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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11 August 2001 · Report · DE
Kurier (p. 29, culture): „Alpen-Zappa, Jazzstar und großer Komponist“ (Nachruf auf Werner Pirchner)
Gunther Baumann
Obituary of Werner Pirchner, who after his film “Der Untergang des Alpenlandes” put the camera aside, took up the vibraphone and founded with Pepl the duo that became known as the “jazz orchestra with two men”.
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With Harry Pepl on guitar he founded the legendary “jazz orchestra with two men”
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15 August 2001 · Report · DE
Falter (p. 49, culture): „Leben nach dem Tod“ (Werner Pirchner, 1940 bis 2001)
Obituary of Werner Pirchner. It pays tribute to the Jazzzwio with Pepl as a duo successful far beyond Austria, with appearances at the festivals in Berlin and Montreux, duo records, a recording with Jack DeJohnette and the quartet Austria Drei with Adelhard Roidinger.
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Above all, however, he formed with the guitarist Harry Pepl the “Jazz-Zwio”, which was successful far beyond Austria’s borders.
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2002 · Report · DE
treibhaus Innsbruck (programme note): „DuoDue: Muthspiel & Muthspiel spielen die Musik von Pirchner & Pepl“
Andreas Felber
Programme text by Andreas Felber for the concert of the brothers Wolfgang and Christian Muthspiel with their programme “Muthspiel & Muthspiel play Pepl-Pirchner” at the treibhaus Innsbruck (cultural centre in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria).
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Wolfgang Muthspiel recalls a concert by Pirchner and Pepl in Graz in 1982 as a formative experience; until 1986 Pepl was his teacher at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. Christian Muthspiel describes what the Jazzzwio showed him. Werner Pirchner congratulated the brothers on their first duo record “Schneetanz” with a postcard, without knowing them personally.
When Pirchner/Pepl played, it was an event. I personally still remember Pepl’s avalanche-like improvisations very well, where things always somehow got ‘dangerous’, hot. His immense rhythmic power was unbelievable.
During my studies, standards and the academic jazz repertoire were held in high esteem. Through the ‘Jazz-Zwio’ I learned that in this music you really could do exactly what you wanted yourself.
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2002 · Report · DE
Concerto (music magazine), issue 5/2002, p. 40: „24. Internationales Jazzfest Saalfelden“
Andreas Felber
Festival report by Andreas Felber (photos: Herbert Höpfl) on the 24th Jazzfestival Saalfelden (Salzburg, Austria) in August 2002.
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Felber singles out the homage by the brothers Christian and Wolfgang Muthspiel to the Jazzzwio of Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl, disbanded in 1985: close to the originals, they turned pieces from the three vibraphone and guitar albums into calm mood pictures, including “Raga in M”. For Felber, proof that this music is developing its own traditions in Europe too.
They offered an impressive homage to the “Jazzzwio” of Werner Pirchner/Harry Pepl, disbanded in 1985: the brothers Christian and Wolfgang Muthspiel.
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24 July 2002 · Portrait · DE
Falter (p. 55, culture): „Leiwand oder ned leiwand“ (Doppelporträt Muthspiel & Muthspiel und Jazzzwio)
Klaus Taschwer
Double portrait ahead of the premiere of the programme “Muthspiel & Muthspiel play Pepl/Pirchner” at the Glatt & Verkehrt festival.
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Wolfgang Muthspiel, who studied guitar with Pepl in Graz, remembers lessons “like an extended concert” and Pepl’s laconic verdict, either “leiwand” (Viennese for great) or “net leiwand”; for Christian Muthspiel the Jazzzwio came “like a liberation”.
Pepl was one of the most interesting guitarists in jazz. Great musicians like Dave Liebman or Jack DeJohnette say so too.
The guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel, once Pepl’s student in Graz; the title of the Falter article, “Leiwand oder ned leiwand”, is Viennese for “great or not great”
Wolfgang Muthspiel
The lessons with him at the conservatory were like an extended concert.
Wolfgang Muthspiel
Pepl and Pirchner showed us that you can make exactly the music you want to make.
The trombonist and composer Christian Muthspiel on the Jazzzwio as a model for his generation; the title of the Falter article, “Leiwand oder ned leiwand”, is Viennese for “great or not great”
Christian Muthspiel
listening again now, I noticed once more how magnificently Pepl and Pirchner played. That was improvisation in the best sense.
Wolfgang Muthspiel
He played something to me, I had to play along, and every few bars he commented on how it was going. In his words that was, laconically, either ‘leiwand’ or ‘net leiwand’ [Viennese for ‘great’ or ‘not great’].
Wolfgang Muthspiel
The time I studied with Pepl was very formative. The lessons with him at the conservatory were like an extended concert.
Wolfgang Muthspiel
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24 July 2002 · Report · DE
Kurier (p. 26, culture): „Im Gedenken an einen Grenzgenialen“ (Werner Pirchners Nachlass bei „Glatt & Verkehrt“)
initials „Ros“
Preview of the Pirchner concerts at the Glatt & Verkehrt festival in Krems (Lower Austria, Austria) from 28 July 2002. Pepl, Pirchner’s partner on guitar in the 1970s and 1980s, describes him as someone who liked to try out unusual things.
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a bit crazy, and he liked trying out funny things
On Werner Pirchner, his partner in the Jazzzwio, 2002
Harry Pepl
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27 July 2002 · Report · DE
Der Standard (p. 30, Szenario): „Urwüchsiges Material“ (Werner-Pirchner-Schwerpunkt beim Festival „Glatt & Verkehrt“)
Andreas Felber
Preview of the Pirchner evening on Sunday, 28 July 2002, in the Minoritenkirche in Krems-Stein.
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Felber recalls the Jazzzwio’s triumphs on Europe’s festival stages; Christian Muthspiel explains why the brothers’ duo stays close to the originals on the three Jazzzwio records.
celebrated triumphs on Europe’s festival stages in the Jazz-Zwio with the guitarist Harry Pepl
Precisely because the energy of the Zwio cannot be separated from the actual pieces and compositions
Christian Muthspiel
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26 August 2002 · Review · DE
Salzburger Nachrichten (p. 10, culture): „Grooven nach Mitternacht“ (Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2002)
Clemens Panagl
Report from the 24th International Jazzfestival Saalfelden (Salzburg, Austria). On Saturday, 24 August 2002, Christian and Wolfgang Muthspiel paid tribute to Pepl and Pirchner and showed how relevant the Pirchner and Pepl oeuvre still is.
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Avalanches of sound also characterise the playing of the Austrian guitarist Harry Pepl.
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28 November 2002 · Review · DE
Salzburger Nachrichten (p. 14, culture): „Heimweh, Jodler und Zwiefache“
initials „PAC“
Short review of Wolfgang and Christian Muthspiel’s homage to the Jazzzwio on Tuesday, 26 November 2002, at the Ziegelstadel in Hallein (Salzburg, Austria).
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It starts from the Jazzzwio piece “Homesick”, whose homesickness leaves open whether it is for faraway places or for home itself.
the duo also made audible the timeless aesthetic qualities of a music that has lost nothing of its relevance
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1 December 2002 · Report · DE
Kleine Zeitung (p. 66, culture): „Reflexionen“
Otmar Klammer
Preview of the Muthspiel & Muthspiel concert on Sunday, 1 December 2002, at the music school in Deutschlandsberg (Styria, Austria).
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Klammer recalls that Pirchner once invented the name of the Graz concert promoter gamsbART, and calls the Jazzzwio a myth and the brothers’ own point of departure.
the legendary “Jazz-Zwio”, which the vibraphonist Pirchner turned into a myth in the mid-seventies together with the splendid guitarist Harry Pepl
which the vibraphonist Pirchner, together with the splendid guitarist Harry Pepl, turned into a myth in the mid-seventies.
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19 November 2003 · Report · DE
Der Standard (p. 12, Szenario): „Die Muthspiels - auf den Spuren eines Zwios“
initials „tos“
Preview of the Vienna concert of Muthspiel & Muthspiel at the Porgy & Bess in the twentieth year of their duo, with Pirchner’s film “Der Untergang des Alpenlandes”.
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The text praises the Jazzzwio as an irresistible combination of subtlety and intensity on a chamber-music basis.
Pepl’s guitar, whose notes could sound gentle but also strike with nerve-shredding force, remains unrivalled to this day, and not only in Austria.
Ljubiša Tošić
Pepl & Pirchner, that was once one of those irresistible jazz combinations that knew how to unite musical subtlety and intensity on a chamber-music foundation.
Ljubiša Tošić
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22 November 2003 · Report · DE
Tiroler Tageszeitung (p. 61): „Jazz gegen Oberflächlichkeit“
Preview of the Muthspiel & Muthspiel concert on Saturday, 22 November 2003, at the Treibhaus in Innsbruck (Tyrol, Austria).
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Christian Muthspiel tells how the Jazzzwio showed him artistic freedom beyond the academic standard repertoire; Wolfgang Muthspiel calls the duo’s concerts the spark for his own career.
When the two of them played, it was an event. The immense rhythmic power was incredible
Wolfgang Muthspiel
Through the Jazz-Zwio I learned that in this music you really could do exactly what you wanted yourself
Christian Muthspiel
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22 November 2003 · Review · DE
Kronen Zeitung (p. 30): „Nostalgische Bruderschaft“ (Muthspiel und Muthspiel im Grazer M59)
initials „ME“
Review of Christian and Wolfgang Muthspiel’s evening at the Graz jazz club M59 in Münzgrabenstraße 59 with compositions by Pirchner, the film “Der Untergang des Alpenlandes” and the programme “Early Music”.
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At the same venue the brothers had heard the Jazzzwio as young listeners.
25 years ago the Muthspiel brothers themselves sat in the audience at Münzgrabenstraße 59 and marvelled at Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl.
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17 December 2003 · Review · DE
Kurier (p. 30, culture): „Exzellente Musiker und exzellente Musik“ (Österreichische Jazz-Produktionen 2003)
Werner Rosenberger
Review of the year’s Austrian jazz releases with gift tips. From the “Austrian Jazzart” series Rosenberger singles out the concert recording “Live at Miles Smiles” by Pepl, Pirchner and Georg Polansky.
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Very lively, too, an almost historic live recording, “Live at Miles Smiles”
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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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5 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
APA-Basisdienst (APA0621, culture): „Österreichischer Jazzgitarrist Harry Pepl 60-jährig gestorben“ (Spielte mit vielen internationalen Größen)
APA (initials whl/cm)
News agency report from the day of his death, Monday, 5 December 2005, 5.31 pm, on which many newspapers relied the next day.
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It mentions his guitar studies at the Vienna Academy of Music, his teaching in Graz from 1977 and his professorship from 1984 to 1995, the Pirchner-Pepl-JazzZwio, real-time composing and partners such as the Benny Goodman Quintet, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi and Michel Portal; the rector Otto Kolleritsch honours Pepl as an “exceptional figure”.
Pepl was regarded as a musical border-crosser whose music impressed with its vitality, density and emotion.
gifted guitarist
Otto Kolleritsch
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6 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Kurier (p. 31, culture): „Harry Pepl gestorben“ (Rubrik „Überblick“)
Short obituary: after studying at the Vienna Academy of Music, Pepl quickly played his way into the first league of European guitarists.
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The Kurier sees his greatest period in the 1980s with the Pirchner-Pepl-JazzZwio, which because of its full sound bore the honorary title “jazz orchestra with two men”.
quickly played his way up into the first league of European guitarists
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6 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Wiener Zeitung (p. 14, culture): „Jazzgitarrist Harry Pepl tot“
Short obituary based on the APA with his date of birth, partners such as the Benny Goodman Quintet, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi and Michel Portal, the Pirchner-Pepl-JazzZwio and his teaching at the Graz Academy of Music from 1977 to 1995, finally as full professor.
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6 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Kleine Zeitung (p. 55, culture): „Auch die 2. Hälfte vom ‚Jazzzwio‘ ist nicht mehr“
Michael Tschida
Obituary honouring Pepl as one of the jazz world’s “truly great”: from his first spurs in the ORF Big Band to appearances with Benny Goodman, Dino Saluzzi and Jack DeJohnette and the Jazzzwio with Werner Pirchner, his “brother in spirit”.
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Tschida describes how Pepl revolutionised guitar technique with real-time composing and recommends listening to “Pepl/Pirchner live in Montreux '81”.
With the Vienna-born musician the jazz world loses one of the truly great
We were both equally crazy and liked trying out funny things.
On the Jazzzwio, his duo with the vibraphonist Werner Pirchner, known for its wit and humour on stage
Harry Pepl
I am often very cheerful and then very sad again. You can probably hear that in my playing too
A description of himself, quoted in the obituary in the Kleine Zeitung, a daily from Graz, December 2005
Harry Pepl
The comic in jazz was never more serious.
On the humour of the Jazzzwio, Pepl’s duo with Werner Pirchner
a truly great one, who began as a teenager with dance arrangements and at his peak revolutionised guitar technique with “real time composing”
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6 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Kleine Zeitung (p. 57, culture): „Grenzgänger“ (Rubrik „Aktuell“)
Short report based on the APA describing Pepl as a musical border-crosser who worked with the Benny Goodman Quintet, Dave Holland and Dino Saluzzi, performed in the Pirchner-Pepl-JazzZwio and developed methods such as instant composing.
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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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7 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
JazzEcho (Universal Classics, Online): „Ade Harry Pepl!“
Online obituary of 7 December 2005. It names the duo with Werner Pirchner from 1977 as his most important project, the professorship in Graz from 1984 with the support of students such as Wolfgang Muthspiel, Dino Saluzzi, Jack DeJohnette, the Vienna Art Orchestra and the CD “Air Mail – Light Blues” (2001).
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one of the defining instrumentalists of the European jazz scene
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7 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Süddeutsche Zeitung (p. 17, arts section): „Verstummte Saiten“ (Zum Tod des Wiener Jazzgitarristen Harry Pepl)
Ralf Dombrowski
Obituary from Munich (Germany): the Graz Academy of Music appointed Pepl in 1977, the same year in which the Zwio with Werner Pirchner began to attract attention beyond Austria; years with Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi, Charlie Mariano and Lee Konitz followed. Dombrowski describes a style with broad arcs of tension, unexpected harmonic progressions and clear, at times metallic sounds.
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Students such as Wolfgang Muthspiel still count him among the most important driving forces in recent European jazz history.
In dialogue the two took the small chamber-jazz form to a previously unimagined communicative intensity.
He shaped a playing style which, with expansive arcs of tension, unexpected harmonic progressions and clear, at times metallic sounds, expanded the expressive range of his instrument melodically and rhythmically.
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7 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Tiroler Tageszeitung (p. 16, Magazin): „Jazzgitarrist Harry Pepl ist tot“
Short report based on the APA: an internationally known guitarist who played with Benny Goodman and Dave Holland and formed the Pirchner-Pepl-JazzZwio with Werner Pirchner.
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7 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Salzburger Nachrichten (p. 14, culture): „Gestorben: Harry Pepl“ (Rubrik „Gestorben“)
Obituary in the “Gestorben” (deaths) column: Pepl had long been regarded as one of the most independent and creative guitarists on the European jazz scene.
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It mentions the Zwio with Werner Pirchner, projects with Benny Goodman, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland and Dave Liebman, and real-time composing in the tradition of the Second Viennese School.
he had long been regarded as one of the most independent and creative guitarists on the European jazz scene
played with clichés of home in an original and sly way
In the “Zwio” with the composer and vibraphonist Werner Pirchner he disregarded musical conventions from the 1970s on and played originally and slyly with clichés of homeland.
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8 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (no. 286, p. 39, arts section): „Schnelle Finger“ (Jazzgitarrist Harry Pepl gestorben)
initials „WWS.“
Short obituary with its own dates: it wrongly gives 1944 as the year of birth, and names 1977 for the appointment to the teaching staff of the Jazz Institute in Graz and 1984 for the professorship.
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From 1977 to 1984 Pepl formed the Jazzzwio with Werner Pirchner; Benny Goodman, Dave Holland, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer, Dave Liebman and Jack DeJohnette are also named.
with his rhythmic incisiveness, his surprising chord progressions and his metallic, sitar-like sound, one of the most stimulating stylists on both the acoustic and the electric instrument
one of the most stimulating stylists on both the acoustic and the electric instrument
In the seventies there was hardly a faster jazz guitarist in Europe than the Austrian Harry Pepl.
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9 December 2005 · Obituary
organissimo (Jazzforum, Online): „Harry Pepl R.I.P.“
mikeweil (Moderator)
Post on the death of Harry Pepl in an English-language jazz forum.
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The moderator calls him one of Austria's most original jazz guitarists and recalls the Jazzzwio with Werner Pirchner, the ECM (the renowned European jazz label) album with Jack DeJohnette and Air Mail with Mike Richmond.
one of Austria's most original jazz guitarists
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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.
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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.
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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29 April 2006 · Review · DE
Kronen Zeitung (p. 25): „Zu einer Hommage an Werner Pirchner und Harry Pepl geriet der …“ (GrazJazz 2006)
initials „TS“
Short review of the third evening of GrazJazz 2006 at the Orpheum in Graz (Austria): Christian Muthspiel, Franck Tortiller and Georg Breinschmid paid homage to the music of Pirchner and Pepl, a demanding and dignified tribute.
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finally Christian Muthspiel, Franck Tortiller and Breinschmid paid homage to the music of the two recently deceased exceptional talents
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30 April 2006 · Review · DE
Kleine Zeitung (p. 86, culture): „Der spürbare Geist des Komponisten“ (GrazJazz 2006)
Franz Remmalk (Schreibung laut APA)
Review of the third day of GrazJazz 2006: with his new trio Christian Muthspiel arranged the music of Pirchner and that of his long-time musical companion Pepl; with Franck Tortiller on vibraphone the result was a superbly polished concert with a strikingly transparent sound.
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a superbly polished concert that lingered on long afterwards, piece by piece
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22 July 2006 · Report · DE
Der Standard (p. 11, Szenario): „Jetzt gehts los“ (Glatt & Verkehrt 2006)
initials „felb“
Weekend tip for the Glatt & Verkehrt festival: on Sunday, 23 July 2006, Christian Muthspiel, Franck Tortiller and Georg Breinschmid played their tribute to the Jazzzwio in the Minoritenkirche in Krems-Stein (Lower Austria, Austria).
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their sadly posthumous tribute to the brilliant Jazzzwio
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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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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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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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2007 · Review · DE
Concerto (music magazine), issue 2/2007, p. 6 (CD-Tipps): „Born in Austria“ (CD-Tipp zu „Against The Wind“)
Alfred Krondraf
Short review of the album “Against The Wind. The Music Of Pirchner & Pepl” by the Christian Muthspiel Trio with Georg Breinschmid and Franck Tortiller: Muthspiel devotes himself for the second time to the music of the “two musical free spirits”, and Tortiller turns “the Zwio into a more than perfect trio”; the substance of the interpretations only reveals itself on repeated listening.
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Christian Muthspiel now devotes himself for the second time to the music of the two musical free spirits
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17 January 2007 · Report · DE
Der Standard (p. 11, Szenario): „Subtile Vielfalt“
initials „tos“
Preview of the concert with which Christian Muthspiel celebrated the Austrian Prize of Merit for Music 2006 at the Porgy & Bess on 22 January 2007: after the solo performance “für und mit ernst” his trio with Franck Tortiller and Georg Breinschmid played the works of Pepl and Pirchner.
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it is about the works of the glorious duo Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner
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22 January 2007 · Report · DE
Kleine Zeitung (p. 39, culture): „Musikalischer Freigeist“
Michael Tschida
Portrait of Christian Muthspiel on the occasion of the award at the Porgy & Bess. Muthspiel counts Jandl’s texts and the compositions of Pirchner and Pepl among his “innermost vocabulary”; the trio programme “Against the Wind” came out on CD in March 2007.
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Ernst Jandl’s texts and the compositions of Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl are, so to speak, part of my innermost vocabulary
Christian Muthspiel
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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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13 April 2007 · Report · DE
Der Standard (p. 32, Szenario: Watchlist): „Music of Pepl und Pirchner“ (Watchlist, Spielboden Dornbirn)
initials „mh“
Tip for the Christian Muthspiel Trio concert on Friday, 13 April 2007, at the Spielboden in Dornbirn (Vorarlberg, Austria), followed by a screening of Pirchner’s film “Der Untergang des Alpenlandes”.
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who reformed the European jazz scene with their quirky sounds
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15 April 2007 · Review · DE
Neue Vorarlberger Tageszeitung (p. 77, culture): „Pepl und Pirchner in besten Händen“
Martin Juen
Review of the Christian Muthspiel Trio concert at the Spielboden in Dornbirn on Friday, 13 April 2007: the trio refreshes the pieces respectfully, and in every arrangement fresh fruit grows on old ground. Juen dates the Jazzzwio to 1978 to 1985.
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quite different and yet outstanding personalities of the Austrian jazz scene
Harry Pepl (1945-2005) and Werner Pirchner (1940-2001) were rather different and yet outstanding personalities of the Austrian jazz scene
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15 April 2007 · Review · DE
Kleine Zeitung (p. 111, culture): „Schatz“ (CD-Kritik zu „Against The Wind“)
initials „TSC“
Short review of the album “Against The Wind” (Universal): Christian Muthspiel finds an ingenious translation for the music that belongs to his “innermost vocabulary”; Pirchner’s film comes as a DVD bonus.
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It is a “hats off!” to the most original Jazzzwio from Tyrol to Texas: the late Harry Pepl & Werner Pirchner.
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18 April 2007 · Review · DE
Falter (p. 66, Kultur: Neue Platten): „Neue Platten“ (Chr. Muthspiel Trio: „Against the Wind“)
initials „K. N.“
Record review: in an only gently ironic, rather romantic way the album combines blues with Alpine elements, for instance in Pepl’s “Die alte Mär und das Mann”, and in the dialogue of trombone, marimba, vibraphone and bass creates a mostly light-footed groove.
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The album by the elder of the two Muthspiel brothers is dedicated to the work of the twin stars Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner, who have sadly already left us
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11 June 2007 · Review · DE
NÖN Niederösterreichische Nachrichten (p. 50, culture): „KRITIK Schräges Sprach- und Klangspiel“
Gottfried Sengstschmid
Review of Christian Muthspiel’s evening at the Stadttheater in Wiener Neustadt (Lower Austria, Austria) during the “Wiener Neustädter Frühling”: after the Jandl solo performance, the trio with Franck Tortiller and Georg Breinschmid paid homage to Pirchner and Pepl.
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a cheerful, if wistful, remembrance of the two colourful characters of the former “Jazz-Zwio”
a homage to Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl, a jaunty if wistful remembrance of the two colourful birds of the former “Jazz-Zwio”
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27 September 2007 · Review · DE
Kronen Zeitung (p. 47): „Den Konventionen ausweichen“ (Gedenken an die Jazzlegenden Pepl & Pirchner)
initials „PB“
Review of the Christian Muthspiel Trio concert at the Posthof in Linz (Upper Austria, Austria) on Tuesday, 25 September 2007, with Pirchner’s film “Der Untergang des Alpenlandes”: the trio renders the scores with spherical lightness yet vital expression.
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Both are remembered for the illustrious coherence of their compositional and improvisational interplay.
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3 October 2007 · Review · DE
Kleine Zeitung (p. 63, culture): „Charakterkopf, kunstsinnig geschliffen“
Otmar Klammer
Review of the Christian Muthspiel Trio’s Pirchner/Pepl programme on Monday, 1 October 2007, at the Generalmusikdirektion in Graz: a grand concert of touching chamber-music intimacy, in which Pirchner’s compositions were in the foreground and Pepl was only touched upon.
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Harry Pepl, Pirchner’s congenial partner in the legendary “Jazzzwio”
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31 January 2008 · Report · DE
Neue Zürcher Zeitung (p. 57, culture): „Jazz“ (Christian-Muthspiel-Trio im Moods)
initials „ubs.“
Concert note on the Christian Muthspiel Trio with Franck Tortiller and Georg Breinschmid at the Moods jazz club in Zurich (Switzerland) on Thursday, 31 January 2008, with the music of Pirchner and Pepl and Pirchner’s film “Der Untergang des Alpenlandes”.
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The Austrians Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl were among the most original minds of European jazz in the seventies and eighties.
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16 November 2008 · Other · DE
Kleine Zeitung (p. 109, culture section, Styria): „18. AUSTRIAN SOUNDCHECK“ (Programmhinweis)
Listing for 17 November, 8 p.m., in Graz: presentation of the CD and DVD “Pepl/Pirchner Jazzzwio live in Montreux und Innsbruck” with the JazzWerkstatt Wien and award of the Harry Pepl Prize.
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26 November 2008 · Portrait · DE
Falter (p. 55, Styria): „Wenn Augen hören“ (Christian Muthspiel im Gespräch)
Portrait of Christian Muthspiel ahead of two conducting engagements in Graz.
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He calls some of his Graz teachers personal heroes, among them Pepl, Adelhard Roidinger and Ewald Oberleitner; his trio, founded in 2005, released “Against the Wind”, the tribute to Pepl and Pirchner, in 2007.
Yet some of his teachers in Graz are personal heroes to him: Harry Pepl, for example
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18 January 2009 · Review · DE
Kurier (p. 38, culture section): „JAZZZWIO: Harry Pepl & Werner Pirchner (Universal)“
Werner Rosenberger (initials „ros“)
Short review of the reissue “Live in Concerts” with audio and video recordings from Montreux 1981 and Innsbruck 1984.
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Two original home-grown musicians, both of whom had to go far too soon and are unforgotten
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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.
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Daniel Pepl describes the home studio “Bergwerk”, the rescue of the tapes and the plan to make his father’s complete work accessible.
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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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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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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3 March 2009 · Report · DE
Kleine Zeitung (p. 30, Ennstal): „Muthspiel-Trio und ein Heimatfilm“
Preview of the Christian Muthspiel Trio concert “The music of Pirchner & Pepl” on Wednesday, 4 March 2009, at the Volkshaus in Rottenmann (Styria, Austria), organised by the Kulturviech association, together with Pirchner’s film “Der Untergang des Alpenlandes”.
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Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl formed the legendary duo “jazzzwio” and left their own individual mark on European jazz.
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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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10 March 2009 · Review · DE
Die Presse (p. 27, arts section): „Tränen mit John Dowland“
initials „sam“ (Samir H. Köck)
Review of the presentation of “Dancing Dowland” by the Christian Muthspiel Trio at the Porgy & Bess.
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In the second set the trio played Pepl and Pirchner; Muthspiel told how Pirchner once announced a still untitled Pepl piece on stage as “Da augschissene Wandersbuasch” (roughly: the poor wretch of a wanderer), whereupon Pepl gave it the title “Air, Love & Vitamins”.
a composition that is now regarded as an Austrian jazz classic
Samir H. Köck (Kürzel „sam“)
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18 March 2009 · Review · DE
Falter (Seite w27, Lexikon: Neue Platten): „Neue Platten“ (JazzZwio: „Live in Concerts“)
initials „KN“
Record review of “Live in Concerts”: the recordings from the early 1980s show the energy of the two, who take turns as grooving accompanists, ranging from almost free passages to the melodious romanticism of “Air, Love & Vitamins”.
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The DVD contains the Montreux concert, excerpts from a performance at the Szene Wien and interview snippets.
With their JazzZwio, the guitarist Harry Pepl and the vibraphonist Werner Pirchner were internationally sought-after protagonists of Alpine groove.
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20 March 2009 · Review · DE
Kronen Zeitung (p. 36, Styria): „Den Namen umweht Magie: JazzZwio hieß ein Duo, das in den 80-ern ...“
initials „MG“
Short review of “Live in Concerts” with DVD: JazzZwio with Pirchner and Pepl in Montreux in 1981, plus a live recording from Innsbruck. The closing sentence appears word for word as the page header on the old website page “Air, Love & Vitamins”.
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If there are classics of Austrian jazz, here is one!
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9 November 2009 · Review · DE
NÖN Niederösterreichische Nachrichten (p. 49, culture): „KRITIK ‚musik aktuell‘“
Gottfried Sengstschmid
Review of a Christian Muthspiel Trio concert at the Stadtmuseum in the “musik aktuell” series: after “Dancing Dowland”, the hour-long encore recalled the Jazzzwio, among other pieces with Pepl’s “Da augschissene Wandersbuasch” and Pirchner’s “Hosent'Raga”.
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an Alpine ballad (Da augschissene Wandersbuasch) by the Viennese Harry Pepl