Friday, December 10, 2021

Eduardo Elia / The art of not falling - Improvisations on Schoenberg's Op19 piano pieces (December 10, 2021 577 Records)

Eduardo Elia’s new project, a vivid solo piano project, pays homage to Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, inspired by and grounded in Schoenberg’s proclamation that, “The expression 'atonal music' is most unfortunate, it is on a par with calling flying 'the art of not falling.” In 1911, Schoenberg composed his now-renowned "6 Little Piano Pieces Op19," a project that challenged the parameters established until then. He was searching for a spontaneous sound that would emulate a free association of ideas, especially as they were produced by improvisation, "an expression of the feeling as if it were really the feeling." A century later, Eduardo Elia used these six short pieces as an initial point to improvise, by rereading the written material and, once presented, improvising on it. 

To close the recording, in ‘The Art of Not Falling,’ a freely improvised take pays homage to the music developed by Schoenberg during that era. The resulting project is an elegant and simple series of compositions that simultaneously draws on the music of the Austrian composer, but reveals the personal voice of the contemporary Argentinian pianist.

1. I
2. II
3. III
4. IV
5. V
6. VI
7. The art of not falling

Eduardo Elia: Piano

Recording, mixing and mastering by Pablo Granja
Recorded on February 20, 2021, at Paseo del Buen Pastor, Córdoba, Argentina
Piano provided and supervised by Miguel Puch (Pianos Puch)