Florian Hoefner - Coldwater Stories (2017)

Following three critically-acclaimed studio recordings with his touring quartet, pianist Florian Hoefner presents a live solo set of new works, recorded at the acoustically sublime Sendesaal in Bremen, Germany. Inspired by the maritime landscape around the island of Newfoundland, his recently adapted home, Coldwater Stories explores the intersection between composition and improvisation, allowing Hoefner the freedom to improvise entire harmonic progressions or to reinvent the form of a piece during performances. Many of the works consist of one or more composed 'islands,' surrounded by a sea of open space that is left to be filled with improvisation. Ultimately the two become indistinguishable, blending together to tell a unified story.