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PREVIOUS PROJECTS > Balanyà - Walter Quintus

Josep-Maria Balanyà, piano, extended piano
Walter Quintus, Digital Soundboard, production

Josep-Maria Balanyà and the sound engineer Walter Quintus met for the first time in 1995 in Zerkall, near Köln, where he was working in his CMP Studio. Since then they collaborate in different productions, such as “Elements of Development”, Sonateskas”, “Aqua Aeterna” and others. They also toured several times in Austria, Germany and Spain. 

In one of their joint projects, Balanyà dedicate himself to meet people from different countries. He was very interested into the sounds, the timbres of the languages of these people and asked them to speak something about their original regions, or a tale or a story.

The recording of these original voices was made, some of them in their original places, some other in places where the speakers where leaving or just travelling. These speakers are artists, musicians, others are workers on the country side, others are emigrants that conserve their traditions and the accent of their regions.

This voices where recorded by Balanyà during different periods between 1997 and 2000. Then, the material was selected and mastered in the CMP Studio with Walter Quintus. Later on, Balanyà and Quintus made some piano recording sessions. During the recording and according notations between Balanyà and Quintus, the previous voices material was inserted live by Quintus, using his Digital Soundboard. So did, the voices were married with the piano part. The result is what you can hear on the CD “Aqua Aeterna”. All the recording sessions were live, without overdubs. The source of all the sounds coming in this record is only a grand piano and the voices. The special effects are created by Quintus, using digital soundboard in real time.

Technical explanation: the digital soundboard is an audio mixer. It was invented by Walter Quintus in 1984 in collaboration with Joachim Kühn .

The digital soundboard is a mixer with analog inputs that are connected to digital components via 20 or more channels. Electronic changes to these components affect the sound of the input signal. With the digital soundboard a musician can modify incoming audio signals live and change them beyond recognition. Often the original instrument can no longer be recognized in the resulting mix .

The digital soundboard can be heard on CDs such as Dark, Get Up Early (with Joachim Kühn and Walter Quintus), Elements of Development and Aqua Aeterna (with Josep-Maria Balanyà and Walter Quintus). It is also used in concerts.

  • The career of the Catalan pianist Josep-Maria Balanyà, born in Barcelona, with more than 40 years on stage, 27 albums recorded and more than 140 works, has taken him from classical music and jazz to his specialisation into the field of improvisation and new contemporary music, experimental music and performance. Internationally recognised, Balanyà is also composer, conductor of improvising orchestras, sound artist, painter and photographer.

    Josep-Maria Balanyà explores the limits of music in his compositions and performances. He is particularly interested in the combination of different arts and the transfer of art into music. In order to expand and deepen his preoccupation with the fine arts and also with the craft material, he attended courses in painting and etching at the European Academy of Fine Arts in Trier (Europäische Kunstakademie Trier) / Germany.

    Under the auspices and organization of the head of the Academy, Dr. Gabriele Lohberg, Balanyà performed for many years a series of interactive concert-performances in the Kunsthalle of the Academy, where fine arts were combined with music and performance. Here he experimented with the interaction between the sounds that arise when working on copper etching plates and the artistic result. He worked with the metal workshop that made or provided sculptures for musical performances. The works are now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in Tarragona. In a teaching assignment for the students of the European Art Academy, he devoted himself to the music images of contemporary compositions and suggested using them as a basis for further musically interpretable drawings. In performative concerts, he not only made musical instruments sound, but - with electronic amplification and alienation - sculptures (Pierre Wéber), paintings (class Joe Allen), bodies (models from the art academy) and objets trouvés as well.

    As part of these projects, Balanyà even gave a concert of bells in the cathedral of Trier.

    Mainly, his own art production focuses on abstract paintings in which he uses mixed media, but especially acrylic on canvas. His work can be seen in his private gallery in Brussels and in buyers' homes. In addition, he has studied photography and practiced this art since adolescence. His work has followed a process ranging from pictorialism, to direct photography, street photography, macro technique and the study of the human body. He is currently preparing several exhibitions in which he presents a series of impressionist-style photos with movement; this technique gives an abstract pictorial result.

    As for his main field, music, Balanyà studied in Barcelona and Switzerland (Swiss Jazz School and Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Bern), he attended composition workshops, led by Helmut Lachenmann, Walter Zimmermann and Ivan Fedele, and improvisation workshops by Borah Bergman in New York. He carried out intensive research into the sounds of nature in Mexico, working with oceanographers and biologists, including mammalogist Bernardo Villa.

    Most of his works have a significant amount of improvisation. His work as a solo pianist combines the pure sound of the instrument with prepared or manipulated piano techniques. He has presented various multimedia projects for piano, voice, live electronics, video, Butoh dance, as well as percussion pieces on sculptures, sound objects and fine arts tools. He has created sculptures and sound installations that can be played by the public. He has developed his most imaginative actions at the boundary between music and performance, such as a recital in complete darkness at the Sendesaal of Bremen (Germany).

    He has played with first-rate musicians including Claudio Pontiggia, Hans Koch, Joachim Kühn, Franz Hautzinger, Carlos Zingaro, Michiel Borstlap, Walter Quintus, Ksenija Lukic, Hannah Marshall, Das Neue Ensemble Hannover, Americo Rodrigues, Ramón López, Paul Rogers, Mark Sanders, Hannah Ma (dance), Mimi Barthélemy, among others.

    Balanyà has played in festivals and radio programs in many countries in Europe and America. He has received several grants in Germany (Worpswede, Eckernförde, Düsseldorf) and Switzerland (Fondazione Arp). He is currently based in Brussels and in Barcelona.

    The concerts by Balanyà are powerful ​rituals –​ it could be said that he plays the piano with his whole body – during which ​we can perceive the presence of music change into matter.

  • Bremen, Germany, 1949 - 2017

    Walter Quintus was a German musician, composer, sound engineer and music producer. He studied violin from 1955 to 1969 and was already concertmaster in youth orchestras in 1959. Many tours through Europe as well as radio and television productions followed. At the age of 18 he was supposed to study with David Oistrakh in Moscow, but he ended his classical studies and founded, together with Thomas Olivier and Lothar Siems, the rock band Parzival. They released two long-playing records and a single on Teldec (Telefunken/Decca).

    In 1972 he began to record and mix music himself in Bremen and shortly afterwards at the Rüssl Studio in Hamburg. In the early years he worked with commercial musicians and bands such as Rex Gildo, Grobschnitt, Kraan, Kraftwerk, Vicky Leandros, Udo Lindenberg, Lonzo, Jahn Teigen, Otto Waalkes, Roger Whittaker and many others.

    At the end of the 1970s, he produced Rolf and Joachim Kühn. He switched from the commercial to the artistic avant-garde camp. Recordings followed with:

    Mohamed Abozekry, Arild Andersen, Richard Barbieri, Joey Baron, Django Bates, Harry Beckett, Richie Beirach, John Bergamo, Luciano Biondini, Michael Brecker, Jack Bruce, Bill Bruford, Josep-Maria Balanyà, Jarrod Cagwin, Carolyn Jarrod Cagwin, Carolyn Carlson, Philip Catherine, Gary Chaffee, Don Cherry, Eric Clapton, J.F. Jenny-Clark, John Clark, Clem Clempson, Sylvie Courvoisier, Jim Cox,Kudsi Erguner, Peter Erskine, Bill Evans, Mark Feldman, Anton Fier, Renaud Garcia-Fons, Bill Frisell, Gamelan Sekar Tunjung, Jan Garbarek, Jivan Gasparyan, Michel Godard, Mick Goodrick, Shoba Gurtu, Trilok Gurtu, Billy Hart, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Allan Holdsworth, Daniel Humair, Gary Husband, Tony Hymas, Anthony Jackson, Jadranka, Jimmy Johnson, Quincy Jones, Kayhan Kalhor, Mick Karn, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Franklin Kiermyer, Eartha Kitt, Lee Konitz

    Christof Lauer, David Liebman, Steve Lukather, Kamalesh Maitra, Albert Mangelsdorff, Ed Mann, Charlie Mariano, Jean-Louis Matinier, Amira Medunjanin, Pat Metheny, Wolfgang Mitterer, Gary Moore, Glen Moore, Jaques Morelenbaum, Alphonse Mouzon, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Mark Nauseef, NDR Bigband, Adam Nussbaum, Simon Phillips, Wolfgang Puschnig

    Maggie Reilly, Repercussion Unit, Ricardo Ribeiro, Andy Rinehart, Louis Sclavis, L. Shankar, Michael Shrieve, Markus Stockhausen, Simon Stockhausen, Miroslav Tadić, Jahn Teigen, Thomanerchor, David Torn, Ralph Towner, Naná Vasconcelos, Glen Velez, Edward Vesala

    Chad Wackerman, Eric Watson, Norma Winstone, Michael Wollny, Joe Zawinul.

    With Kurt Renker, Quintus opened the CMP studio in Zerkall in 1982, where he recorded and mixed music until 2010. In 1984, together with Joachim Kühn, he created the Digital Soundboard, an analogue-digital mixing console equipped with many electronic effects that made it possible to immediately and directly acoustically change and expand played music. The Digital Soundboard was used live in the ballet productions Time Exposure (Broadway, New York, Carolyn Carlson), Dark (Théatre de la Ville, Paris, Carolyn Carlson), Get up Early and Citizen Kane (Opera, Cologne, Jochen Ullrich), as well as in many concerts with Joachim Kühn, Jean-François Jenny-Clark, John Bergamo, Josep-Maria Balanyà and others.

    He has produced in Turkey, India and Indonesia with Kudsi Erguner, Shoba Gurtu, K.R.T. Wasitodiningrat, Sruti Laya, among others. Most of his jazz, classical and new music productions were made in Europe and the United States.

  • Bremen, Alemanya, 1949 - 2017

    Walter Quintus va ser un músic, compositor, enginyer de so i productor musical alemany. Va estudiar violí del 1955 al 1969 i ja va ser concertino d'orquestres juvenils el 1959. Van seguir nombroses gires per Europa, així com produccions de ràdio i televisió. Als 18 anys havia d'estudiar amb David Oistrakh a Moscou, però va acabar els seus estudis clàssics i va fundar, juntament amb Thomas Olivier i Lothar Siems, el grup de rock Parzival. Van publicar dos discos de llarga durada i un senzill a Teldec (Telefunken/Decca).

    El 1972 va començar a gravar i fer mescles de música ell mateix a Bremen i poc després al Rüssl Studio d'Hamburg. En els primers anys va treballar amb músics i bandes comercials com Rex Gildo, Grobschnitt, Kraan, Kraftwerk, Vicky Leandros, Udo Lindenberg, Lonzo, Jahn Teigen, Otto Waalkes, Roger Whittaker i molts altres.

    A finals de la dècada de 1970, va produir Rolf i Joachim Kühn. Va passar de l'avantguarda comercial a l'artístic. Enregistraments seguits amb:

    Mohamed Abozekry, Arild Andersen, Richard Barbieri, Joey Baron, Django Bates, Harry Beckett, Richie Beirach, John Bergamo, Luciano Biondini, Michael Brecker, Jack Bruce, Bill Bruford, Josep-Maria Balanyà, Jarrod Cagwin, Carolyn Jarrod Cagwin, Carolyn Carlson, Philip Catherine, Gary Chaffee, Don Cherry, Eric Clapton, J.F. Jenny-Clark, John Clark, Clem Clempson, Sylvie Courvoisier, Jim Cox,Kudsi Erguner, Peter Erskine, Bill Evans, Mark Feldman, Anton Fier, Renaud Garcia-Fons, Bill Frisell, Gamelan Sekar Tunjung, Jan Garbarek, Jivan Gasparyan, Michel Godard, Mick Goodrick, Shoba Gurtu, Trilok Gurtu, Billy Hart, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Allan Holdsworth, Daniel Humair, Gary Husband, Tony Hymas, Anthony Jackson, Jadranka, Jimmy Johnson, Quincy Jones, Kayhan Kalhor, Mick Karn, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Franklin Kiermyer, Eartha Kitt, Lee Konitz

    Christof Lauer, David Liebman, Steve Lukather, Kamalesh Maitra, Albert Mangelsdorff, Ed Mann, Charlie Mariano, Jean-Louis Matinier, Amira Medunjanin, Pat Metheny, Wolfgang Mitterer, Gary Moore, Glen Moore, Jaques Morelenbaum, Alphonse Mouzon, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Mark Nauseef, NDR Bigband, Adam Nussbaum, Simon Phillips, Wolfgang Puschnig

    Maggie Reilly, Repercussion Unit, Ricardo Ribeiro, Andy Rinehart, Louis Sclavis, L. Shankar, Michael Shrieve, Markus Stockhausen, Simon Stockhausen, Miroslav Tadić, Jahn Teigen, Thomanerchor, David Torn, Ralph Towner, Naná Vasconcelos, Glen Velez, Edward Vesala

    Chad Wackerman, Eric Watson, Norma Winstone, Michael Wollny, Joe Zawinul.

    Amb Kurt Renker, Quintus va obrir l'estudi CMP a Zerkall el 1982, on va gravar i va mesclar música fins al 2010. El 1984, juntament amb Joachim Kühn, va crear la Digital Soundboard, una taula de barreges analògica-digital equipada amb nombrosos efectes electrònics que permetia modificar i ampliar de manera immediata i directa la música reproduïda. La caixa de ressonància digital es va utilitzar en directe a les produccions de ballet Time Exposure (Broadway, Nova York, Carolyn Carlson), Dark (Théatre de la Ville, París, Carolyn Carlson), Get up Early i Citizen Kane (Òpera, Colònia, Jochen Ullrich), així com en nombrosos concerts amb Joachim Kühn, Jean-François Jenny-Clark, John Bergamo, Josep-Maria Balanyà i altres.

    A partir del 1994, Quintus també va treballar amb l'art sonor, una forma experimental d'obres de ràdio modernes.

    Va produir a Turquia, Índia i Indonèsia amb Kudsi Erguner, Shoba Gurtu, K.R.T. Wasitodiningrat i Sruti Laya, entre d'altres. La majoria de les seves produccions de jazz, música clàssica i música nova es van realitzar a Europa i als Estats Units.

  • Bremen, Alemania, 1949 - 2017

    Walter Quintus fue un músico, compositor, ingeniero de sonido y productor musical alemán. Estudió violín de 1955 a 1969 y ya era concertino en orquestas juveniles en 1959. Le siguieron muchas giras por Europa y producciones de radio y televisión. A los 18 años debía estudiar con David Oistrakh en Moscú, pero puso fin a sus estudios clásicos y fundó, junto con Thomas Olivier y Lothar Siems, el grupo de rock Parzival. Publicaron dos discos de larga duración y un sencillo en Teldec (Telefunken/Decca).

    En 1972 comenzó a grabar y mezclar música él mismo en Bremen y poco después en el estudio Rüssl de Hamburgo. En los primeros años trabajó con músicos y grupos comerciales como Rex Gildo, Grobschnitt, Kraan, Kraftwerk, Vicky Leandros, Udo Lindenberg, Lonzo, Jahn Teigen, Otto Waalkes, Roger Whittaker y muchos otros.

    A finales de los años 70, produjo a Rolf y Joachim Kühn. Pasó del campo comercial al de la vanguardia artística. Siguieron las grabaciones con:

    Mohamed Abozekry, Arild Andersen, Richard Barbieri, Joey Baron, Django Bates, Harry Beckett, Richie Beirach, John Bergamo, Luciano Biondini, Michael Brecker, Jack Bruce, Bill Bruford, Josep-Maria Balanyà, Jarrod Cagwin, Carolyn Jarrod Cagwin, Carolyn Carlson, Philip Catherine, Gary Chaffee, Don Cherry, Eric Clapton, J.F. Jenny-Clark, John Clark, Clem Clempson, Sylvie Courvoisier, Jim Cox,Kudsi Erguner, Peter Erskine, Bill Evans, Mark Feldman, Anton Fier, Renaud Garcia-Fons, Bill Frisell, Gamelan Sekar Tunjung, Jan Garbarek, Jivan Gasparyan, Michel Godard, Mick Goodrick, Shoba Gurtu, Trilok Gurtu, Billy Hart, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Allan Holdsworth, Daniel Humair, Gary Husband, Tony Hymas, Anthony Jackson, Jadranka, Jimmy Johnson, Quincy Jones, Kayhan Kalhor, Mick Karn, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Franklin Kiermyer, Eartha Kitt, Lee Konitz

    Christof Lauer, David Liebman, Steve Lukather, Kamalesh Maitra, Albert Mangelsdorff, Ed Mann, Charlie Mariano, Jean-Louis Matinier, Amira Medunjanin, Pat Metheny, Wolfgang Mitterer, Gary Moore, Glen Moore, Jaques Morelenbaum, Alphonse Mouzon, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Mark Nauseef, NDR Bigband, Adam Nussbaum, Simon Phillips, Wolfgang Puschnig

    Maggie Reilly, Repercussion Unit, Ricardo Ribeiro, Andy Rinehart, Louis Sclavis, L. Shankar, Michael Shrieve, Markus Stockhausen, Simon Stockhausen, Miroslav Tadić, Jahn Teigen, Thomanerchor, David Torn, Ralph Towner, Naná Vasconcelos, Glen Velez, Edward Vesala

    Chad Wackerman, Eric Watson, Norma Winstone, Michael Wollny, Joe Zawinul.

    Con Kurt Renker, Quintus abrió el estudio CMP en Zerkall en 1982, donde grabó y mezcló música hasta 2010. En 1984, junto con Joachim Kühn, creó la Digital Soundboard, una mesa de mezclas analógica-digital equipada con numerosos efectos electrónicos que permitía modificar y ampliar de forma inmediata y directa la música reproducida. La caja de resonancia digital se utilizó en directo en las producciones de ballet Time Exposure (Broadway, Nueva York, Carolyn Carlson), Dark (Théatre de la Ville, París, Carolyn Carlson), Get up Early y Citizen Kane (Ópera, Colonia, Jochen Ullrich), así como en numerosos conciertos con Joachim Kühn, Jean-François Jenny-Clark, John Bergamo, Josep-Maria Balanyà y otros.

    A partir de 1994, Quintus también trabajó con el arte sonoro, una forma experimental de obras de radio modernas.

    Produjo en Turquía, India e Indonesia con Kudsi Erguner, Shoba Gurtu, K.R.T. Wasitodiningrat y Sruti Laya, entre otros. La mayoría de sus producciones de jazz, música clásica y música nueva se realizaron en Europa y Estados Unidos.