Gandalf

Austrian multi-instrumentalist Hein Strobl, adept on piano, percussion, guitar, and synthesizer in the new age style, has released numerous albums at a regular pace under the Gandalf name ever since 1980. He adopted the alias from the benevolent wizard in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Gandalf’s music commonly conveys Strobl’s deep appreciation for nature together with his efforts to protect the environment, while reviewers have at various times drawn parallels to William Ackerman, Rick Wakeman, Shadowfax, Enya, and Mike Oldfield. The earliest Gandalf records—Journey to an Imaginary Land (1980), To Another Horizon (1982), and Magic Theatre (1983)—displayed a pronounced prog-rock character before flutes, saxophones, and similar instruments were introduced, steering the work toward a more new-age focus. Across subsequent decades Strobl has invited established players, among them Tracy Hitchings, Steve Hackett, Emily Burridge, and Peter Ashenbrenner, to appear on Gandalf sessions and, in 1989, supplied the soundtrack for the film Labyrinth.