Spezl (Bavarian for ‘comradeship’) is a sonorous and lively 7MNTN album from the high-regarded musicians Floris Mijnders and Jelger Blanken. The performers’ close musical friendship echos that of the composers whose works they present here: Richard Strauss and Ludwig Thuille. Strauss and Thuille remained close friends throughout their lives, studying together and sharing musical ideas. While Strauss achieved worldwide recognition as a composer, Thuille is remembered mainly as a professor of music theory and composition. This duo offers an irresistible combination: fierce and tender playing from Mijnders, complemented affectionately and sensitively by Blanken. But as in any friendship, this duo also challenges and questions each others’ musical decisions, sparking an inspired, musical dialogue. The summation is sparkling and joyful musicality, together with extraordinary ease and craftsmanship. Allow yourself getting embraced by the beguiling, intimate sound-world of this duo!