D.armstadt ⋅ Frankfurt pianist Sebastian Sternal and his trio have met Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel only once so far and celebrated their premiere at the 30th Koblenz Guitar Festival about six months ago. Now the first-class and award-winning musicians in Darmstadt’s well-attended town church seem to be following their prime time together smoothly. They unleash sparks from their very different repertoire with elegance and verve, and it is particularly surprising how the trio, long in tune with each other, interacts with the newly added fourth man.
In the beginning, Sebastian Sternal creates the suggestive beginning himself. He seems to listen carefully to his quiet tones, remotely evoking memories of Romanticism and Impressionism. Henning Sieverts and Jonas Burgwinkel join after a while, very subtly at first with scattered double bass tones and a gentle rustle of brooms on cymbals and snare drum. Shortly after Wolfgang Muthspiel takes the lead, his first solo on the warm-toned semi-acoustic guitar shines with an imaginative design. Sure, the musician, who was born in 1965 and is also highly regarded in the United States, knows how to play fast, but nothing seems further from his mind than getting intoxicated with his dexterity and speed. Sieverts, who is a year younger, adopts an equally confident attitude in his subsequent bass solo, while Burgwinkel sustainably increases dynamics with his sonic diversity in the background.
