Marie Spaemann & Christian Bakanic (AT)

Az Osztrák Kulturális Fórum támogatásával From atmospheric colours to bassline grooves and percussive elements, Spaemann and Bakanic plumb the depths of their instruments’ acoustic possibilities while Bakanic’s breath- taking improvisations and Marie Spaemann’s voice and playing generate an urgency and intensity which is genuinely moving.” - Tino Schulter The musical journey of this Duo is shaped by an active and varied concert schedule as well as a fascination and curiosity for the diversity of the creative process and contemplative approaches to music making. As a cellist Marie Spaemann won the international Johannes Brahms Competition in Pörtschach (A). A few years later she toured Germany and Austria as solo opening act and singer with the electro-swing pioneer [dunkelbunt]. Marie Spaemann has played as a soloist with a variety of orchestras (North German Philharmonic Orchestra, the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Croatian Chamber Orchestra a.o.) and is regularly invited to perform at a wide range of international festivals and venues such as the “Alpen Arte” and “More Ohr Less” festival in Austria, the “Podium-” and “Fusion-Festival” in Germany, “Puplinge Classique” in France, the “Dubrovnik Summer Festival” in Croatia, the South Korean festival “Classic Garden” and the “Konzerthaus International” in New York City. In 2018 Marie performed her solo program amongst other venues at the Amsterdam Cello Biennale as well as in her duo formation with Christian Bakanic (accordion) at the Berio Hall of the Vienna Konzerthaus. She is also regularly touring through Europe as a soloist within “The World of Hans Zimmer”. Christian Bakanic, an Austrian accordionist and composer, studied folk music at the Johann Joseph Fux conservatory in Graz, classical accordion at Graz University of Arts and has already made his mark as a jazz musician in Austria. His musical approaches and experiences blend subtly in his compositions and combine the complex spontaneity of jazz, the temperamental passion of Tango Nuevo, and the disciplined momentum of European classicism with multifaceted traditions of European folk music. The essence of Christian Bakanic’s work is the steady motion, the continuous exchange, and not least the exciting search for new potentials. Curiosity and passion fuel his creative engine, whilst he convinces an audience with authenticity and virtuosity. “The accordion owes the radical improvement of its image over the last years not least to virtuosos like Christian Bakanic. The musician, who, besides the accordion, plays bandoneón, Steirische Harmonika, piano, and percussions, is known from the highly acclaimed formations Beefólk and Folksmilch, as well as his excellent Trio Infernal, which can be classified as modern jazz. The fact that the star pianist Markus Schirmer hired Bakanic for his project Scurdia is yet further evidence of his mastery and reputation.