Thomas Leisner

About Beauty and Bright Ideas
June 23rd, 2016

Rebecca Lenton Recording

I am happy to present my first classical recording at Delicious Drums Studio, featuring flute and harp, played by renowned soloists Rebecca Lenton and Nathalie Amstutz. We recorded three pieces from classical over modern to improvised music.

Rebecca and Nathalie call their Duo A Moveable Music. They bring an innovative flute and harp programme, combining classical repertoire and contemporary works with improvisation tailored to each performance and venue.

I had the chance to encounter the two at a private concert, a musical “Salon” at the home of one of my drum students. From Bach to Takemitsu and beyond, Rebecca and Nathalie guided their listeners through a multitude of musical styles, giving a brief introduction to the works along the way.

For many in the audience, including myself, it was the first time to have this combination of instruments, and especially to listen to a harp so closely. I had the opportunity to bring that experience even one step further by recording the duo, putting my favorite microphones as close to the instruments as possible.

Rebecca Lenton and Nathalie Amstutz both have a wealth of experience as soloists, chamber players and orchestral musicians in a wide range of musical genres. They play together as a duo to explore and further the repertoire for flute and harp.

Born in Switzerland, Nathalie studied in Detmold, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin. She was solo harpist with the Osnabrücker Symphoniker, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and the Bremer Philharmoniker. Today she freelances with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Düsseldorf Symphoniker, Bamberger Symphoniker, Philhamonie du Luxembourg, Oslo Opera,WDR Orchester Köln, the Hamburger Philharmonik and the Tonhalle Zürich. She is also very dedicated to contemporary music, having played at several new music festivals and working frequently with Ensemble KNM Berlin.

Born in England, Rebecca studied in London at the GSMD and in Basel. She has been a member of Ensemble KNM Berlin since 2001 and has performed at prestigious concert venues and festivals worldwide, including at the Carnegie Hall in New York, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Wien Modern, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Ultraschall Festival and Märzmusik in Berlin, Festival Présences in Paris, and tours to Argentina, Japan and Taiwan. She is also a regular guest with Klangforum Wien in Austria and has freelanced with orchestras including Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London Philharmonic and BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

June 15th, 2013

Theatre Music Theme

When asked for writing music for a stage show I developed this theme and produced a rough layout demonstrating it’s application in three different styles.

The show was intended to have an atmosphere between naivety and darkness. The theme I came up with therefore sounds a bit like a melancholic children’s song. It’s simplicity helps adapting it to different styles of music while still offering some possibilities.

The “Zwielicht”-Theme:

And it’s variations in three quite different styles:

 

June 18th, 2012

Music For Puppet Theatre

Out of two songs from a good beginning have become ten now, making up a complete CD called “Wusel und seine Freunde” and featuring all of the ten characters of the “Wusel” trilogy by Puppentheater Katinchen.

Starting with copyright problems for the music on the second piece I began composing the first two tracks, then added some more for the first run of the third piece and finally wrote the rest, to also feature the characters of the first part, and to round up the whole thing. From the finished album we then took parts of the tracks to get the theatre music we actually needed for the scenes. As the tracks were composed with this in mind, it was no problem to get the right mood in the right place, by simply adding some loops and fades.

You may listen to the whole CD here. You can’t download it, but you may order a CD at the Katinchen Website. For the actual theatre music watch out for one of Puppentheater Katinchen’s performances.

 

March 21st, 2012

Lovely Tunes

I just finished two tracks I composed and produced for my girlfriend’s puppet theatre “Katinchen” and of course I don’t want to keep them secret from you! Would love to hear how you like them.

Enjoy listening, and in case you want to find out more about the puppet theatre, have a look at the website of Katinchen, featuring a friendly educative style of puppet theatre for children.

This first song I composed in a way that should resemble to the music from the soundtrack of “Amelie” by Yann Thiersen.

The second piece is based on a traditional children’s song about elephants in a forest, which is already in use in one of the theatre pieces.