Ulrich Mitzlaff

Known for collaborations with Portuguese musicians like Carlos Zingaro and his solo work, German cellist Ulrich Mitzlaff experiments with programmed electronics for cello and piano on this unique disc.

Perhaps as should be expected, despite clattering variables, the keyboard exposition is formalized, presented in a logical and horizontal manner until at mid-point dynamics change and staccato rebounds shatter the exposition into elevated pitches. Distinctively this creates a climax of stretched staccato string scratches following excursions and discursive digs into piano harp manipulation. Looser, the cello selection, that is slightly lengthier than the other track, exposes rasping and ratcheting string rebounds and scrubs from its beginning. As the exposition advances, it also breaks up into a mellow continuum layered with squeaky altissimo repetitions, making the wound strings quiver. As object-directed extensions quicken the pace, improvisations deflect to col legno smacks on unvarying metallic surfaces and pressurized whistles. With logical canniness though, Mitzlaff’s command of cello technique is such that the narrative is steadied by a near-unbroken ostinato. Solidified into a solid drone, the sound diminishes in increments into silence.

Although the nuts-and-bolts of how these fluorescent sound fibres are created are less than transparent, the disc confirms Mitzlaff’s openness to experimentation. It also makes one want to know how he will express this expanded textural freedom in group situations.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Transparent – Fluorescent Sound Fibres #1 2. Transparent – Fluorescent Sound Fibres #2

Personnel: Ulrich Mitzlaff (piano, cello and objects)