Ringleb: Beziehungsweisen

With Beziehungsweisen (Relationships), Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag presents three of my compositions for cello and piano — all centered on human connection and emotional experience.

The unison motif in Champagne in London captures my marriage proposal to my now wife in a London club. Unexpectedly sobbing on my knees to pounding disco music, I was kindly comforted by several strangers who couldn’t understand why this tall man was crying on the floor while his future wife was beaming with joy. Once the situation was explained, there was much laughter — and champagne ordered to celebrate the occasion. The piece first appeared on my debut solo album Places (2011), recorded with Munich cellist Fany Kammerlander.

Sorrow was released in 2016 on my third album Isar Beauty, recorded together with Munich cellist Elisa von Wallis. The piece features a mantra-like, recurring melody that helped me process feelings of grief and loss for beloved friends and family who have passed away. Its recitative passages invite deep remembrance and emotional reflection each time I perform it.

Gol in Lac, written as a wedding gift for two dear friends, tells the story of their tender beginnings and a shared midnight swim in a lake. The cello sings a simple, beautiful melody, supported by a more intricate piano part. A unison passage appears again in the middle section, and the final chord marks the lovers’ joyful leap into the dark water.

In all three works, the cello part ranges from easy to intermediate difficulty, while the piano part is of moderate technical demand.