Simon Pfisterer - Half Way There, Another Way to Go

2 CD Deal – Half Way There + Another Way to Go.

New solo-double-album from Simon Pfisterer. 'Half Way There' is traditional music on the uilleann pipes whilst 'Another Way to Go' is classical and other music on the uilleann pipes which has been officially nominated for the "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik", the German Record Critics Price in the genre "traditional and ethnic music''. 

Simon Pfisterer, born in Tegernsee, Bavaria, Germany, has been playing music for most of his life and started to play different bagpipes from all over Europe at the young age of eight. After gaining experience in his own musical tradition in Bavaria and Austria and in various musical traditions all over continental Europe, he found his love for Irish Traditional Music and especially the Uilleann Pipes in 2010 and has not stopped playing since.

After being taught by German Uilleann Pipes master Mick Loos, Simon started studying in the BA programme “Irish Traditional Music and Dance” at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick, Ireland, which he graduated from in 2020 with a first class honours degree. In the course of private studies and studies at the University of Limerick, he was able to get tuition from some of the major figures in 21st century piping, including: Blackie O’Connell, Paddy Keenan, Mickey Dunne, Tiarnan O’Duinnchinn, Cillian Vallely, Brendan Ring, Padraig McGovern and many more.

Simon can be heard playing on albums and live with various formations: At the moment, he mainly tours with the Ireland-based quartet 3 on the Bund and the Germany-based band Cara whom he joined in 2021. Also, he is part of the Austrian drone-music ensemble Unisonus the German Irish and Scottish trad band Breaking Stings as well as many side projects as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians all across the world.

Half Way There:
1. Upstairs in a Tent - Reels (2:23)
2. Trip to Athlone - Jigs (3:31)
3. The Walking Stick - Mazurkas (3:34)
4. May Morning Dew - Air, Reels (7:03)
5. B Slip Jigs - Slip Jigs (3:53)
6. King of the Pipers - Jigs (4:13)
7. B Reels - Reels (5:59)
8. Health to the Ladies - Jigs (4:31)
9. Bagpipers - Schottische, Quickstep (5:40)
10. Ormond Sound - Reels (6:05)
11. Laments - Air, March (7:38)
12. The Oak Tree - Hornpipes, Reel (6:14) 

Another Way to Go:
1. Also sprach Zarathustra – Richard Strauß (1:36)
2. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme – J.S. Bach (2:46)
3. Concerto for Four Violins in B minor – Antonio Vivaldi (4:12)
4. Kontratanz N°3 – W.A. Mozart (4:05)
5. magnum mysterium – Tomás Luis de Victoria (3:51)
6. Two Menuets from ‘Die Bauernhochzeit’ – Leopold Mozart (3:37)
7. Fugue in G minor – J.S. Bach (3:29)
8. Lascia ch’io pianga – G.F. Händel (2:10)
9. Bourrée in Em – J.S. Bach (2:03)
10. Sonate in F – G.F. Händel (2:23)
11. Alpara, Rußbacher Tänze – Traditional (5:00)
12. Csárdás – Vittorio Monti (4:51)
13. Indifférence – Tony Murena (3:16)
14. Abendlied – Josef Rheinberger (2:51)
15. Super Mario – Koji Kondo (3:02)
16. 4‘33‘‘ – John Cage (4:33)