Dieter Ammann : The Piano Concerto “Gran Toccata” (2016-19)

Описание: Dieter Ammann (*1962~) : The Piano Concerto “Gran Toccata” (2016-19)

Uploaded with the kindest permission from the composer.

Andreas Haefliger, piano
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor

World Première, 19 August 2019, BBC Proms '19

Performance audio :    • Dieter Ammann: The Piano Concerto (“Gran T...  

Dieter Ammann composed his "Piano Concerto" for the pianist Andreas Haefliger. The original working title was "no templates," which, according to the composer, "primarily refers to an openness of thought in dealing with this genre, but also to an openness regarding the diversity of the means employed." An approach "without patterns" has always characterized the composing of Dieter Ammann, whose notation method advances meticulously and precisely measure by measure into the open. His works are the result of an interplay of diverse sound and playing situations, "not a collage-like, but a dramaturgically directed music with a 'work character.' The power of dramaturgy and consequently a coherent time design form a bracket in which a contrasting sound topography unfolds, with the different structural elements (such as various tonal systems) able to enter into a fruitful discourse."

In the broad tension field between individual and collective, which traditionally defines the genre, the composer is concerned with the most diverse playing forms. "For example, in the solo part, several functions are distinguished. The conventional roles of the piano both as an accompanist to the orchestral events and as an unaccompanied individual are just two possible manifestations, with the latter often having a reciprocal flow of material and energy continuing subcutaneously, so that the solo instrument cannot 'escape' into the subjective or even the non-committal."

Further function categories include the common solo-accompagnato, which has its place just as much as the aforementioned 'orchestra piano.' New terrain is explored through the expansion of the action spectrum of the solo instrument. Additionally, there is a kinetic component, a sort of 'corporeal subtext,' so that the music cannot be reduced solely to the realization of the notated text, but also presents a visual aspect from the performative side—something that provides additional informational content in the reception (especially in the concert situation). This optical aspect, for instance, in the transfer and reception of impulse chains (thus the actual 'concertare'), can even become the primary information when the solo voice is blurred, obscured, swallowed, or gradually dissolved in the overall texture.

The close interlocking of the functions of piano and orchestra ensures that the inherent moment of virtuosity of the genre as a 'sociological model' is not confined to the solo instrument but also finds significant expression in some orchestral passages.

(Bärenreiter)