Born in Austria in 1963, Thomas Larcher has been, for a large part of his career, as much in demand as a pianist as for his compositions. He has written, “My roots lie in performance, and in decades of imprinting through the music and formal ideas of the classics. My music is communicative: it challenges the attentive listener but is meant to be readily intelligible in concert.” His work does indeed sound like it’s informed by the broadest understanding of Western musical traditions. Larcher developed a style that unselfconsciously acknowledges and brings together the most rigorous aspects of Darmstadt-style modernism with elements of the new simplicity and holy minimalism, as exemplified by composers such as Silvestrov and Pärt. His harmonic and gestural language can be modernist, but his pieces are constructed with enough repetition and transparency that it’s possible to grasp them on first hearing. Important works include the concertos Still, for viola and chamber orchestra, and Hier, Heute for cello and orchestra; three string quartets; and the vocal piece My Illness is the Medicine I Need, with texts taken from a Benetton "Colors" magazine.