Discography

Saitensprung

With her new creation, "Saitensprung", ANNA KATHARINA continues ambitiously on this quest with creative ease and effortless skill. Supported by the two musicians Specki T.D. (drums and percussion') and Michael Ende (bass), both from LETZTEN INSTANZ, and the renowned producer, Günther Gebauer, she creates her dream of combining "old music with contemporary ways". Here too, just as with the predecessor "Neuland", her own compositions are blended with newly arranged classics to form a furious mix of classical music, rock, pop, jazz and folk.

Her extraordinary feel for melodies and arrangements is expressed not only in the three classical pieces that have literally undergone rejuvenation through passages composed in a contemporary style. But her own compositions are brimming over with her creativity and a melange of styles. "Captain Islay", right from the very beginning, with its intoxicating melodies showcases the many facets of this artistic violinist. It capitates the audience from the first notes, sometimes wild, sometimes melancholically tender.

Edward Grieg's, "In der Halle des Bergkönigs" ("In the Hall of the Mountain King") from the Peer Gynt Suite surprises us with the modern sound effects that fit skilfully into this classical piece. The Eastern-inspired "Nimbu Pani", in which she plays her second instrument, the hurdy-gurdy, leading her audience's thoughts to India with its exotic rhythms and proving that ANNA KATHARINA has not only mastered the violin and the viola.

The impressively fresh yet respectful interpretation of Sarasate's "Zigeunerweisen" - a masterpiece where violinist wants to show off their abilities - leaves no doubt about ANNA KATHARINA's skill, her expectations of herself and her enormous musical talent.

The Old High German Minnesong "Loibere Risen", accompanied by the hurdy-gurdy, inspires the listener with its tender and affectionate violin with a drum in the background. But even the folk fiddle has found its place on "Saitensprung". "Flying Cow" encourages the audience to dance and clap along cheerfully. ANNA KATHARINA's homage to the large world of soundtracks, especially the James Bond classic, is mirrored in "Geschüttelt - nicht gerührt" ("Shaken, Not Stirred").

Johann Sebastian Bach's "Partita in E Major" undergoes a wonderful rejuvenation: drums, bass and violin take the audience onto an emotional rollercoaster from dreamily solemn to compellingly racy. "Close Your Eyes" with its complex, sacred choir and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", sung soulfully by the artist, are the emotionally agitating conclusion of her second solo CD.

"Saitensprung" impresses not only with enormous stylistic spectrum and playful perfection. It is also enlivened with ANNA KATHARINA's passionate love of music that is expressed everywhere by the finely designed artwork and affectionate implementation.

"I am one with my violin, one with my music"
This is clearly heard, seen and felt with "Saitensprung"

"Saitensprung" can be purchased from the Schandmaul-Shop, or downloaded from Listen2Music.

Neuland

With her fist solo CD "Neuland" in 2007, ANNA KATHARINA has earned herself the praise of critics and a standing ovation from the audience: with vehement reinterpretations of her "favourite classics" rearranged with rock, folk and jazzy sounds as well as compositions written by herself that invite you to dream and to dance, this album will certainly appeal to lovers of classical music while, at the same time, help rock music lovers overcome their fear of classical music.

ANNA KATHARINA, together with her two fellow musicians, stirs up the "tremendous stream of emotions" that classical music arouses in her. They let the flow of emotions surge up over rocky ground, turning it into white water, then swirling along on the funky undertow, whirling dark jazzy harmonies up out of the depths, swinging and jiving happily on folk waves; and sometimes, everyone just goes with their own flow until everything comes back together in the end. In the melancholy, quiet part of the almost ten minute long "Introduction et Rondo capriccioso, op. 28", only violin and viola nestle rhythmically against each other; up to seven violins, three violas and various bass and drum loops let rip with full orchestral force during the strutting Tutti parts. For Anna Katharina, like for Arcangelo Corelli, her baroque "La Follia" is all about recurring harmonies. Matthias Richter contrasts their versions that add a touch of Mozart and Vivaldi to the equation and some startling free jazz dissonances which very quickly capture the imagination. "The original version sounds almost alien to me now", says Anna Katharina. Curt Cress plants a devilishly complex rhythm coppice into the "Habanera" from George Bizet's "Carmen", which Anna Katharina cuts through with her distinctive voice. "She is a sly one, that Carmen". Even in "Che faro" from Christoph Willibald Gluck's "Orpheus and Eurydice", she sings the playfully sad melody by Orpheus, who is pining for Eurydice. "Only if you listen carefully, can you hear that is it about something highly dramatic", she explained.

It therefore pays to listen to "Neuland" carefully. You can discover something new throughout! Not least in ANNA KATHARINA's own pieces - in the quaintly Eastern "Die Bergkönigin" the mountain queen is dancing for her husband who is taking his men to make war with her home land - the ecstasy of round dance and the homesickness of the military staccato; the dreamy "Amelie" ( a homage to the wide-eyed girl from the film) unwinds with a hurdy-gurdy melody; strains of tango have crept into "Vazou" while in the "Jalla-Jalla" part of "Dügün" there are all kinds of sounds of a wild Turkish wedding. "I don't know where I got this from", said the violinist, "I hear so much and am open to everything. It collects in my head and re-emerges again in various ways." The reservoir of her musical heart is huge and luckily finds some expression through her music.

Together with drumming legend Curt Cress (Freddy Mercury, Tina Turner, Klaus Doldingers Passport, Udo Lindenberg etc.) and the two SCHANDMAUL musicians, Matthias Richter (bass) and Thomas Lindner (production), she has been able to achieve a high level of artistry in a charming manner, to free her music, classical music, from the dust of times.

"Neuland" can be purchased from the Schandmaul-Shop, or downloaded from Listen2Music.