Pianolab Festival: Inner Time Spaces

Anatolian/Armenian roots and music of Paul Motian, Komitas Vardapet, Tigran Mansurian, Anastassis Philippakopoulos

Jan Bang (NOR) · live sampling, Vahé Hovanesian (ARM) · duduk, Tom Arthurs (GB/D) · trumpet, Christian Thomé (D) · drums, Stevko Busch (D/NL) · piano, Keiko Shichijo (JP/NL) · solo piano, Dante Boon (NL) · solo piano, Rafael Vanoli, Bram Stadhouders · guitar

Concept: Henning Bolte, Stevko Busch

“Stevko Busch perfectly brings together music from East and West”
York Schaffer in Weser Kurier 15.2.2015 

Series of special encounters between Amsterdam-based pianists and well-known international guests during Gallery Of Tones / Pianolab. This year’s starting point is the distinctive style and sound universe of Paul Motian (1931-2011). This American percussionist is known for his unique, spatial playing style, in which he mixes Afro-American and Eastern influences.

From this, the invited musicians improvise with an Eastern – and Western coloring, phrasing and timing. The live electronics by the masterful Jan Bang play a crucial role in this.

The program showcases three pianists in different roles. Romanian-Armenian pianist Harry Tavitian will approach Armenian music from a jazz perspective in his solo performance. Dutch concert pianist Dante Boon and Japanese (forte) pianist Keiko Shichijo use Eastern sources in compositions from different periods. German pianist Stevko Busch, initiator of Pianolab, will perform with a memorable quartet that will include British trumpeter and composer Tom Arthurs, Swiss drummer Samuel Rohrer, and Jan Bang.

The composer Komitas Vardapet – as early as 30 years before Béla Bartòk in Hungary – collected the traditional music of Armenia and put it to paper in compositions for piano, orchestra or choir. In her performance of Komitas´s ‘Six Dances for Piano’, the Japanese pianist Keiko Shichijo revives the traditional playing techniques that the composer incorporated into this piece. In the work of contemporary composer Tigran Mansurian, these techniques reappear in a contemporary guise.

“Under her hands, the instrument produced a purity of sound, truly breathtaking. Her entire appearance exudes purity, and so does her intensity while playing” (audience reaction about Keiko Shichijo)