pure
Louie’s Cage Percussion
Photo: Severin Koller
Currently the hottest percussion combo. It’s really thrilling!
Falter-Magazin
Louie’s Cage Percussion brings a breath of fresh air into the world of classical percussion instruments. The percussionists induce vibrations into wood, metal, plastic, and even water, and revolutionize musical life in an unforgettable mixture of virtuosity and innovation. Their new album pure is an affirmation of musical profundity and offers an expansion of aural consciousness. The release concert will take place on November 11th 2024 at Theater Akzent in Vienna.
Classical percussionists go through extensive training to eventually play a fundamental role in a symphony orchestra, yet this role only rarely takes place center stage in the limelight. The members of Louie’s Cage Percussion want to change this and seek to bring the impressive tonal diversity of their instruments to the forefront. Without reservations about genre boundaries, they are always on the hunt for new acoustic and electronic sounds and play classical, jazzy, or popular arrangements with ease.
The virtuosity and diversity of the group’s percussion art carries audiences off their feet on the floor of the venerable Vienna Music Society, at Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and the Luxembourg Philharmonic or at renown festivals like the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival. All kinds of conceivable instruments are used, from an acoustic marimba to a drum set, from electronic instruments like the mallet station to colorful boom whackers, which are especially popular with fans.
Their new album pure is multi-layered and profound. The pieces show off the creativity of young contemporary composers who effortlessly transcend boundaries between
classic, jazz, rock, and electronic music. With innovative approaches in composition and instrumentation, at times using self-made instruments, a wide spectrum of musical themes unwinds. The piece Radio Island critically engages with the modern issue of overstimulation, while the threepart series Water-Iron-Wood investigates the tonal charac-teristics of natural materials. Water bowls and nature sounds are combined with iron instruments created specifically for this purpose, in addition to a special wooden construction. Alphabetic Klimt pays tribute to painter Gustav Klimt with unconventional rhythms, followed by a surprising new interpretation of Debussy’s impressionism on percussion instruments. Boards of South cleverly unites global rhythms into a pulsating whole, while Prisma, with its reference to minimal music, elevates the listening experience to new levels. A creative adaptation of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino overture strengthens the innovative style of this new collection.
No matter how experimental the approaches of this formation – their music always remains captivatingly catchy and entertaining. When you enjoy these quick-witted musicians live – for example, during their release concert on November 11th – you will quickly realize that there is a lot of substance, going beyond a trendy crossover. A better description would be imaginative storytelling in which Louie’s Cage Percussion combines instrumental music, performance, and sometimes even singing in order to take over new spaces – be that live and physically, but also, like on this new album, in the imagination of its listeners.
Louie`s Cage Percussion
The ensemble members are distinguished by their compre-hensive musical education and many-sided professional experiences. Sebastian Brugner-Luiz, founding member and solo timbal player at the Vienna Volksoper, is a docent at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and works as a self-employed composer. Kristof Hrastnik plays in the opera and symphony orchestras of the National Theater Maribor and has worked with orchestras like the Vienna State Opera and Volksoper. Florian Klinger, since 2011 drummer in the orchestra of Volksoper Vienna, is a founding member of the ensemble and a jazz vibraphonist. Joachim Murnig, drummer with the Tonkünstler Orchester Niederösterreich in Austria, is professor at the University for Music and Performing Arts Graz and a composer. Alessandro Petri, ensemble member since 2022, has played with the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival Orchestra and the Opera Graz and has worked in different Austrian orchestras. Lucas Salaun, member since 2018, also plays in the orchestra of Volksoper Vienna, and has founded the International Percussion Academy in France. Simon Steidl, timbal player at the Graz Philharmonics, has played at the Vienna State Opera, Volksoper Vienna, and Tonkünstler Orchester Niederösterreich. Maximilian Thummerer, since 2021 member of the stage orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, is also a founding member of the Austrian Brass Consort and regularly performs with the Vienna Philharmonics.
Sebastian Brugner-Luiz, founding member of the ensemble and native to the Styrian region, is a timbal soloist in the orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper and started teaching at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Graz in February 2022. He is also a docent, a juror at music competitions, and an independent composer. His compositions have been performed at the Vienna concert hall and the Vienna Volksoper..Kristof Hrastnik plays in the opera and symphony orchestras of the National Theater Maribor (Slovenia) and teaches music students. He has gained a lot of experience performing with renown orchestras like the Vienna Volksoper and Vienna State Opera.
Florian Klinger is percussionist of the orchestra of Vienna Volksoper since 2011, and a founding member of the ensemble. He also performs as jazz vibraphonist with the ensemble Alpha Trianguli and has a solo project. Florian has published numerous compositions and was a docent at the University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna and at the Jam Music Lab Vienna.
Joachim Murnig became percussionist with the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) in 2011 and is a founding member of the ensemble. Since October 2022, he is professor for percussion instruments at the University for Music and Performing Arts Graz. Joachim Murnig also performs as soloist and composes solo, chamber, and education literature for drums.
Alessandro Petri joined the ensemble in 2022. From 2019 to 2021, he was part of the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival orchestra. During the 2021/2022 season, he had a temporary contract at the opera Graz, and has since worked as a substitute in different Austrian orchestras, among them the Vienna Volksoper and the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich.
Lucas Salaun Lucas Salaun has been a member of the Vienna Volksoper orchestra since 2018 and has been in the ensemble since 2015. In 2022, he founded the International Percussion Academy in France. In addition to his work as percussionist, he also takes singing and acting lessons.Simon Steidl became timpanist of the Graz Philharmonics at Graz Opera House at the age of 21. He gained experience with the Vienna State Opera, Vienna Volksoper, and the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich. He became a member of the ensemble in 2018 and is also active as juror and docent.
Maximilian Thummerer has been a member of the stage orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, and regularly performs with orchestras like the Vienna Philharmonics. He joined the ensemble in 2020 and is a founding member of the Austrian Brass Consort. In addition, he is an active juror at music competitions and gives private music lessons.