Beschreibung
„Aki Takase loves stories. She continuously stores pictures in her head, when reading books or when strolling through towns and countryside. She ‘translates’ these images into music, connecting them up like chains of motifs, sometimes banded together, sometimes meticulously well-structured until they turn into a kind of musical flick-book, an elaborate film soundtrack made up of individual magical frames. One particularly beautiful example in this context is the title track “Goldfish”. At the beginning of the 16th century the fish became a popular pet for the aristocracy in Aki Takase’s native country Japan. They have been regarded as a symbol of success ever since. Moreover, it is the pianist’s favourite fish. The piece masterfully traces, both melodically and rhythmically, the mysterious movements of this fish.
Also technically, this recording presents a challenge. The music feels very strippeddown,almost horizontal, the instruments split into lines which are deliberately
concocted as independent but nonetheless continuously interacting without being
interwoven in the classical way. Unplayed notes having the same importance as
played ones. The single-note-phrases, indispensable for this concept, give the music
a crystalline, yet at all times particularly warm kind of transparency, supported by the
inestimable contributions made by her esteemed fellow musicians, Jan Roder on
bass and Oliver Steidle on drums.
„Aki Takase loves stories. She continuously stores pictures in her head, when reading books or when strolling through towns and countryside. She ‘translates’ these images into music, connecting them up like chains of motifs, sometimes banded together, sometimes meticulously well-structured until they turn into a kind of musical flick-book, an elaborate film soundtrack made up of individual magical frames. One particularly beautiful example in this context is the title track “Goldfish”. At the beginning of the 16th century the fish became a popular pet for the aristocracy in Aki Takase’s native country Japan. They have been regarded as a symbol of success ever since. Moreover, it is the pianist’s favourite fish. The piece masterfully traces, both melodically and rhythmically, the mysterious movements of this fish.
Also technically, this recording presents a challenge. The music feels very strippeddown,almost horizontal, the instruments split into lines which are deliberately
concocted as independent but nonetheless continuously interacting without being
interwoven in the classical way. Unplayed notes having the same importance as
played ones. The single-note-phrases, indispensable for this concept, give the music
a crystalline, yet at all times particularly warm kind of transparency, supported by the
inestimable contributions made by her esteemed fellow musicians, Jan Roder on
bass and Oliver Steidle on drums.
