Who is Max Richter? The modern classical luminary performing at Saadiyat Nights

The composer will be taking the stage in Abu Dhabi on January 29

Max Richter's musical beginnings lay firmly in the classical genre. AFP

Max Richter is set to return to the UAE, less than a year after he performed a sold-out show at Dubai Opera.

This time, the German-born British classical composer will be taking the stage at Saadiyat Nights, the open-air concert series in Abu Dhabi. The concert will take place on January 29.

Richter is expected to perform several highlights from his repertoire, including from critically acclaimed projects Illuminated Horizons and In A Landscape.

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Richter is the latest international figure to be confirmed for the next season of Saadiyat Nights. The line-up also includes Ludovico Einaudi, Lewis Capaldi, John Mayer, Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey and Bryan Adams.

Max Richter's rise to international acclaim

Richter is known for his restrained take on composition, often adding electronic and ambient textures. Getty Images

Born in Germany in 1966 and raised in England, Richter’s musical beginnings lay firmly in the classical genre. He studied piano and composition at the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Academy of Music. He later studied with Italian composer Luciano Berio, who was known for his experimental approach that greatly influenced Richter.

This two-pronged influence shaped the musical language Richter is known for today. His structural diligence can be traced back to his classical training. His pared-down compositions, textured with non-traditional and atmospheric sounds, places him in the modern minimalist tradition.

Richter co-founded Piano Circus in 1989. The group was initially established as an ensemble to perform Steve Reich’s 1973 minimal piece Six Pianos, and have since gone on to play compositions by Brian Eno, Kevin Volans, Michael Nyman and others.

However, Richter’s solo work in particular has earned him international acclaim. His 2002 debut, Memoryhouse, recorded with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, was described as a “landmark work” of contemporary classical music. The work immediately established Richter as a genre-defying composer. The compositions combined ambient and orchestra sounds, voices, as well as readings of works by 20th century Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva.

But it was The Blue Notebooks in 2004 that really put Richter on the map, and on the big screen. Where Memoryhouse reflected upon the aftermath of the 1998 conflict in Kosovo, The Blue Notebooks was a protest against the US invasion of Iraq. The album featured actress Tilda Swinton reading from The Blue Octavo Notebooks by Franz Kafka and the poetry of Czeslaw Milosz.

The song On the Nature of Daylight was a filmmakers’ favourite, featured in Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island and Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival.

But Richter was only getting started. In the next two decades, he reimagined Vivaldi’s famed Four Seasons, created an eight-hour ambient work and had his music featured in several films and series, cementing him as one of the world’s most influential composers of contemporary classical music.