Home » Jazz Musicians » Ferenc Snetberger
Ferenc Snetberger
Born in 1957 in northern Hungary, guitarist/composer Ferenc Snétberger was the youngest son of a family of musicians. Early on his father, a guitar player also, became his role model. Snétberger studied classical music and jazz guitar. Today he is best known for his art of improvising and his crossing of stylistic borders. His music is inspired by the Roma tradition of his home country, Brazilian music and flamenco as well as classical guitar playing and jazz. He made numerous albums as a leader, co- leader and sideman and has toured all over Europe as well as Japan, Korea, India and the United States. In 1995 he composed his Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra, "In Memory of My People", on the occasion the fiftieth year following the end of the holocaust. Inspired by melodies of the gypsy tradition, the concerto is a powerful statement against human suffering. It has been performed by the composer himself with chamber orchestras in Hungary, Italy and Germany and also at the New York UN headquarters (International Holocaust Memorial Day, 2007). Ferenc Snétberger performed Luciano Berios Sequenza XI (for solo guitar) as well as concertos with orchestra by Vivaldi, Rodrigo, and John McLaughlin. He also wrote music for film and theater. In 2002 Snétberger was appointed freeman of his birth town and two years later received the Hungarian Order of Merit. In 2005 he was awarded the Liszt Ferenc Prize in Budapest, 2013 the Prima Díj, 2014 the Kossuth Díj. In 2004 Snétberger founded his new trio with legendary Norwegian bass player Arild Andersen and Norway-based Italian drummer/percussionist Paolo Vinaccia. With natural ease and on the highest level the three of them bring together choice compositions, technical skills, improvisational drive and musical fantasy. Released in fall 2005, their debut album "Nomad" was greeted with enthusiasm by critics and listeners. Snétbergers cooperation with Markus Stockhausen started in 1999 with "Landscapes", a duo suite recorded for Snétbergers album "For My People". In three movements the musicians immediately create a language of their own showing their talents in an amazing way. "They come along lightly and yet filled with melancholy - and they give the impression that one day they simply had to meet in order to make this music happen. You cant help but hope this cooperation will be continued soon," Ralf v.d. Kellen wrote in Intro magazine. Eight years later during which Snétberger and Stockhausen have further been stimulating each other artistically, their duo album "Streams" finally proves their development.
Read moreTags
Ferenc Snétberger, Keller Quartett: Hallgató
by Mario Calvitti
Il nuovo lavoro del chitarrista ungherese Ferenc Snétberger, il terzo pubblicato da ECM, è condiviso con il Keller Quartet, anch'esso costituito da musicisti ungheresi, per un programma di musica classica registrato in concerto nella Grand Hall della Liszt Academy di Budapest nel dicembre 2018, in cui il chitarrista mostra la sua formazione classica sia come interprete che come compositore. Il CD si apre con il concerto in tre movimenti In Memory of My People," composto da Snétberger ...
read moreFerenc Snetberger: Titok
by Mario Calvitti
Dopo il disco dal vivo con cui ha esordito per la ECM, il chitarrista ungherese Ferenc Snetberger ritorna con un nuovo lavoro, questa volta in trio con il contrabbassista Anders Jormin e il batterista Joey Baron. La presenza di una sezione ritmica rende l'elemento jazzistico più marcato che nel precedente lavoro realizzato in solitudine, e fa scoprire un nuovo lato musicale del chitarrista, già esplorato in passato con l'album Nomad del 2005, realizzato con un trio analogo insieme a Arild ...
read moreFerenc Snetberger: TITOK
by Mark Sullivan
Hungarian nylon-string guitarist Ferenc Snétberger made his ECM debut playing live solo guitar on In Concert (2016). Here he shares the musical space with Swedish bassist Anders Jormin and U.S. drummer Joey Baron--a combination suggested by producer Manfred Eicher, and cemented by three concerts in Hungary before the recording session. Jormin and Baron have played together on live shows, but never on record, despite their many individual ECM appearances. Baron has considerable experience playing with guitarists: he has ...
read moreFerenc Snetberger: In Concert
by Mario Calvitti
Era solo questione di tempo prima che il chitarrista ungherese Ferenc Snetberger approdasse ai lidi ECM. Molte delle sue passate produzioni discografiche non avrebbero affatto sfigurato nel catalogo dell'etichetta bavarese, che finalmente lo può annoverare tra i suoi artisti con la pubblicazione di questo In Concert, registrazione di una sua esibizione in solo a Budapest nel 2013. L'accostamento a Ralph Towner viene spontaneo, altro chitarrista di punta dell'etichetta che utilizza la chitarra classica applicandone la tecnica al ...
read moreFerenc Snetberger: In Concert
by Mark Sullivan
Hungarian classical guitarist Ferenc Snétberger makes his ECM debut with a live solo guitar recording, surely the most demanding and revealing format for any guitarist. His music is the product of diverse stylistic influences: starting with jazz, but then a strong classical music influence, followed by exposure to Brazilian, South American, and flamenco guitar music. Snétberger cites his first encounter with Johann Sebastian Bach's music as life-changing, followed by hearing ECM label mates Egberto Gismonti in duo with Nana Vasconcelos. ...
read moreFerenc Snetberger: Nomad
by Eyal Hareuveni
Nomad is the seventh release by Hungarian-born, Berlin-based acoustic guitarist Ferenc Snétberger, but in many ways this collaborative effort may be the culmination of experiences by his collaborator, Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen, with small ensembles that feature acoustic guitarists. Andersen recorded Karta (ECM, 1999) with two of Snétberger's musical partners--German trumpeter Markus Stockhausen and French drummer/percussionist Patrice Héral--plus fellow Norwegian guitarist Terje Rypdal; four years later, Snétberger replaced Rypdal for the recording of Joyosa (Enja, 2004). Karta and Joyosa focused ...
read moreFerenc Sn: Nomad
by John Kelman
They say music is the international language. That's true, but like any language it can have an infinite number of dialects. Add to that the result of cultural cross-pollination, and the language of music can become as complex and unfathomable as any other. The intricacies and complexities of jazz might be hard for a pure punk devotee to understand, for example, but the beauty of a simple folk song might also be lost on someone whose tastes run strictly towards ...
read more