"Movement, Before All Flowers" Released: 29 May 2024
In a Landscape is the ninth[1][2] studio album by British composer Max Richter, released on 6 September 2024 by Decca Records. The record saw Richter returning to themes he previously explored on his 2004 album The Blue Notebooks. It was recorded in Studio Richter Mahr in Oxfordshire. The album was preceded by one single, "Movement, Before All Flowers". After the release of the album, Richter is set for his first-ever world tour.
Release
In a Landscape was announced on 29 May 2024, with its release date set for 6 September by Decca Records.[3] On the album, Richter said:
For me, the music on the record is about connecting or reconciling polarities. The electronics with the acoustic instruments, the natural world with the human world, and the big ideas of life with the personal and intimate. This is a dynamic I started to explore in my 2004 record The Blue Notebooks, and the new project shares many of that album's concerns; in a way this record is another look at the themes of the earlier work, but from the perspective of our world and our lives in 2024.[3]
With the announcement, Richter also released the lead single, "Movement, Before All Flowers", which Clash's Robin Murray called "a beautiful introduction, embodying a unique sense of control. Every note is purposeful, marked by the kind of audio painting Max Richter has long since made his own."[4]
Recording
In a Landscape is Richter's first solo album recorded in Studio Richter Mahr, the studio in Oxfordshire which he built with his wife, Yulia Mahr.[5][2]
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, In a Landscape received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 from 5 critic scores.[7]
Live
With the album, Richter also announced his first-ever world tour for September 2024 – May 2025 across Europe, Australia, and the United States, beginning with an appearance at La Bâtie-Festival de Genève [fr] in Geneva on 7 September.[5][1] The Australia and United States legs of the tour will be performed with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble.[5][1]