Composer Max Richter And Visual Artist Yulia Mahr Open Studio Richter Mahr

Composer Max Richter and visual artist Yulia Mahr have opened Studio Richter Mahr, a new multi-arts production facility. Powered by cutting-edge solar and heat-pump technology the studio is a carbon positive, upcycled farm building set on the edge of 31 acres of Oxfordshire woodland.

Visionary composer Max Richter has made a career of being able to translate profound human emotions into music and he continues to set the standard for what is possible for composers in the 21st century. BAFTA-winning Yulia Mahr is a visual artist specialising in lens-based media, whose recent video for Prelude Two was chosen by Creative Review as one of the best music videos of 2021.

“Studio Richter Mahr is about dreaming the future into existence”

“Studio Richter Mahr is about dreaming the future into existence, a better way to live and work,” explained Mahr. “It’s about forward motion and borderless creativity. It’s about offering time and opportunities for people to really experiment.”

Twenty years in the planning, Studio Richter Mahr has been functioning since May 2021, but is only now officially opening its doors – operating also as a commercial space for hire, and as a free space for emerging artists to develop their work. The studio has already recorded Richter’s score for HBO’s Elena Ferrante adaptation of My Brilliant Friend, which airs later this year, and Apple TV’s Sci-fi epic Invasion.

Onsite facilities include an orchestral recording room with one of the UKs only Steinway Spirio R concert grand pianos, a Dolby Atmos mix room, programming rooms, a collection of vintage synthesisers, video edit suite, fine art studios, an exhibition space, and a cafe with produce grown in the kitchen garden. The building is wired to broadcast live performances in surround and in 4k HD.

Further studios, and an on-site creche; artist’s residencies and composer labs are soon to be announced.

A hub for creative experiment and collaboration

Studio Richter Mahr will be a hub for creative experiment and collaboration but it has a wider ambition – Max Richter and Yulia Mahr see creativity as an elevating force within society, and the studio has this principle at its heart. They are therefore working together with local partners to ensure the studio plays its part in supporting the local community.

Studio Richter Mahr is the third major collaborative project between Max Richter and Yulia Mahr, following on from Sleep and Voices.

Stream Max Richter’s score for Invasion, recorded at Studio Richter Mahr, here.

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