Wandering between musical worlds, the pianist and composer Maria Baptist fuses jazz and classical music, in the process creating a wholly new sound experience. Her concerts, in which she seamlessly fuses composition and improvisation, follow a unique dramaturgy.
Wandering between musical worlds, the pianist and composer Maria Baptist fuses jazz and classical music, in the process creating a wholly new sound experience. Her concerts, in which she seamlessly fuses composition and improvisation, follow a unique dramaturgy.
For her new solo concert series, The Solo Works, Baptist has compiled a programme that links her celebrated piano cycle Hopes & Fears with new compositions and selected earlier works. Playing her sets without pausing between pieces, she creates a seamless, powerful narrative reminiscent of classical forms without neglecting the improvisational essence of jazz.
Maria Baptist performs on major stages throughout the world, from Hong Kong to New York, from the Berliner Philharmonie to the Elbphilharmonie. At the latter, she also recorded her live album, Hopes & Fears, which was nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award and was described as “virtuoso, powerful, subtle” by HR2 Kultur and as “masterly between jazz and classical music” by Bremen Zwei. All About Jazz also emphasised its “world-class elegance”.
As an artist, Maria Baptist has a special place in jazz. Beside her solo concerts, she draws on a broad artistic spectrum ranging from duos and quintets to her own orchestra. Her role is all the more extraordinary as she sets standards in this genre as a woman. ZDF aptly describes her as a “role model for a new jazz generation”.
I agree to the data transmission between my browser and Youtube. Further information.
