Characterised as “one of the most gifted pianists to move to New York in the past decade“ (Bruce Lee Galanter), enthusiastically reviewed by major British jazz publications like Jazzwise and Jazz Journal, Romanian ground-breaking composer and pianist Lucian Ban and American Grammy nominee violist & improviser Mat Maneri debut at 1 Belgrave Square on 4 May with a programme inspired by the music of George Enescu as well as Romania’s ancestral soundscape.
The concert is presented within our ‘Enescu Concerts’ Series and is part of a tour that will also lead the innovative duo to Derby’s Voice Box on 5 May and London’s Vortex on 9 May.
Writing about the album ‘Transylvanian Concert’, which forms the core of the duo’s British tour, The Guardian praised the music’s “own kind of melancholy beauty and wayward exuberance”. The New York Times called it “a lovely and restive new album” while All About Jazz marvelled at its “moments of unanticipated beauty”. Village Voice considered ‘Transylvanian Concert’ “one of those records that whisk you away” while Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri’s performances were described by L.A. Weekly as no less than “mesmerizing, evocative and sensually explicit”.
This is the first time when jazz music features in our popular ‘Enescu Series’ but the great composer is as present as ever thanks to Ban and Maneri’s skilful reinterpretations of some of his great compositions such as ‘Impressions d’enfance’ Suite, Orchestral Suite no. 1 and Sonata no. 3 “in Romanian folk style”. Another major source of inspiration for the brilliant duo is the ancient doina, the Romanian traditional musical genre included in the UNESCO heritage.
The Lucian Ban-Mat Maneri tour is organised by the Romanian Cultural Institute. Media partner ECM Records.
Entrance is free but it is required to book your ticket on Eventbrite.
Please note that the seating is unreserved.
