Red Landscape is so far the most personal record by pianist and composer Kristina Barta. It came into being at a time when her daughter was born and the war in Ukraine began, and the album lives on precisely this tension between inner calm and outer chaos. Her original compositions are linked by the theme of borders: geographical, historical and personal.
Alongside her own pieces, the album contains new arrangements of well-known songs. Modlitba pro Martu (A Prayer for Marta) recalls August 1968 and the courage of the people who stood together then. Nese Hal’a vodu is a Ukrainian folk song and stands in the album as the divide through which war entered the world. The Norwegian Komme deg ut speaks of a person’s estrangement from themselves and of how hard it is to step out of the digital noise. Israel 1948 is a quiet remembrance of the victims of the attack on a music festival in Israel. The pieces Inside the Monastery and Broumov return to the Broumov monastery, where much of the music was written during an artistic residency.
The core of the line-up is Kristina Barta’s quintet with guest singer Petra Brabencová. The saxophones are played by the Slovenian Jure Pukl, who is active on the New York jazz scene. During his studies at Berklee College of Music he worked with Dave Liebman and Esperanza Spalding, among others, and his playing has been praised by Joe Lovano.
Reviews and interviews:
Jazzport.cz: Kristina Barta releases the album Red Landscape, a powerful musical statement about a world on the edge
Czech Radio Jazz: From motherhood to reflections on war, Kristina Barta releases her most personal album
ČT art: Red Landscape at Prague’s Jazz Dock
Lyrics: Iva Korgerová, Jakub Gruss, Tuva Hellum
Recorded: Svárov, 18. listopadu 2024, zvuk Lukáš Martínek
Mix: Lukáš Martínek
Mastering: Parma Recordings, Jan Košulič
© 2026 Amplión Records
Released digitally only
Catalogue number: AMP202602
