Concert: Works for piano by Noriko Baba, Éric Marty, Andrew Hamilton and Kevin Volans

This concert focuses on solo works for piano by composers Noriko Baba, Éric Marty and Andrew Hamilton, all fellows selected by South African composer Kevin Volans for 2005-2007. With its timbre, Baba’s “Harmonieux Forgeron” (2006), is reminiscent of a blacksmith’s hammering. Hamilton’s “a phrase that goes sideways piece” (2004) is a composition in which, in the words of the composer, an introverted and peaceful world is discovered. Marty’s “Thin” (2006) is a seemingly romantically piece and Volans’ “Cicada” (1994) for two pianos is interpreted by the composer himself with the pianist Jill Richards.

Jill Richards (piano) is one of South Africa’s foremost performers of new piano music today. She works intensively with various composers, among them Kevin Volans and Philip Miller, as well as jazz composers Surendran Reddy and Denzil Weale. In addition to performing in renowned international and South African festivals, she has produced four CDs. She plays duets with Kevin Volans and Michael Blake. Her repertoire includes contemporary piano music as well as African works.

Kevin Volans (piano) was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, studied with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Mauricio Kagel in Cologne, and now lives in Dublin, Ireland. Since a productive collaboration with the Kronos Quartet in the 1980s his work, principally in the field of chamber and orchestral music, has been regularly performed worldwide. In 1997 the BBC Music Magazine listed him as one of the 50 most important living composers. Principal performances in the last years include the Berliner Festwochen, the Salzburger Festspiele, Vienna State Opera, the Lincoln Centre, New York, the Pompidou Centre, Paris and the BBC Proms. As a juror, Volans selected the 2005/2007 Music/Sound Art fellows.

Admission: 7 Euro (4,50 Euro) at the door