With his new solo programme, Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel celebrates a new phase of orientation towards the acoustic guitar. The core of the programme is a collection of concert etudes that Muthspiel has composed for his instrument. Each of the nine etudes explores an aspect of music that can be played on the guitar. At the same time, they are marked by a specific atmosphere, ranging from high virtuosity and beadwork to poetic reflection. They are accompanied by improvisations on lute music by Johann Sebastian Bach, a tribute to pianist Bill Evans and explorations of themes by percussionist Paul Motian.

With Etudes, Quietudes, Muthspiel makes the link, seemingly effortlessly and with ease, between the two musical worlds that have been decisive in his life as a musician: the classical guitar and the art of improvisation derived from jazz.
Both on stage and in the recording studio, Muthspiel achieves an intimate clarity in his music that pushes the high demands of playing technique into the background: a constant parlando, a constant musical discourse, becomes central.

In partnership with the City of Lahr