuschnerplatz)
Music by Albertz, Bach & Penderecki.
July 22, 2021 | 7:00 p.m.
As part of the Series 'Music from Saxony'.
Music by Albertz, Bach, Brahms,
Schumann & Penderecki.
(BUY Online Ticket)
July 30, 2021 |
art Kapella Schkeuditz
The Composer’s studio
Anna-Maria Maak plays and talks about works of
and with composer Sef Albertz.
July 17, 2021 |
Schloss Albrechtsberg (Dresden)
LIVE Video Recording of the Piano Recital
'In the Secret of the World'.
With Music by Albertz, Bach, Brahms,
Schumann & Penderecki.
An initiative of the Moritzburg Festival
July 11, 2021 | 2:00 p.m.
Chapel of Parkfriedhof Plagwitz (Leipzig)
Piano Recital, Closing Event of the Art Symposium 'Gespiegelte Zeit' (Mirrored Time).
Music by Sef Albertz, Lily Boulanger, Mélanie Bonis
& Krzysztof Penderecki.
July 09, 2021 | 3:00 & 5:00 p.m.
Chapel of Parkfriedhof Plagwitz (Leipzig)
The Composer’s studio
Anna-Maria Maak plays and talks about works of
and with composer Sef Albertz.
As part of the Art Symposium 'Gespiegelte Zeit'
(Mirrored Time) organized by GEDOK Leipzig.
Juni 22, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
art Kapella Schkeuditz
Workshop, Lecture & Recital 'Damals und Heute - Tonschöpfer in und um Leipzig' (Then and Now - Sound Creator in and around Leipzig).
Music by Albertz, Brahms, Janacek,
Schumann & Mendelssohn.
Project supported by the Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen (Cultural Heritage Foundation of the Free State of Saxony).
Anna-Maria Maak's new album 'In the Secret of the World' brings together a musical kaleidoscope of piano works, which reflect a multifaceted and moving expression of new classical music. The album is an all world premiere recordings of compositions by Sef Albertz and Krzysztof Penderecki, which have been inspired by Bach, Beethoven, Latin American, pop and electronic music.
The recordings were completed in January 2021 and the worldwide release (digital and physical) will be on September 17th, 2021 under the label Florentyn Music.
The traditional Germany-wide competition takes place at regional and state level as an online competition due to the pandemic.
Sef Albertz is member of the jury on March 27/28.
Sef's composition «In the Secret of the World», which gives the title to the new album by Maak & Albertz, was selected for a music video production, which will be presented by the Saxon State Chancellery (Sächsische Staatskanzlei) through the campaign «So geht sächsisch - Kultur digital» commissioned by the Saxon government!
„We really like the project idea and your music [...] We are therefore happy to fully support the production of the music video «In the Secret of the World»“
New album: Leipzig duo explores the „Secret of the World“
„[...] sparkling piano music, which is to lead the audience to the edge of their own horizon and a little bit beyond [...]“
The musician couple
at MDR Klassik Radio (audio in German)
Keep your courage - despite uncertain times!
This is the message of the new piano album
« In the Secret of the World »
by Maak & Albertz,
it's an artistic response...!
Den Mut behalten - trotz ungewisser Zeiten!
Diese Botschaft vermitteln wir mit dem neuen Klavieralbum « In the Secret of the World »,
es ist eine künstlerische Antwort.
Nun soll es den Weg in die Welt finden - gemeinsam mit Dir können wir es schaffen!
Supported by the Leipzig Department of Culture (Kulturamt Leipzig) and curated by Anna-Maria Maak, the German pianist presents virtual episodes with
LIVE performances of 'Resplendences around Bach'
- her celebrated concept album
with music by J.S. Bach & Sef Albertz.
Sef Albertz has composed a new work for solo piano (ca. 15 min.),
which Anna-Maria Maak will premiere and include
in her recitals during the 2020-21 Season.
The work habe been possible by a grant from the Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen (Cultural Heritage Foundation of the Free State of Saxony).
Anna-Maria Maak will be presenting on April 23 (2020) at Händel-Haus in Halle (Saale) her new recital 'Beethovens Geist', which includes the exclusive performance of Krzysztof Penderecki's first solo piano music (premiered by her at the beginning of 2019) as well as 'Ludwig and the Allegories of the Sea' by Sef Albertz, a new composition to commemorate Beethoven's 250th anniversary.
2020 begins with a great four-page article in the prestigious magazine PIANONews about the artistic career of Anna-Maria and
her creative collaboration with composer Sef Albertz.
In addition, Anna-Maria's upcoming projects with Sef's music and
the world premiere recording of Penderecki's first solo piano music.
The magazine is available in Germany, Austria,
Luxembourg & Switzerland.
Accompanied by the Kammerphilharmonie der Universität Stuttgart, Anna-Maria will play the solo part in Sef Albertz's most recent orchestral work, which has been inspired by nature and
also by the other works that complete the concert program
(Mozart's Piano Concerto KV 466 and Beethoven's Third Symphony).
The composition was commissioned by the Kammerphilharmonie
and was written for Anna-Maria. READ MORE...
Anna-Maria Maak continues to present the repertoire of the album Resplendences around Bach: This time, including exclusively the performance of Krzysztof Penderecki's first solo piano music,
which she premiered worldwide in early 2019.
Also, she will be presenting new compositions by Sef Albertz
in advance to 'Beethoven Year' 2020.
Feb. 15, 2020 | Vaihingen (Stuttgart)
Mozart Piano Concerto N° 20 & New Concertante Work of Sef Albertz
Kammerphilharmonie der Universität Stuttgart
Jan. 19, 2020 | 14:00 | Galerie art Kapella (Schkeuditz)
Dec. 15, 2019 | 16:00 | House Concert in Schlachtensee (Berlin)
As part of 'Beethoven bei uns'
Dec. 14, 2019 | 17:00 | Lange Klaviere (Weimar)
with World Premiere of Sef Albertz as part of 'Beethoven bei uns'
Dec. 8, 2019 | 19:00 | Salle de Pologne (Leipzig)
Nov. 13 & 14, 2019 | 20:00 | Wein Galerie (Leipzig)
Oct. 8, 2019 | 19:30 | Villa Najork (Leipzig)
with World Premiere of Sef Albertz
Sef Albertz is working on sketches for a new orchestral work (certainly including the piano!).
The work has been commissioned by the Kammerphilharmonie der Universität Stuttgart.
Anna-Maria Maak and the orchestra will premiere the new composition in February 2020.
(From sold-out concert)
Pianist Anna-Maria Maak
playing the music of Sef Albertz
with the
MDR Sinfonieorchester
under Kristjan Järvi
at the 'Festival of Light'
"Leipzig surrendered to the music of the Venezuelan Sef Albertz"
(Newspaper 'El Universal')
Sef Albertz written
a new chamber music work
commisioned by The Andalucian Council & The Manuel de Falla Chair.
About the premiere: "What a piece
of music! Impressive composition
with a theme entirely appropriate
for our Festival. Fantastic...!"
(Manuel Ferrand, Director of the Spanish Music Festival of Cádiz)
Resplendences around Bach
(ranked No. 1 on the German charts: iTunes & Soundcloud Classical)
With Anna-Maria Maak (piano) and
Sef Albertz (composer & Arranger)
"A great composer, a fantastic interpreter, a powerful work!"
(Kristjan Järvi, conductor)
"Great performance, full of 'fuoco' and great musicality. Bravo Sef...!"
(Marlos Nobre, about the world premiere of his
Guitar Sonata Opus 115
that Sef Albertz played
on November 9th 2016
in a Leipzig sold-out concert)
"...the way to 'communicate'...very attractive...the interpretation ...undoubtedly extraordinary!"
(Leo Brouwer about the premiere of his Sonata 'Mitología de las Aguas',
dedicated to Sef Albertz,
who played the first performance and made the first recording of the work on his CD 'Con Guitarra!')
“Sef gathers that vast spectrum of the human spirit that allows, in Art, to confront and fraternize
tradition with the audacious
of contemporaneity
to create a cosmopolitan vision of Venezuelan identity”
(Alirio Díaz, Venezuelan Musician)
After carrying out his studies in music and electronic engineering in his native Venezuela, ALBERTZ moved in 2000 to Germany, where he completed his artistic postgraduate studies as a composer and guitarist with outstanding results.
Meetings with composers such as Leo Brouwer, Luis de Pablo, Marlos Nobre, Mauricio Kagel, Hans Werner Henze, Krzysztof Penderecki, among others, have involved SEF ALBERTZ already as an interpreter and/or arranger of their works.
With over 100 works written, ALBERTZ’s own compositional output includes solo, chamber, electroacoustic and orchestral music. Some relevant (recent) compositional works:
• ‘Con ecos de otras voces, desde lejos, desde muy lejos’
Premiere: Spanish Music Festival of Cádiz, 2018
• ‘The Place of the Resplendences’
Premiere: Leipziger Stadtbibliothek 2018
• ‘Piano Concerto’
Premiere: MDR Festival of Lights 2016, Leipzig
• ‘Southern Lights’ for Piano, BigBand & Orchestra
(MDR Commission)
Premiere: MDR Festival of Lights 2016, Leipzig
• ‘Ciaccona’ (after Bach), for Piano & String Orchestra
Premiere: MDR Festival of Lights 2016, Leipzig
• ‘Danza, Escena & Joropo’, for Solo Piano
Premiere: Leipzig Steinway Klavierhaus 2015
• ‘La noche juega, sin palabras, en la mirada’
for Violin, Cello, Piano & Percussion
Premiere: German National Library 2013
• ‘Azul-Luz en la estación’, Fantasia for Guitar & Orchestra
Premiere: Opening of the Festival ‘Con Guitarra!’ 2011, Leipzig
• ‘Songs without words’ (after Mendelssohn)
for Guitar & String Orchestra
Premiere: Gewandhaus zu Leipzig
during the Mendelssohn-Festtage 2009
The music of SEF ALBERTZ has been performed in Brazil, Chile, Cuba, England, Germany, Holland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Venezuela, etc.
As founder and artistic director of ‘Con Guitarra!’ (“A fine Festival…a Jewel”, LVZ Leipzig), ALBERTZ has created a multimedia project, an exciting artistic concept, where his talents as a musician (performer & composer) designer (sound, video & media), photographer and dramaturge have found a perfect space to be developed together, intrinsically.
He’s also literary active with several poetry books and essays on diverse topics of modern art.
In the own words of SEF:
“everything in my life is a composition, a creative process that always brings in itself something beautiful, deep and stimulating at the same time. It’s my ‘life maxim’. So, quite consciously, I can say that I’m in a full-time occupation. Composing is my passion”.
The compositional projects of SEF ALBERTZ have been commissioned and sponsored by national and international institutions such as:
• Central German Broadcasting
• Festival de Música Española de Cádiz
• Gesellschaft für zeitgenössische Musikvermittlung e.V. (Germany)
• Instituto Cervantes (Spain)
• Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen (Germany)
• LARA Foundation for Culture, FUNDALARA (Venezuela)
• Leipzig Kulturamt
• MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra
• The Council of Andalusia (Spain)
• UNESCO, etc.
The creative work of ALBERTZ is recorded on several CD albums:
• Con Guitarra! (With Guitar!, 2011)
• Infancia (Childhood, 2012)
• Hommage (Tribute, 2013)
• Seasons (2015)
• Platero & Ich (Platero and I, 2016)
Upcoming projects include the first worldwide publication of two new CD productions with his pianistic oeuvre (‘Resplendences…’ & ‘…In the Secret of the World’) and the DVD production ‘Other Nuances’.
All these projects together with his long-time artistic accomplice, the German pianist Anna-Maria Maak, with whom SEF ALBERTZ creates an artist couple that reconstructs the tradition of musical collaboration, as once did 'Clara and Robert Schumann' or ‘Yvonne Loriod and Olivier Messiaen’, but in their own particular way. According to Estonian-American conductor Kristjan Järvi:
“A great composer...a fantastic performer...a powerful work!”.
„Elogio del silencio”
(Electroacoustic Music)
Suite „Homenaje a Joan Miró”
for Guitar
„Las miradas del transeúnte”
for Guitar
3 Sonates (I, II & III)
for Guitar
„Rostros...”
Suite für Solo Mandolin
„2 Pieces”
for Harp
„Música Real Para la Corte del Pequeño Príncipe”
(Música I, for Guitar)
(Música III, for Piano)
„Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ” & „Ciaccona”
(after Bach)
for Piano
„The Place of the Resplendences”
(for Anna-Maria Maak)
for Piano
„Suite Venezolana”
for Piano
„Infancia”
for Piano
„Con ecos de otras voces...”
for Flute, Clarinet, Piano & Percussion
„Impresiones V, sobre un leve espacio”
for mixed Choir
„Cuatro Canciones de Miguel Hernández”
for Baritone & Guitar
„De los pensamientos que viajan”
for Children Choir & Piano
„Diálogos”
for String Quartet
„Música Incidental”
for Voice, Strings & Percussion
„Y entonces, algunas veces...”
for Percussion Ensemble
„El Lunes...Un Instante...El Miércoles”
for Woodwind Quintet
„Des Danses, el Azul, in a Story”
for 2 Violins
„Música Real Para la Corte del Pequeño Príncipe”
(Música II, for Cello & Piano)
„La noche juega, sin palabras, en la mirada”
for Violin, Cello, Piano & Percussion
„Kinderszenen (after Schumann)”
for Guitar Quartet
„Guitar Concerto”
for Guitar & String Orchestra
„Partita-Concert”
(First concertante works for 3 Guitars
written in Venezuela)
„Azul-Luz en la Estación”
(Fantasy)
for Guitar & Orchestra
„Pavana & Fantasía”
(after Antonio Lauro)
for Guitar & Orchestra
SONGS WITHOUT WORDS (*)
(after Mendelssohn)
for Guitar & String Orchestra
aDIOS TANGO (*)
für Piano & String Orchestra
PIANO CONCERTO (*)
for Piano & String Orchestra
CIACCONA (*)
(after Bach)
for Piano & String Orchestra
MY LONG AWAITED (*)
(after Piazzolla)
for Piano & String Orchestra
(*) also available in version with string quartet
(Marlos Nobre | Brazilian Composer)
A TRILOGY CON GUITARRA!
On his new album «Bunch of Strings» (Label Florentyn Music - Release May 17, 2024), Sef Albertz expands the spectrum of the guitar, not only in terms of sound, but also in terms of repertoire.
"It sounds absolutely wonderful. Congratulations to the arrangements and to your beautiful playing!".
(Göran Söllscher: Swedish guitarist, Prof. Malmö Academy of Music - Lund University,
Deutsche Grammophon Artist)
The starting point of this Trilogy Con Guitarra! by the Venezuelan-German composer and guitarist is his three-movement Suite for Solo Guitar «...alla Bach!» (in the style of Bach): a conscious search for the musical presence of the great Thomaskantor (Church Cantor of St. Thomas) from Leipzig.
Then, with compositional reinterpretations - unprecedented in the repertoire of the instrument - Albertz constructs a chamber music dialogue of the guitar with itself and, subsequently, with the string instruments, based on two milestones of music of all times: Robert Schumann’s «Kinderszenen» (Children’s Scenes), reimagined for Guitar Quartet, and Felix Mendelssohn’s «Lieder ohne Worte» (Songs without Words), reimagined for Guitar and Strings.
Albertz's all music scores of his new album are published by the renowned Vienna-based Universal Edition and can now be ordered HERE.
CD & Streaming | Sept. 17, 2021
Pianist Anna-Maria Maak plays an All World Premiere Recording
with music by Sef Albertz and Krzysztof Penderecki.
With In the Secret of the World the artist couple Maak & Albertz spans a dramaturgical arc and completes a large artistic concept that started with the previous 2018 production Resplendences around Bach:
“...a recording that comes up with interesting as well as innovative ideas”
(PIANONews, June 2019).
The concept album features exclusively world premiere recordings of the intercultural music of German-Venezuelan composer Sef Albertz and Krzysztof Penderecki's first solo piano music - the result of a collaboration between the late Polish composer and Maak & Albertz.
The whole release brings together a musical kaleidoscope of multi-faceted and moving piano works: A creative approach to the exploration of identity and the truthful perception of the artistic phenomenon.
Along with the influences of Bach, Beethoven and other music creators, Ibero-American culture, pop and electronic music also find their place in this album. Thus, the artistic-creative discourse transforms into a cosmopolitan vision.
“With our music we move in the secret of the world without the urge to unveil a secret, but in the perception of these inexplicable, deep sensations that enrich the experience of life and human connections”, comment Maak & Albertz.
CD, LP & Streaming | 2018
Pianist Anna-Maria Maak plays world premiere recordings
of original & arranged music by Sef Albertz.
"...a fruitful collaboration between
pianist Anna-Maria Maak and composer Sef Albertz
...entirely committed to modernity...
with impressive sovereignty...masterly virtuosity
and intimate empathy...as well as innovative ideas"
(Magazine PIANONews 3-2019)
"...an enrichment of contemporary piano music"
Prof. Volkmar Lehmann
(Dir. Em. Institute for Piano, University of Music Weimar)
„A great composer...a fantastic performer...a powerful work!”
(Kristjan Järvi, conductor)
„A dramaturgical [and] skillful connection to a fascinating musical world, an exquisite combination of progressive and traditional, jazz and funk, Mediterranean temperament and profundity“
(MDR Press)
'An Andalusian Elegie'
Anna-Maria Maak (Narration & Piano)
Sef Albertz (Guitar)
--------------------
Texts: Juan Ramón Jiménez
Music: M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Sef Albertz & his guitar students
(Including world premiere recordings of works by Sef Albertz)
„a so interesting and professionally conceived CD recording...a valuable medium to share and to expand creativity with others”
(Torgauer Zeitung)
Double Album including
world premiere recordings.
Music by J. S. Bach, Schumann, Mendelssohn & Sef Albertz.
Anna-Maria Maak (Piano),
Sef Albertz (Guitar) & Strings from
MDR Sinfonieorchester
Double Album of Anna-Maria Maak
with world premiere recordings
of Piano works by Sef Albertz.
Also including Ibero-American
Piano Music by H. Villa-Lobos,
A. Estévez, F. Mompou, M. Moleiro,
X. Montsalvatge, F. Ruíz,
A. Roldán & Astor Piazzolla
Duo Albertz plays world premiere recordings of new Ibero-American Music for Flute & Guitar.
All compositions written for and dedicated to Sef Albertz
by Leo Brouwer (Cuba), Carlos Cruz de Castro (Spain), Diego Feinstein (Argentina) & Marlos Nobre (Brazil)
(SOLD-OUT)
Duo Albertz plays traditional and contemporary Ibero-American
Music for Flute & Guitar
including lyrical & virtuoso
compositions from Cuba, Argentina, Brazil & Venezuela
(Alirio Díaz | Venezuelan Musician)
Sef Albertz
c/o Florentyn Music
Littstr. 9 HH, 04103 Leipzig
Florentyn Music
info@florentynmusic.com
Phone: +49 (0) 341 9 27 78 00
customer-relations@universaledition.com
promotion-marketing@universaledition.com
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