John Fordham 

Michael Wollny: Wunderkammer XXL – review

The collector's edition of this celebrated album of duets between Wollny and Tamar Halperin broadens and deepens its impact, writes John Fordham
  
  

Michael Wollny and Tamar Halperin
From understated sound-voyage to rousing concerto … Michael Wollny and Tamar Halperin Photograph: PR

This is the collector's edition of a prizewinning 2009 album by German pianist/composer Michael Wollny. The original, included here, was a series of fragile duets with harpsichordist Tamar Halperin, while the new element is a live concert with Frankfurt Radio's hr-Bigband. The contrast turns Wunderkammer from an understated sound-voyage of tick-tocking piano motifs, pinging glockenspiels and regal harpsichords into a rousing concerto that won a 20-minute standing ovation at the 2012 Deutches Jazzfestival, where the live CD was recorded. From the intro to Kabinett II (opening on a charging harpsichord soliloquy and developing over deep brass growls and hard-whipped drumming) to the pin-sharp ensemble shouts on Kabinett IV, and from the thundering tenor sax that opens the Hexentanz section to the free-improv skitterings of its eventually rousing finale, this set cherishes the keys-focused purity of the original while significantly broadening and deepening its impact.

 

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