Jürg Frey @ 70: Reinier van Houdt

Tickets £16// Concession £12 // Under 30 £5
Advance booking required

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Reinier van Houdt piano

Jürg Frey (Switzerland, 1953)
La présence, les silences (2013-2015) 41’ UK Premiere

Jürg Frey (Switzerland, 1953)
Sam Lazaro Bros (1984) 13’

“If I were a pianist, I would play my music like Reinier would play it.” – Jürg Frey

The music of Wandelweiser composer Jürg Frey is known to make generous use of silence and space, sparse structures forming from air dissipating into vapour once more at the close. These qualities beyond instructive notation are perhaps what pianist and composer Reinier van Houdt was initially drawn towards in his recent collaborations with Frey, a relationship that has birthed releases in 2020 and 2022. This concert features the first two compositions from last year’s triple CD, lieues d’ombres.

La présence, les silences, written between 2013 and 2015, moves with a slowness to match its lengthy duration. Glances of harmony are delicately rendered in van Houdt’s interpretation of the work, where shadows of familiarity make themselves known for listeners who afford them the time. While Sam Lazaro Bros is a much older piece, it foreshadows the subtle use of melody that has become a distinct staple of Frey’s later works.

Produced by hcmf// supported by Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia

Photo © Cristian Filipelli