Oskar Aichinger

Austrian pianist Oskar Aichinger is one of the world's unsung world-class improvisers. There is a mesmerizing quality to Aichinger's compositions, an ethereal dance with the gods that draws the listener into his special den of vaporous exaltation. Aichinger refers to his pieces as "Soundtreks," and there is often a movie-like quality to his melodies that almost always dissolves in the vicissitudes of the moment. Aichinger does not swing, but his music does mean many things, revealing new entryways and journeys through open-ended vessels. Never relying upon external flash or any sort of pompous glorification of super technique, Aichinger continues his journeys like a confident explorer challenged by danger, and almost every one of the pianist's steps opens new possibilities. Too, he is weird, wickedly so in a way that only depresses, stimulates, or fascinates. Yet through it all he is also intensely individualistic, so that each of his compositions takes on a remarkable personality that incorporates a multitude of moods.