Johann Johannsson Echo Collective: 12 Conversations With Thilo Heinzmann

Limited Edition 180g Vinyl LP!
Over a period of four years, painter Thilo Heinzmann and the late, Golden Globe-winning composer Jóhann Jóhannsson engaged in a series of in-depth conversations about art, politics and their own lives. Working to, or rather with, a painting by Heinzmann, Jóhannsson composed a new work for string quartet, 12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann, which is released by Deutsche Grammophon on September 20, 2019 the day after what would have been Jóhannsson's 50th birthday.
Jóhannsson's sudden and untimely death in February 2018 put an end to his unique practice of bringing different art forms together. The Icelandic composer was known for his inventiveness in allowing music and literature, music and theatre, music and film to communicate with one another in his works, and for combining classical and electronic elements with original, profound and often melancholic results.
Commissioned by the Richard Thomas Foundation, 12 Conversations is both exceptional in and typical of the composer's output.
When Jóhann Jóhannsson died unexpectedly in Berlin in the winter of 2018, a highly interesting interplay of the arts also came to an end. Jóhann Jóhannsson had dared, had let music and literature, music and theatre, music and film communicate with each other in his compositions, very innovative, often melancholic, always profound, merging classical and electronic elements.
The philanthropist and art collector Richard Thomas was interested in precisely such border crossings. He envisioned the creation of a work in which the visual arts and music enter into a dialogue, but do not paint over each other, do not run after each other in production and interpretation, but become one. And he had an artist in mind, the Berlin painter Thilo Heinzmann, who in turn immediately thought of Jóhann Jóhannsson.
"I believe in the power of simplicity and emotional honesty." Jóhann Jóhannsson (1969–2018) Is the creative process of a composer to write music the same as that of a visual artist to paint a picture? 12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann is the result of a four-year dialogue and congenial collaboration between the Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson and the Berlin-based painter Thilo Heinzmann to explore this fascinating question. The twelve-movement string quartet is unique among the works of the award-winning composer, who was obsessed with the essence of sound and created soundscapes of hypnotic emotional impact. Otherwise known for his innovative border crossings between electronic and classical elements, Jóhannsson condenses his sound world in 12 Conversations in a string quartet whose intimate and subtle tonal language produces poignant moments of captivating beauty. Deutsche Grammophon is now releasing the world premiere recording of 12 Conversations, brought to life by Jóhannsson's musical companions of the Echo Collective after his unexpected death in 2018 from the experience of their many years of collaboration. The 180g Limited Vinyl Edition includes a high-quality art print of the Thilo Heinzmann painting, which hung in Jóhannsson's studio as a source of inspiration while he composed 12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann.

Features:

• 180g Vinyl LP
• Gatefold jacket
• Includes a high quality art print of Thilo Heinzmann's cover painting "O.T."
• Made in Germany

Selections:

Jóhann Jóhannsson (1969-2018)
Side A
1. Manifest
2. Low
3. Stuk
4. Shell
5. Zurich
6. Harm
Side B
1. Lacrimosa
2. Pol
3. Form
4. Arc
5. Danse
6. Gold