Biography
A combination that is as unusual as it is appealing: two members of the Berliner Philharmoniker, violist Martin Stegner and first solo double bassist Janne Saksala, and Wu Wei, China’s most famous sheng player, conquer new worlds of sound as a trio. For their joint work, the three musicians draw on the experience they have already gained as individual artists outside of classical music. The sheng, one of the most important wind instruments in traditional Chinese music for almost 4000 years, captivates with its penetrating yet spiritual tone, which blends perfectly with the dark tone colours of the viola and double bass.
The trio interprets works of European art music, ranging from arias by the Italian baroque composer Claudio Monteverdi, trio sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi’s La Follia to a late romantic song by Gabriel Fauré or their own free improvisations such as x menesis. The sounds of the Chinese mouth organ, unfamiliar to European ears, and the familiar timbres of the two string instruments merge into a unity and give their audience a completely new listening experience.
Musicians
Martin Stegner
Janne Saksala
Wu Wei
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