Night falls in diverse ways in Magdalena Hoffmann’s Deutsche Grammophon debut album. Nightscapes, set for release on 11 February 2022, sees the German harpist dive deep into the intimate, mysterious, magical world of night music, as well as exploring the theme of dance. Its tracklist spans everything from the austere beauty of Britten’s Suite for Harp Op. 83 and languid lyricism of Pizzetti’s Sogno to the folk like colours of Tournier’s La danse du moujik.

The recording comprises both original pieces for solo harp and compositions for piano, skilfully transcribed by Hoffmann herself. The compositions chosen by the artist portray a multitude of nightscapes, from those we can see to those we know by intuition. “At night everything becomes more intimate, more deeply felt, more multilayered,” observes Hoffmann. “The darkness encourages an inward gaze, while the soul stretches its wings - and so does the imagination. Whether in dreams or during sleepless nights, the limitations placed on our minds by the (every)day begin to melt away.”