A Decade of Enescu Projects with Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri

One of the highlights of our Enescu Soirees Online is an exclusive overview of a decade of musical creativity inspired by the great composer who lends his name to this program, which is offered by two champions of George Enescu’s music, Romanian-American pianist and composer LUCIAN BAN and American violist MAT MANERI. Join us for an exceptional reinterpretation of Enescu's masterpieces "The Octet for Strings", "Impressions d'enfance", and the overwhelming "Oedipe".

Watch on our FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE and BLOG from Thursday, July 30, 7 p.m. EDT or anytime later.

Violist MAT MANERI and pianist LUCIAN BAN first worked together in 2009 in the "Enesco Re-Imagined" third-stream extravaganza that celebrated the music of Romania’s greatest composer. Featuring some of New York’s finest downtown musicians – Ralph Alessi, Tony Malaby, John Hebert Gerald Cleaver, Mat Maneri, Albrecht Maurer and Indian tabla legend Badal Roy – the album won multiple BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR Awards from the Jazz Journalist Association. Jazz Times says "Enesco Re-Imagined is visionary third-stream music; this recording places Ban and Hébert among the great 21st-century interpreters."

Their duet "Transylvanian Concert" has been released by ECM Records in 2013 and has won critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, including several Best Album of 2013 awards. The Guardian (UK) noted Transylvanian Concert’s "Own kind of melancholy beauty and wayward exuberance", and The New York Times called it "a lovely and restive new album", while All About Jazz hailed its "Moments of unanticipated beauty". The duo has been touring the world performing throughout the United States, Europe, Middle East and South America.

Lucian Ban's musical partnership with Mat Maneri continued with "Fantasm" (Nemu Records, 2015) a cutting edge chamber trio featuring German violinist Albrecht Maurer – "a masterwork of mood and nuance, one of the highlights of 2015" (Point of Departure) – and in 2017 Mat Maneri & Lucian Ban teamed up with legendary UK saxophonist Evan Parker to release "Sounding Tears" for Clean Feed records – a BEST ALBUM OF 2017 (Jiornale della Musica, Italy), a "one of a kind experience" (Jazz Trail), "an emotionally ravishing piece of music" (WBGO), "among the most beautiful recordings released in 2017" (NYC Jazz Record).

In 2018 Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri premiered at Lyon Opera "Oedipe Redux", a radical rewriting of George Enescu magnum opera “Oedipe” featuring multi award winner singers Theo Bleckmann and Jen Shyu, Ralph Alessi, John Hebert, Tom Rainey, and French bass clarinet virtuoso Louis Sclavis. "Oedipe Redux" toured Europe in fall 2019 with performances at Bozar in Brussels, Jazzdor in Strasbourg, Bimhuis in Amsterdam, Opderschmelz in Luxembourg as part of the Europalia Arts Festival.

Photo Claire Stefani @ ECM Records