During their joint musical studies, accordeonist Yueming Xu and saxophonist Michael Krenn discovered the fascination in the sound achieved by combining both their instruments. The accordion and the saxophone complement each other in a unique sort of way in which their different sounds seem to melt into each other on the one hand and create sharp contrasts on the other hand. Their repertoire extends over many periods of time, from Renaissance to contemporary music. At the heart of the two musiciansâ work there is always the search for a very personal and unique interpretation. On the forthcoming album by the title Distance they present the comissioned piece SaxAccordia by Theodor Burkali among arrangements of the Oboe Concerto in C minor by Alessandro Marcello, the Sonata in G minor, BWV 1020, by J. S. Bach, Three Miniatures by Krzysztof Penderecki, Distance by Toru Takemitsu, the Sequenza 7b by Luciano Berio and Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla.
Michael Krenn, saxophone, studied classical saxophone at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, as well as at the Conservatory Vienna Private University with Prof. Lars Mlekusch and graduated with honors. Since this time, he works as a freelance musician and saxophone teacher in Lower Austria. Krenn is founding member of the Mobilis Saxophone Quartet and the Vienna Saxophonic Orchestra whose debut recordings were both released on CD on the Gramola Label. His concert appearances as soloist or as member of ensembles such as the Klangforum Vienna, the OENM (Austrian Ensemble for Contemporary Music), the Middle European Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper, the European Union Youth Orchestra and others led him to various European countries and also to India, Thailand and Japan. In 2012, he gave his US concert debut in Chicago, as part of the âDame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Seriesâ, together with pianist Yoko Yamada.
Accordionist Yueming Xu was born in Heilongjiang, China, in 1983. At the age of five, she received her first accordion lessons. From 1995 till 2000, she attended the Shenyang Music High School where she received several awards. In 2001, she arrived in Austria to continue her accordion studies at the Landeskonservatorium Graz. Since 2006, she studied at the Conservatory Vienna Private University with Prof. Grzegorz Stopa. In 2011, she graduated Bachelor of Arts with honors, followed by her Masterâs degree in 2013. She is an award recipient of several international accordion competitions. She was awarded the âFidelio Year Scholarshipâ in 2008 as a soloist, as well as in 2011 as member of an ensemble. She has already been invited to several festivals, such as âWien Modernâ 2012, the âBachfestâ Detmold 2013, the âMidem Festivalâ Cannes 2013, the âFestival dellâArteâ Poland 2013 and the âFarinelli Festivalâ Italy 2013.