Release

On January 16, 2026 two new portrait CDs will be released by Ensemble Modern Media, and both their titles and their music follow the »threads« connecting performers and composers: ›draad‹ by clarinettist Jaan Bossier and ›Ariadni’s Thread‹ by Giorgos Panagiotidis. On his album ›draad‹, Jaan Bossier presents works showcasing the broad versatility of the clarinet, works that have been accompanying and influencing him for years: Enno Poppe’s energetic work ›Holz‹, Mark Andre’s ›Atemwind‹, which explores gentle air noises and almost whispering multiphonics, and Jörg Widmann’s ›Fantasie‹, a virtuoso juggling act of jazz, folk music and classical allusions. Klaus Burger’s ›Omaggio a Luigi Nono‹ combines bass clarinet and live electronics in a dialogue between sound and silence; Brian Ferneyhough’s ›La Chute d’Icare‹ poses huge technical and interpretational challenges. »draad« is the Flemish word for wire or thread; it symbolizes the connections between Bossier and his composer friends as well as their works. In his album ›Ariadni’s Thread‹, Giorgos Panagiotidis uses the violin to mark a pathway through a labyrinth of sound and silence. It is an anthology of voices which have marked his personal development: Iannis Xenakis’ uncompromising strength, Kaija Saariaho’s gentle light, Tōru Takemitsu’s quiet poetry, Hans Werner Henze’s dramatic intensity, Paul Hindemith’s clear lines, Oliver Knussen’s lyrical precision and Vito Žuraj’s playful imagination. Each of these compositions leaves its own traces, which Giorgos Panagiotidis weaves into one large, unbroken thread – a line connecting past and present, tradition and experiment. Both albums are artistic portraits in which personal stories, discoveries and musical relationships become audible. They invite the listener to follow the threads laid out by both musicians into the world of sound.