Sleep by Max Richter

Richter has pared back sections of his best-selling 8.5-hour epic SLEEP to their basic structures to create three extended solo piano tracks for this new digital EP, out on World Sleep Day. “The piano is where I go to daydream, because composing, in a way, is daydreaming as well. It’s trying to encounter other aspects of your mind, things maybe you’re not so aware of consciously.”

Blending classical, electronic, and rock influences into a style he calls "post-classical", composer/programmer Max Richter ignores boundaries in favor of haunting, strangely familiar sounds. This approach made him an in-demand composer for film and other types of performing arts, as well as an acclaimed artist in his own right.

Blending classical, electronic, and rock influences into a style he calls "post-classical", composer/programmer Max Richter ignores boundaries in favor of haunting, strangely familiar sounds. This approach made him an in-demand composer for film and other types of performing arts, as well as an acclaimed artist in his own right.

Combining classical discipline with the inventive spirit of electronic music, Max Richter speaks to – and frequently critiques – 21st century life with evocative elegance. On early masterworks such as 2002's Memoryhouse and 2003's The Blue Notebooks, the composer and producer united his childhood memories and commentary on war's devastating aftermath into gorgeous, aching music; with 2015's eight-hour Sleep, he challenged the increasing disposability of art and music as well as audiences' ever-decreasing attention spans. Richter's fascination with the growing role of technology in everyday life was a major theme of releases spanning 2008's collection of bespoke ringtones to the music for a particularly paranoid 2016 episode of the TV series Black Mirror. Despite the high-concept nature of much of his work, Richter always maintains a powerful emotional connection with his listeners. 2012's Recomposed: The Four Seasons, an experimental reimagining of Vivaldi's violin concertos, topped classical charts in over 20 countries. The emotive quality of his music translated perfectly to scoring and soundtrack work, which ranged from documentaries such as Waltz with Bashir (2008); feature films including Ad Astra (2019); television series like Invasion (2021); and stage productions including Infra (2008) and Woolf Works (2015), both projects with Richter's longtime collaborator, choreographer Wayne McGregor. Richter's mix of modern composition, electronic music, and field recordings – which he revisited on 2024's In a Landscape – was as influential as it was innovative, paving the way for artists such as Nico Muhly and Jóhann Jóhannsson.

Blending classical, electronic, and rock influences into a style he calls "post-classical," composer/programmer Max Richter ignores boundaries in favor of haunting, strangely familiar sounds. This approach made him an in-demand composer for film and other types of performing arts, as well as an acclaimed artist in his own right. Born in Germany in the mid-'60s, Richter and his family moved to the U.K. when he was still a little boy; by his early teens, he was listening to the canon of classical music as well as modern composers including Philip Glass, whose sound was a major influence on Richter.

When the most important friend in her life seems to have disappeared without a trace, Elena Greco, a now-elderly woman immersed in a house full of books, turns on her computer and starts writing the story of their friendship. Based on the bestselling series by Elena Ferrante.

Analekta is very proud to announce the release of Portrait: Max Richter by Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà. “I devote my new Portrait album to Max Richter and his impressive body of powerful and original works. I have selected sixteen works with his unique signature, which I revisit here with my violin and my orchestra, La Pietà.” - Angèle Dubeau O.C., C.Q., DFA Max Richter is one of the most influential composers of his generation.

Max Richter`s “Sleep” consists of “Dreams” and “Paths”, opiated lullabies sung by Hades` sirens, seducing you into a netherworld. Their serenity edged by the fear of letting go, the threat of “Inception”`s fix so deep that you might never make it back. Cello and violin led requiems with the grace of Johann Johannsson and Arvo Part, where piano plays the mother`s voice: “There, there. Don`t worry. Sleep tight.”