For someone whose music has such a subtle, delicate fingerprint, Max Richter has had a seismic influence over the past decade in music. His signature sound rejects classical music’s convoluted flourishes, focusing instead on emotive, accessible string and piano figures interwoven with electronic sounds. He influenced a whole school of composers, including Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds and Jóhann Jóhannsson, to perform contemplative music to arena-sized crowds. While he continues to refine his musical style, the German-born British composer, 54, ceaselessly seeks to meet his listeners in new spaces. He has composed for ballet, television (Black Mirror) and film (Ad Astra, Arrival, Waltz with Bashir). His ambitious 2015 project Sleep was an 8½-hour piece performed to audiences sleeping in museums. These formal experiments are underpinned by intellectual inquiries, like his new album, Voices, which incorporates readings from the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Eight Buy Now Related Stories Music Issue 44 Sigrid Scandipop's fresh face on stagecraft and The Sims. Music Issue 43 Brendan Yates The Turnstile frontman on hardcore's sweet side. Music Issue 43 Cat Power Musician Chan Marshall opens the door to a different dimension. Music Issue 42 Dev Hynes The boundless potential of being a master of none. Music Issue 42 Fatima Al Qadiri The shape shifting star of contemporary electronica. Arts & Culture Films Music Issue 42 Peer Review Iranian artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat pays homage to the iconic Egyptian singer Oum Kulthum.
Arts & Culture Films Music Issue 42 Peer Review Iranian artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat pays homage to the iconic Egyptian singer Oum Kulthum.