audio excerpt:
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december I (07:37)
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december VI (07:22)
andreja andric
(1973)
winter solstice december
1 I
2 II
3 III
4 IV
5 V
6 VI
7 meditations II (for two
pianists)
anita tomasevich (piano)
about the recording
anita and i met for the first time in a music school. not
long after, she became the first ever performer of my music.
that was around the time when i was already for a couple of
years an avid listener of music by stockhausen, cage, early
philip glass and much other exciting music that we today
refer to as the avantgarde. we walked together through
unusual harmonies created from circles scattered on sheets
of paper. it was a different sound world, outside of what we
were learning in school.
thirty years later, we recorded this disc. the music and the
world became very different in the meantime. in the six
works con- stituting the december cycle we return, in a way,
to basic elements of western music, and explore a single
minor chord in each piece. the cycle starts with e-minor,
continues with e-flat minor, and, through six consecutive
pieces of music, ends with b-minor, by each step reaching a
slightly darker sound color. each piece from the set
explores all the possible rearrangements of six notes within
a single minor chord spread over four octaves, creating
natural interweaving of undulating melodic lines wit- hin
the same chord. the chord, at a slow, steady pace, resounds
in ever new colors.
the final, longest work on this disc, meditation (II),
abandons traditional notation altogether to describe the
music with words only - in a way looking further back into
an imaginary past (or perhaps a possible future) where music
is transmitted as an oral tradition, and where music-making
is open to everyone. this work is a part of a larger series
of meditative text scores, intended to imitate the spirit of
nature rather than its actual appearance. the multiplicity
of voices fits together in the same way as calls of
different birds in a forest form an evolving soundscape, and
as patterns of fallen leaves on a walkway create infinite
tape- stries.
while december challenges the performer to patiently explore
shades of tone color by working through gradual changes in
the setting of one and the same chord, meditation (II) gives
up a part of musical control, invites the performer and the
listener to intuitively connect with their inner self, and
insists on full presence in the moment. through their simple
and austere, but infini- tely varied flow, these two works,
here recorded on disc for the first time, seek to create new
meditative sound spaces for our time and the future.
andreja
andric
about the composer
andreja andric (born 1973) is a serbian composer and
computer programmer, living in aarhus in denmark. he enjoys
playful exploration of mathematical processes and chance and
uses computer programming as key means of artistic
expression. with a primary interest in composition and
performance for and with his networked laptop/smartphone
ensemble, he is also active in the areas of instrumental and
vocal music, video and software art. his work has been
performed on festivals such as world music days 2019 in
tallinn, estonia, nycemf (new york city electroacoustic
music festival 2021), and festival futura in crest, france
(2018). holds a phd in music informatics from the state
university of milan, italy.
http://www.andrejaandric.com/
about the performer
anita tomasevich is a freelance pianist, born and raised
in belgrade and residing in cyprus. she has wide musical
interests, from scarlatti and bach, to early romantic
music of schubert and chopin, russian music of the 19th
century and the contemporary repertoire. her
performances are characterized by strong artistry,
individualism, subtle sensibility for composer's style
and an impressive stage presence. she is a laureate of
international competitions, including first prize on
città di tortona competition in italy. she studied at
the music academy in novi sad (bmus, mmus) and royal
conservatoire in den hague, and with renowned teachers
such as jegor chugayev, svetlana bogino, yelena richter,
lazar berman, györgy sandor, among others. in 2006
her career as a concert pianist was stopped by a spinal
injury. after almost ten years of recovery, anita
started performing again, both solo and chamber music
with excellent reviews. as a chamber musician, anita
forms a duo with the romanian violinist, residing in
cyprus, sorin alexandru horlea. anita is the founder and
artistic director of the avaton international music
festival, which received international recognition.
http://www.anitatomasevich.com/
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