Hourglass

One of Austria's leading young composers, Johannes Berauer navigates effortlessly through musical styles such as classical avant-garde, jazz and world music. This first creation for jazz ensemble showcases compositional thinking and a love for evolving themes and rhythmic adventures. Influences include Bach's counterpoint, Messaien's sense of harmony and M.C. Escher's paradox views of reality. Hourglass Quintet Gwilym Simcock, member of Pat Metheny's current quartet, and Mike Walker who played with virtually everyone from Kenny Wheeler to Dave Holland are two of the finest musicians of the jazz scene. Violinist Thomas Gould has been described as "one of the most talented and charismatic British violinists of the younger generation" excelling in both classical and contemporary repertoire as well as Jazz. He is director of the Britten Sinfonia. Likewise, Martin Berauer and Bernhard Schimpelsberger are two of the leading young musicians of Austria. Martin, living in Paris, is especially known for his expertise in the field of world music, and Bernhard, based in London, has built a reputation as a master of Indian Rhythms, which lead him to collaborations with artists like Akram Khan or Anoushka Shankar.