Roberto Laneri: Winterträume, De-Compositions & Re-Compositions – Roberto Laneri

Jazz musician and composer Roberto Laneri enters a fruitful dialogue with the great Western tradition of classical music. Borrowing from a practice “as old as music itself”, in his own words, Laneri considers the masterpieces of the past as matter which can be manipulated, “de-composed” and “re-composed”, in a process which is not disrespectful, but rather reveals the deep admiration one nourishes for the music of the past, while appropriating it to his own language. The sources employed by Laneri range from Dowland to Weill, from Tarrega to Liszt, from Debussy to Strauss, and in most cases are transfigured to represent visions from an imaginary winter. Laneri plays clarinets and saxophones throughout the album, but also considers the recording and mixing process as a compositional activity in his own right. One can say that this CD is not the recording of musical artworks, but rather is a musical artwork in itself.