Press archive
What was written and broadcast about Harry Pepl: reviews, portraits, interviews and obituaries, with summary and source. The originals are protected by copyright and kept in the archive; we provide them to researchers and the press on request.
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6 March 2009 · Review · DE
Der Standard (Print 6 March 2009, online 5 March 2009, Rubrik Musikrundschau): „Zwio und Trio“ (Neue Jazz-Alben von Werner Pirchner & Harry Pepl, Pablo Milanes & Chucho Valdes u. a.)
“Musikrundschau” (music roundup) with a short review of “Jazzzwio: Live in Concerts” (Universal): according to the text, Pirchner and Pepl are worth remembering, the duo of guitar and vibraphone having supplied model examples of heated chamber music.
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The DVD is called a must. The date, 13 February 2009, is derived from the article number.
Harry Pepl, a complex guitarist of truly international stature
The creative fury, the intensity achieved there still seems to set the standard today.
Harry Pepl, a complex guitarist of truly international stature.
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24 February 2009 · Review · DE
KULTUR, Zeitschrift für Kultur und Gesellschaft (Dornbirn): „JazzZwio: Live in Concerts“ (CD-Tipp)
Peter Füssl
CD recommendation by Peter Füssl in KULTUR, a cultural magazine from Vorarlberg, Austria, for the CD/DVD “Live in Concerts” (Universal, 2009).
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Füssl recalls the legendary JazzZwio of Pepl and Werner Pirchner between 1977 and 1985 and describes the contents: 43 minutes from the 15th Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland) in 1981 and excerpts from concerts at the Szene Wien in Vienna (1983) and the Konservatoriumssaal in Innsbruck, Austria (1984), with pieces such as “The Day We Know Paul Desmond is Gone”, “Against The Wind”, “Hosent’Raga” and “Air Love And Vitamins”. He calls the two “absolute individualists” whose interplay adds up to far more than the sum of its parts, notes that so far mainly the Muthspiel brothers (the Austrian jazz musicians Christian and Wolfgang Muthspiel) have kept their memory alive, and hopes the recordings will bring the Jazzzwio wider recognition, above all among younger musicians.
Great moments of brilliantly offbeat music and gnarled humour
the playful wit of these two strong characters, one Viennese and one Tyrolean to the core, still sounds fresh as morning dew more than 25 years after the recordings were made
On the CD/DVD “Live in Concerts” (2009) with Jazzzwio concerts from 1981 to 1984; Pepl was Viennese, Werner Pirchner Tyrolean, and each brought his own regionally coloured humour into the music
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20 February 2009 · Review · DE
Die Presse (Online): „Wolfgang Schalk: Wanted“
Samir H. Köck
Short review of the album “Wanted” by the Styrian guitarist Wolfgang Schalk, recorded in Los Angeles. It singles out the piece “And Harry Said Goodbye”, which Schalk dedicated to Harry Pepl.
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Particularly beautiful is ‘And Harry Said Goodbye’, dedicated to the unforgotten colleague Harry Pepl.
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13 February 2009 · Review · DE
Die Presse (Online): „Jazzzwio, Live In Concerts“ (Zwio Infernal)
Samir H. Köck
Short review of the reissue of the 1981 Montreux concert (EmArcy/Universal). The text pays tribute to the duo of guitar and vibraphone as unusual chamber music of the 1980s, whose cascades of sound, the text says, have stayed in the memory of contemporaries.
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The superb guitarist Harry Pepl and his perfectly matched partner
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February 2009 · Portrait · DE
Concerto (2/2009, p. 44): „Jazzzwio – ein markanter Name – bis heute“ (CD/DVD-Tipp „Live in Concerts“)
Thomas Hein
Report on the reissue of the Montreux recording together with the video, the preparation of which ran between summer 2007 and autumn 2008. Daniel Pepl describes the home studio in the cellar in Hernstein, the rescue of the tapes and the plan to make his father’s complete work accessible.
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While I try to be innovative within a framework, within a style, Harry always tried to cross the set boundaries and then go further.
Daniel Pepl
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3 December 2008 · Press release · DE
Kunstuniversität Graz, Mitteilungsblatt 5 (Online): „Mitteilungen der Abteilung für Öffentlichkeitsarbeit“ (Harry-Pepl-Preis 2008 an Daniel Riegler)
The gazette of the Kunstuniversität Graz (University of Music and Performing Arts Graz) of 3 December 2008 announces that the trombonist and composer Daniel Riegler receives the Harry Pepl Prize 2008. The scholarship, endowed with 4,000 euros, requires an engagement with Pepl's work, the result of which is to be presented in 2009; the prize was awarded on 17 November 2008.
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The scholarship, endowed with 4,000 euros, comes with the requirement to engage with the work of Pepl, the jazz guitarist and KUG professor who died in 2005
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3 December 2007 · Report · DE
mica music austria: „Tribute to Harry Pepl im Porgy“
Announcement of a tribute evening at Porgy & Bess (Vienna jazz club) in Vienna on 6 December 2007, two years after Pepl’s death.
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The text pays tribute to him as an internationally sought-after boundary-crosser and names collaborations with Benny Goodman, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi, Jon Christensen and Dave Liebman. The evening is organised by former companions, prompted by the Graz platform Gamsb'Art, which awards the Harry Pepl Prize.
one of the most respected Austrian musicians
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13 March 2007 · Radio · DE
Deutschlandfunk, Nachtradio (Playlist): „Milestones - Harry Pepl“ (Klassiker der Jazzgeschichte)
Playlist of a late-night radio programme on 13 March 2007 at 01:05, with “Live in Montreux 81”, the ECM (the renowned European jazz label) album with Pirchner and DeJohnette and Air Mail’s “Light Blues”.
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It shows Pepl as an entry in a German series on classics of jazz history.
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2007 · Press release · DE
Christian Muthspiel Trio, „Against The Wind“ (Linernotes): „Das Christian Muthspiel Trio spielt Werner Pirchner und Harry Pepl“
Andreas Felber
Liner notes to the album “Against The Wind” (2007) in German, English and French.
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Felber describes Pirchner and Pepl as “perfectionist characters” who played Europe's festivals as the “Jazz-Zwio” roughly between 1978 and 1985, and reports that the young improvisers of the JazzWerkstatt Wien elevate Pepl to the father figure of the Austrian scene. The basis was a project with Wolfgang Muthspiel for the “Glatt&Verkehrt” festival in 2002. The product page also carries press quotes from Die Weltwoche and the Salzburger Nachrichten.
Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl were perfectionist characters who never did anything by halves.
While the young improvisers of the JazzWerkstatt Wien, after Hans Koller, are now discovering Harry Pepl too and so elevating him to the father figure of the Austrian scene
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6 December 2006 · Programme booklet · DE
Porgy & Bess (programme note, Online): „A Tribute to Harry Pepl“, Mittwoch, 06.12.2006, 20:00 Uhr
initials „CH“
Announcement of the tribute evening with Lorenz Raab and Raphael Preuschl, the Andy Manndorff Trio, the Koehne Quartet and Peter Ponger solo, plus the concert films of Benny Goodman and of the Jazzzwio in Montreux in 1981 and visuals by Rainer Rygalyk.
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The text pays tribute to Pepl and mentions the three-day series devoted to him at Porgy & Bess (Vienna jazz club) in 1994; the net proceeds went to the administration of his estate.
But it was Harry Pepl himself who was truly “ace”
When you talk to guitarists, e.g. to Abercrombie or Scofield, there was one constant question: “And how is Harry?”
As an original stylist who left a lasting impression on the international scene through his technical perfection, rhythmic incisiveness, harmonic variety and overflowing musical energy
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22 November 2006 · Report · DE
Der Standard (culture, Printausgabe): „Jazzwohnzimmer Miles Smiles feiert“
felb
Short report on the 15th anniversary of the Viennese jazz club Miles Smiles in the Josefstadt, founded by Wulf Müller.
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The first concert in autumn 1981 was played by Bill Frisell and Eberhard Weber. Among those who recorded there were Aladár Pege, Jim Pepper and David Friesen, along with Austrian musicians down to Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl.
along with Austrian greats from Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl downwards
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17 November 2006 · Report · DE
Kleine Zeitung (Online, culture section): „Harry Pepl: Œuvre eines Kreativen“
Michael Tschida
Online article on the first presentation of the Harry Pepl Prize in Graz, seen as an impetus to safeguard Pepl’s musical estate.
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His work, it says, is stored in boxes at the house, with tapes, scores and technical oddities; gamsbART (Graz concert promoter) is said to have promised that future diploma scholarships should support the scholarly study of it.
to archive the work of an exceptionally creative person
Gerhard Kosel
How much the star guitarist still inspires jazz musicians even now should be shown by more than just today’s final of the “Austrian Soundcheck”. Hats off to Harry P.!
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November 2006 · Programme booklet · DE
GamsbART-Post 5/2006 (GamsbART-Verein, Graz): programme November to December 2006: Harry Pepl Gedenkpreis, 14. Austrian Soundcheck, Katholisches Studentenhaus Münzgraben
Heimo Steps; Otmar Klammer
Programme booklet of the Graz festival with the first texts on the Harry Pepl Prize.
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The prize for musicians under 30, a scholarship of 5,000 euros from the City of Graz, is presented on 18 November 2006 during the evening “Tribute to Harry Pepl”. Heimo Steps describes how “Cracked Mirrors” came about; Otmar Klammer describes Pepl’s “real composing”.
an incorrigible musical visionary
Pepl was a guitarist of international reputation who, with his idiosyncratic, angular and complex improvisational style, offered a European alternative to the US guitarists
Otmar Klammer, GamsbART-Post
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2006 · Encyclopaedia · DE
mica music austria, music database: Wolfgang Schiftner (Eintrag mit dem Harry-Pepl-Preis 2006)
Entry in the mica (Austria's music information centre) music database on the saxophonist Wolfgang Schiftner, born in 1982, co-founder of the JazzWerkstatt Wien.
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Among his awards it lists the Harry Pepl Prize 2006 at the Austrian Soundcheck (festival in Graz) in Graz, Austria, which makes Schiftner the first winner.
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2006 · Obituary · DE
Jazzzeitung (p. 6): „Ciao Habanero“ (Harry Pepl 1945 bis 2005)
Rainer Rygalyk
Personal obituary by the jazz photographer Rainer Rygalyk. Wolfgang Puschnig and Wolfgang Reisinger recall the years with Air Mail; Rygalyk describes Pepl’s last major public appearance in 2004 at the Jazz Festival in Salzburg, with playback of eight Composings and live musicians in front of his pictures.
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He is the European jazz guitarist par excellence.
I simply learned his musical language.
Wolfgang Puschnig
It was an extreme pull. Suddenly playing with someone who stands up there, two floors above us, steps on the gas so confidently and carries everything along with him.
Wolfgang Reisinger
To me he was a Franz Schubert kind of guy: incredibly beautiful songs, but of the highest quality, and the next moment completely bizarre and jagged.
The drummer Wolfgang Reisinger. “Schubert Franzl” is the affectionate Viennese way of referring to Franz Schubert (1797 to 1828), the Viennese composer celebrated for his songs
Wolfgang Reisinger
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19 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Musikergilde (Online): „Harry Pepl - ein Nachruf“
Peter Paul Skrepek
Detailed obituary by the guitarist Peter Paul Skrepek, who met Pepl in the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster) in 1974. It describes his training, his ORF studio job, the Jazzzwio, Air Mail and the time with Benny Goodman, names students such as Wolfgang Muthspiel and Peter Havlicek, and gives Monday, 5 December 2005, as the date of death. The former rector of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Otto Kolleritsch, is quoted; readers’ letters supplement the text.
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Now that I can play everything I want, I’m no longer allowed to.
Harry Pepl
Divinely gifted guitarist and an exceptional phenomenon
Otto Kolleritsch
an unmistakable musician from Vienna, recognised all over the world
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8 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Jazz thing (News, Online): „Gestorben: Harry Pepl“
Martin Laurentius and Axel Stinshoff (compilation)
Short news item of 8 December 2005 giving 6 December as the date of death, which contradicts the other sources (5 December).
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It quotes Joachim-Ernst Berendt on the duo with Pirchner, names Benny Goodman, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi and Dave Liebman, and gives the professorship as 1984 to 1995.
With his metallic, clear sound and his surprising chord progressions, Pepl developed into one of the most distinctive guitarists in Europe
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7 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
JazzEcho (Universal Classics, Online): „Ade Harry Pepl!“
Online obituary of Wednesday, 7 December 2005. His most important project, from 1977, was the duo with Werner Pirchner, which brought him international recognition and invitations from all over the world.
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According to the obituary, Pepl then worked with Dino Saluzzi, Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland, as well as with the Vienna Art Orchestra. As a full professor in Graz from 1984, he set students such as the guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel on their way. It closes with a pointer to the CD “Light Blues” by Air Mail (Emarcy, 2001).
one of the defining instrumentalists of the European jazz scene
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7 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Die Presse (p. 34, arts section): „Er musste spielen“ (Zum Tod des Wiener Jazzgitarristen Harry Pepl)
initials „sam“
Obituary with the headline quotation „Man könnte Klavierspielen müssen“ [“One might have to play the piano”] from the Concerto interview.
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It describes Real-time Composing, names Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall as well as Schoenberg and Webern as influences, and lists Erich Kleinschuster, the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster), JazzZwio, Jack DeJohnette, Art Farmer and Michel Portal as fellow musicians.
The virtuoso, who seemed so introverted on the outside, was bubbling away inside when he played.
He searched passionately: for truthfulness, a utopia in which all opposites coincide.
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6 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Der Standard (p. 25, culture): „Harry Pepl 1945 - 2005“ (Komplexer Improvisator: Harry Pepl)
Ljubiša Tošić
Short obituary from Wiener Neustadt that honours Pepl as a complex improviser who experimented with piano and drums in his private studio.
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It names Erich Kleinschuster, the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster), the duo with Werner Pirchner, Dave Liebman, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Goodman and the Real-time Composing method with the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet.
was, in his active phase, one of the most important guitarists in the world
created a furore internationally between Berlin and Montreux with a subtle and intense form of chamber music
over the years he developed a complex musical style that worked with highly expressive, very individual polytonal melody and unfolded within ever freer band concepts
shaped by the old jazz dream of wresting from the moment a musical substance that creates something lasting and thus comes close to composition.
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5 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Der Standard (Online, APA-Meldung): „Jazzgitarrist Harry Pepl ist tot“
APA
APA report from the day of his death, put online on the afternoon of 5 December 2005: the report states that Pepl died early on Monday in Wiener Neustadt, aged 60. The text calls him a guitarist known far beyond Austria who had worked, among others, with the Benny Goodman Quintet, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi and Michel Portal. It is not the print article by Ljubiša Tošić of 6 December 2005.
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He was a guitarist known far beyond Austria
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5 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
ORF Wien (oesterreich.ORF.at): „Jazzgitarrist Harry Pepl gestorben“ (Stilprägend)
Short obituary from the day of his death: Pepl, one of Europe’s leading jazz guitarists, has died at the age of 60 and became known through the Jazz-Zwio with Werner Pirchner.
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The text names Benny Goodman, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi, Jon Christensen and Dave Liebman as partners, as well as his commissioned compositions for numerous ensembles and his teaching in Graz, with Wolfgang Muthspiel among his students. The neue musikzeitung took over the item with the note “Source: orf.at”.
The guitarist Harry Pepl was one of those musicians who shaped and influenced Austrian jazz at home and abroad.
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December 2005 · Obituary · DE
cultural information centre of the German Cultural Council / neue musikzeitung (nmz-red/leipzig, source: orf.at): „Jazz-Gitarrist Harry Pepl gestorben“
nmz-red/leipzig
Short news item based on an ORF (Austria's public broadcaster) source, giving his life dates and his teaching at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (contract lecturer from 1977, full professor from 1984 to 1995).
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The former rector of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Otto Kolleritsch, pays tribute to Pepl as a gifted guitarist and an exceptional figure. Benny Goodman, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi, Jon Christensen, Werner Pirchner and Dave Liebman are named.
The guitarist Harry Pepl was one of those musicians who shaped and influenced Austrian jazz at home and abroad.
neue musikzeitung, nach ORF
One of Europe’s leading jazz guitarists
neue musikzeitung, nach ORF
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17 September 2004 · Other · DE
IG Jazz Wien, Blue-Tomato-Archiv: „Rainer Rygalyk / Harry Pepl: Habanero-Slide-Show“
Event announcement for Friday, 17 September 2004 at the Blue Tomato in Vienna: presentation of photographs by the jazz photographer Rainer Rygalyk from the series “Jazzarts” with a video projection to which Pepl has added an acoustic layer of original compositions. Clemens Salesny and Wolfgang Schiftner improvise to the pictures and to Pepl’s CD.
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one of Austria’s most creative jazz musicians
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28 July 2004 · Encyclopaedia · DE
Österreichisches Musiklexikon online: Pepl, Harry
Peter Stachel
Encyclopaedia entry on his life and work: jazz musician, composer and music educator, guitar at the conservatory and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, self-taught in jazz.
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It covers the collaboration with the Vienna Art Orchestra and the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster), the Jazzzwio with Werner Pirchner, his teaching in Graz and the principle of Real-time and Instant Composing. As awards it lists nominations for the German Record Critics’ Award (German award for outstanding recordings, chosen by a jury of critics) in 1983 and 1988 as well as Lower Austrian state prizes.
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1 April 2000 · Programme booklet · DE
Sammlung Essl, programme Schömer-Haus: Studio Percussion graz: Xenakis, Pepl, Hölszky
Programme of the concert by Studio Percussion graz under Günter Meinhart at the Schömer-Haus of the Essl Collection in Klosterneuburg on 1 April 2000, with works by Iannis Xenakis and Adriana Hölszky and the world premiere of Pepl's “Zeitraffer”.
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With a note on the work by Pepl and a short biography covering his teaching in Graz, the International Jazz Academy in St. Pölten and the Lower Austrian Jazz Academy in Zeillern. The biography also mentions seminars at the Hamburg music university, the promotion prize (1991) and the honorary prize (1998) of the State of Lower Austria, the quarterly list of the German Record Critics’ Award for the ECM albums of 1983 and 1988, awards from French record critics for “Turbulence” and “Men’s Land” with Michel Portal, festivals in Leverkusen, Ancona and Le Mans, and the Royal Festival Hall in London.
“Le Monde” called Pepl a giant of improvisation.
Art has the task not merely to negate the tendencies of the time, but also to sharpen them.
From his text on “Zeitraffer” for the programme “Einkreisung” at the Essl Collection, a private museum of contemporary art in Klosterneuburg near Vienna, 2000
Harry Pepl