Pianist Lucian Ban and Violist Mat Maneri Announce Northeastern US Tour Dates in Support of Their ECM Album "Transylvanian Dance"

Pianist Lucian Ban and Violist Mat Maneri Announce Northeastern US Multimedia Performances in Support of Transylvanian Dance

On Transylvanian Dance, the Duo Finds Fresh Inspiration in Folk Songs and Dance Tunes Collected by Béla Bartók a Century Ago

Available Now Via ECM

“The duo treats [Bartok’s] work on each piece with admiration and appreciation but does not feel bound to his written notes. Songs are opened up for moments of improvisatory ingenuity, which allow for the incorporation of not only elements from their backgrounds in jazz and free music but also their shared interest in folk music from around the globe.” — PostGenre

Drawing from their acclaimed 2024 ECM Records duo release Transylvanian Dance, pianist Lucian Ban and violist Mat Maneri will re-imagine live through improvisation the Béla Bartók Field Recordings of early 20th century folk songs from Transylvania bringing back to life century old songs using video projections featuring rare archival footage, audio from the original Edison wax cylinder recordings, handwritten manuscripts and photographs taken by Bartók himself in his field trips.

The 20th century Hungarian composer Bartók loved the folk music of Transylvania in western Romania. He famously experienced an epiphany in 1904 when he heard an 18-year-old woman singing songs from her Transylvanian village and was soon on the road in search of more music. Between 1909 and 1917 he transcribed thousands of melodies, recording hundreds of folk musicians on wax cylinders and would call the completion of his research into Transylvanian folk music, as “my life’s goal.” The profound knowledge and beauty of these ancient folk songs will change forever his compositional vision.

A century later, two outstanding improvisers – violist Mat Maneri and pianist Lucian Ban – draw fresh inspiration from the music that fired Bartók’s imagination, looking again at carols, lamentations, love songs, dowry songs and more through their unique duo sound and improvisatory concept.

2025 US TOUR DATES

September 6, The Mill, Wesport, NY
September 8, Left Bank Cafe, Saranac Lake, NY: presented by Historic Saranac Lake
September 13, Barbés, Brooklyn, NYC
September 26, YMCA Arts Center, Frederick MD: presented by Frederick Experimental Music Association
September 27, An Die Musik, Baltimore, MD
October 1, Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton, MA: presented by Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares
October 5, The Perch, Philadelphia, PA, Fire Museum Presents
October 11, Barbés, Brooklyn, NYC

Biographical and other details at www.lucianban.com