Joep Beving & Maarten Vos

I want to open up this track premiere with a quick acknowledgement of the platform behind it. LEITER is a Berlin-based production company and a label founded by the composer and pianist Nils Frahm and his manager Felix Grimm. Although initially appearing to be reserved for his solo output and collaborations (with F.S. Blumm), a few years ago, Frahm began to invite others to publish on the imprint, including Tiny Vipers, Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, and the most recently covered Otto A. Totland [see the track premiere here]. For many of the albums released by this imprint, including this one, the artists utilise the famed studio located in the Fankhaus complex, often involving Frahm behind the mixing board. For this latest release, this powerhouse of contemporary classical music brings together pianist Joep Beving and cellist Maarten Vos for their new album, titled vision of contentment, after Vos appeared on Beving’s release for Deutsche Grammophon, Henosis (2019). The music here is sombre, tender and beautiful, composed as a personal tribute to their friend Mark Brounen, who fought cancer for three years. “… the white heron is a symbol of wisdom, inner-knowing and spiritual growth […] the boat is the vessel that transports us to another realm, and the blue hour symbolises the twilight, the transition from dark to light…” Knowing the background puts the music in context, but even without it, you will be completely transported to the far shores of this heavenly place. I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I do. Highly recommended!