TRPTK today released a new CD of Piano Concertos Nr. 1 & 2 by Frerichs. Performed by the Alma Quartet, Dominic Seldis (members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra), Vinsent Planjer and of course Rembrandt Frerichs himself.
The Dutch label TRPTK today released a special album featuring the Piano Concertos Nrs. 1 & 2 by Frerichs. Pianist Rembrandt Frerichs has made a name for himself in the current Dutch music scene, in which he makes exciting connections with world music, baroque and classical music. He was the first to introduce the fortepiano, for example, with the high-profile production ‘The Contemporary Fortepiano’ for Just Listen REcords. Frerichs seizes every possible musical adventure with both hands and it is therefore no wonder that he was approached by viola player Michael Gieler of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra to write a piece for his “IJ-Salon series”, a place where you can experiment to one’s heart’s content and break down musical barriers.
Improvisational element
Together with the Alma Quartet (all strings of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), double bassist Dominic Seldis and his regular percussionist Vinsent Planjer, Frerichs took a completely new and unexpected path. TRPTK: ‘He brought the improvisational element back into classical music: a practice that was common in the time of Mozart and Beethoven. Composers then wrote out their orchestral parts and came up with solo part during the performance. Frerichs follows this pattern in his first two piano concertos. He uses a ‘black page’ with prescribed notes for the strings and allows himself to be inspired by the moment from a ‘white page’ together with percussionist Planjer. The musical imagination is given free rein and because of this exceptional starting point, each performance will be different.
Elements of jazz
According to TRPTK, if you taste anything in Frerichs’ piano concertos, it is ‘a freshness and urge to innovate that we found in the pioneers from the beginning of the last century: Ravel, Debussy, Gershwin, Bartók and Stravinsky. Of course we also hear many elements from jazz, such as an infectious sense of timing and groove and the linear improvisations of the legendary Lennie Tristano. Frerichs succeeds convincingly in dissolving the boundaries between classical and improvised music. His music has a unique drive in which we again feel the authentic struggle between soloist and orchestra. It’s an experience you’ll want to live after listening to this unique album. Keep an eye on the concert calendars’.
24-4-22 Utrecht TivoliVredenburg 21-5-22 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw a/h IJ 1-10-22 Leiden City Auditorium – Aalmarkt Hall 18-2-22 Ede Cultura
