The Berlin-based grasp pianists Aki Takase (75) and Alexander von
Schlippenbach (85) are two of essentially the most distinguished
composers-improvisers of our time, and likewise companions in life and in
music. They’re taking part in collectively as a duo for about thirty years (and
additionally in lots of different codecs) and their first piano duet album Dwell in
Berlin 93/94 was launched by the legendary label FMP in 1995. Listening
to their new piano duet, 4 Fingers Piano Items, recorded in September
2021, it’s clear that Takase and von Schlippenbach get pleasure from and admire
good arguments in music as in life, however, clearly, know settle
heated arguments.

Von Schlippenbach describes the duo dynamics in a typical financial
language: “’In the course of the first makes an attempt to improvise with 4 fingers on
the piano, it quickly turned clear that taking part in collectively with none
conceptual pointers – of no matter sort – can rapidly result in undesirable
tautologies and even pleonasms. Alternatively, it’s fairly potential
that with longer expertise in observe, one thing helpful will emerge.
The current items, which have been composed over a interval of thirty years
meet these standards in numerous methods”.

Nicely, 4 Fingers Piano Items proves that rather more than “one thing
helpful” emerged from this idiosyncratic duo. You’ll be able to hear in Takase and
von Schlippenbach’s visiting with two grand pianos nearly the entire
musical historical past of the twentieth and the twenty first century, from the meticulously
composed to the free improvised and every part in between. The quick, 11
items final solely 38 minutes however embody a wealthy world of compositional
and free (or as von Schlippenbach says: pure) improvisation methods,
and from what von Schlippenbach calls “sporty, acrobatic gymnastics”,
by means of tense collisions of cluster sequences, composed and improvised
arguments and quarrels, grotesque dance and self-parody. And one playful
cowl of German composer Bernd Alois Zimmerman’s “Allegro Agitato” which
was composed for a radio play for Elias Canetti’s “Die Befristeten”.

Takase and von Schlippenbach take the listener for a wild journey, cerebral
and considerate but additionally participating and insightful. There are only a few
musicians who can provide such a smart and profound spectrum of music.

 

Watch right here: https://www.youtube.com/dwell/NCxAHJCdeTI?characteristic=share