One of the biggest phenomenon of post-classical music in recent years and a musician who has been awarded many acclaimed music prizes, she will bring her new studio album to the Czech Republic. For the first time in Prague, Hania will perform on stage with Polish multi-instrumentalist Ziemowit Klimek, who will accompany her on piano, Moog synthesizers and bass. This line-up is currently selling out concert halls on their world tour.

Line up

20:00 Laura Masotto

20:50 Hania Rani

Spectaculare festival will conclude its ongoing 10th edition this week with three events – a sold-out screening of Robot Koch's show Sphere at the Planetarium, Thursday's documentary about David Bowie Moonage Daydream at Bio Oko, and a closing ambient concert by German legendary producers Mathias Grassow and Arovane at CAMP.

The music of Polish pianist and producer Hania Rani is born out of her fascination with the piano as a musical instrument, but she uses its sound and harmonic possibilities in her own distinctive way, often in combination with her velvety voice. She was born in Gdansk and has spent the last few years shuttling between Warsaw, Berlin and Zurich. She studied at a conservatory, but her musical loves from Chopin to Brubeck to Radiohead have led her to an unorthodox approach to music making.

She has already made a significant impact with her 2019 debut album Esja. Released on Manchester-based label Gondwana Records, it featured solo piano pieces inspired by the Icelandic mountain range of the same name. Just as its appearance changes according to the weather, so does the mood of the Polish composer's music. With the recording, Rani looked into the Top 75 best-selling albums in the UK and was awarded two Fryderyk Awards by the Polish recording industry, among others.

Her follow-up album Home also received great acclaim, where her music grew even more beautiful thanks to richer arrangements. Here she also uses vocals or delicate electronics and is mainly accompanied by bassist Ziemowit Klimek and drummer Wojtek Warmijak. The British record shop and label Rough Trade included the record about finding home in times of uncertainty in their list of the best records of the year. In 2021, Hana Ranii teamed up with cellist Dobrawa Czocher and recorded Inner Symphonies at the Szczecin Philharmonic. The compositions benefit from the apparent contradiction of the intimacy of the music and the expansive sound of the space, and the record was released on the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label.

Hania Rani has also produced several soundtracks. Her music has accompanied the film xAbo, the documentary Venice-Infinitely Avantgarde and the theatre play Nora. Her collaboration with filmmakers also gave birth to her latest album On Giacometti, the soundtrack for director Susanna Fanzun's documentary about the legendary Italian sculptor and painter who died in 1966. Hania Rani wrote the songs in isolation in the Swiss mountains. She released the album in February this year and she will bring it to Prague on 18 October. The performance will take place as part of Spectaculare10 echoes, which will commemorate this year's successful tenth edition of the Spectaculare festival.

LAURA MASOTTO

Laura Masotto is a classically-trained Italian violinist and composer in a state of constant exploration. She started studying violin at the age of five and graduated from the Conservatory of Verona. She launched her career at fifteen, performing concerts in chamber and symphony orchestras across Europe. Over the years Laura has worked on theatre projects and as a session musician and performed live with internationally renowned artists. In 2019 she released her first solo album Fireflies, composed and performed entirely by her and presented in Los Angeles with Sofar Sounds. The track “Lucciola” was the soundtrack of the short movie “And I shall Rise” by Meena Ayittey.

In 2020 she composed a soundtrack violin album titled Here and Now (Flipper Music) during her six months Artist Residency at Fabra I Coats in Barcelona.

In 2021 she signed with Berlin-based label 7K! and released her album WE, which blends strings with electronica and includes collaborations with Roger Goula and Hior Chronik.

In 2022 started her collaboration with Deutsche Grammophon: she composed a piece called “Sol Levante” for Mari Samuelsen’s album Lys and contributed with a rework of the classical composition “Shéhérazede” to the Collection Summer Tales. She collaborated with her music to the dance show “Miss LaLa” with Pina Bausch Tanztheater dancer Marigia Maggipinto. Laura has contributed pieces to several label compilations, including Duet Layers (featuring artists such as Hania Rani, Colin Stetson, Niklas Paschburg and more) curated by 7K!. She played as opening act of artists such Hania Rani, Joel Beving and Federico Albanese.

7K! will release her new album, “The Spirit of Things” in 2024.