As part of the Pianísimo concerts of its Chamber Music Cycle, the Auditorio de Tenerife has scheduled the recital Microtolanismos with Esther Ropón, Ernst Surberg and the collaboration of Tak-Nara Percussion Group.
Microtonalismos
Tempered tuning historically represented such a consensus that without it, none of the essential compositional trends in the Western European tradition would have come about. Restriction of tonality and, in turn, of chromaticism, along with the reduction of intonation possibilities to relatively few tones, allowed the systematic ‘discovery’ of magnificent harmonic modulations. This is where, with the consistency of size across all 12 of these tone steps, Schoenberg substituted the tonic with an assemblage of the chromatic. In this context, with the coming of the 20th century, the piano served as a ‘key’ to all of these tempered tones: a key that opens a box, but also a key for orientation and movement within the box. As tonality opened up towards free chromaticism, the piano returned to the microtonal divisions of Gregorian chant and other musical cultures outside of Europe (such as the base scale of Arabic culture or in Hindu music), while revealing a world of possibilities, as manifested in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
All the works presented in this recital were created for two pianos tuned a quarter step apart. Sofia Gubaidulina’s ‘Fantasy on The Theme S-H-E-A’ resounds on a note of passion or decolouration, like a false memory that seems to recede from the world towards the deep space of mystic expressivity. The ‘S-H-E-A’ theme is a tribute to Paloma O’Shea and begins with a transitory process. The first piano presents the subject matter with a strict and slow rhythm, while the second strikes the strings within the piano in a timeless gesture. As the composition progresses, the two pianos (tuned a quarter step apart) become increasingly synchronised. They engage in dialogue; they overlap and they fit one another with exquisite interaction. The music eventually returns to where it began, allowing imagination to run its course anew and to take a different direction.
Leandro Martin has created expressly for this duo a work in which he plays with microtonality with clear references to the typical rhythms of popular Latin American dances. Lisa Streich has composed a reflection on the love of orchestras and its potentially transitory nature. In addition, both pianos are motorised to simulate wind and string instruments. The wind instruments play the keys in the usual manner, whereas the string instruments play through strips of paper that are fastened to the motors. Percussion is added to this with the collaboration of Tak Nara Percussion Group and timbales, triangles and cymbals. At times, the two percussionists are soloists, with orchestral percussion; at others, they act as joint relayers with the Faderbox. The piece attempts to pursue an unlikely ideal. Can the possibilities of an orchestra be achieved with just four musicians and eight motors?
The Pianísimo Subscription 2025-2026 offers a 25% discount on buying the eight concerts of the current season: Bogdan Dugalic, Behzod Abduraimov, Esther Ropón & Ernst Surberg, Luis López, Anna Tsybuleva and Martín García García.
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Tres Quarter-Tone Pieces para dos pianos
Largo
Allegro
Chorale
Sofiya Gubaidúlina (1931-2025)
Fantasy for two pianos on the Theme SHEA
—Intermission—
Leandro Martin (*1974)
Quarteteango
Lisa Streich (*1985)
Orchestra of Black Butterflies for two pianos and two percussionists
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