The trio of the Canadian gambist and synthesizer player Pierre-Yves Martel and the two Cologne musicians Philip Zoubek and Carl Ludwig Hübsch celebrated its premiere in 2012. In the course of several tours in Canada and Europe, the trio developed a music that is transparent and mysterious at the same time. Every note seems to be precisely placed and the individual voices are impressively interlocked. The advanced playing techniques of the three musicians create such a musical variety in their interplay that, despite many quiet passages and pauses, it is far from being an anaemic reductionist exercise. Now the trio meets the congenial violinist Tiziana Bertoncini, who lives in Vienna and whose playing is on the borderline between new music and free improvisation.
Carl Ludwig Hübsch, based in Cologne, is a tubist, composer, and improviser. Since the 1990s he has been a key figure in the European experimental music scene. With keen humor and investigative precision, he explores the acoustic and performative possibilities of his instrument and everyday materials. Alongside numerous solo projects, he performs with ensembles such as Hübsch Martel Zoubek, ENC, and in various international collaborations.
Pierre-Yves Martel began his career as a viola da gamba player before turning increasingly toward electroacoustic sound processes. Born in Montréal, he works across improvised, composed, and interdisciplinary formats, characterized by quiet intensity and a microscopic attention to sound. He regularly collaborates with artists such as Andrea Neumann, Axel Dörner, Philippe Lauzier, and Éric Normand, and performs internationally at festivals for experimental music.
Philip Zoubek, born in Tulln (Austria), lives in Cologne. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln and has developed a distinctive sound language on the prepared and electronically extended piano. His music moves between improvisation, contemporary composition, and electroacoustic exploration. Alongside his solo work, he performs with groups such as Zoubek | Penman | Hayden, the Philip Zoubek Trio, and the Multiple Joy[ce] Orchestra.
Tiziana Bertoncini studied violin and painting in Siena and Florence and currently lives in Vienna. Her work unfolds at the intersection of improvised and contemporary music, performance, and visual art. Her playing combines precision and openness, sonic subtlety and physical presence. In addition to her solo projects, she is a member of the ensemble zeitkratzer and of NiTi, a duo with electronic musician Thomas Lehn.
