Die Knödel
Die Knödel: Christoph Dienz, bassoon; Alexandra Dienz, bass, hammered dulcimer; Julia Fiegl, violin, holzernes glatcher, voice; Margreth Koll, harp; Cathi Aglibut, viola, voice; Walter Seebacher, clarinet, bass clarinet, hammered dulcimer; Michael Ottl, guitar, voice; Andreas Lackner, trumpet, flugelhorn, bass, voice
Die Knödel have redefined Austrian "blasmusik" (brass-band music), a genre that seems to be caged in commercial kitsch settings reinforcing the German/Austrian cliché of "lederhosen" boys and "dirndl" girls constantly drinking beer and eating sauerkraut.
No serious music lover ever expected this type of music to have some creative potential, and rather than reviving an artistical corpse, Die Knödel have fathered a sort of post-modern "blasmusik" for the new millenium. There are traditional rhythms of Austrian folk-music which lend the base for all sorts of exciting sound experiments involving the extensive band line-up of wind and string instruments. Die Knödel are the brainchild of Christoph Dienz (bassoon, dulcimer, vocals) who is responsible formost of the compositions.
In 1993, they had their CD debut
with "Verkochte
Tiroler" (also known as Overcooked Tyroleans on the North
American market), and its success was immediate. Die Knödel performed
constantly throughout their homeland and became one of the most
exciting acts of '90s Austrian music. "Panorama", a collectionof
non-Knödel-compositions and "Die Noodle!" were both
released in 1995.
Like the debut, both albums are full of interesting ideas. In 1997 followed "Der Unfisch", a soundtrack for the film of the same name by Robert Dornhelmand one year later they presented a collaboration with the Seattle-based composer Amy Denio - "No Lo So Polo", an opera about the life of Italian explorer Marco Polo. — Frank Eisenhuth.
CD - Die Knödel "Verkochte Tiroler"
Produced
by Hubl
Greiner 1993
Order
CD at Amazon
Christof Dienz