ZOFO – Echoes of Gamelan – Friday, April 26 at 8 pm
ZOFO
Echoes of Gamelan
Eva-Maria Zimmermann & Keisuke Nakagoshi, piano four-hands
Claude Debussy, arr. K. Nakagoshi Sirènes from Three Nocturnes
Leopold Godowsky, arr. K. Nakagoshi In the Kraton from Java Suite
Gustav Holst, arr. K. Nakagoshi Saturn from The Planets
Brian Baumbusch Prisms for Gene Davis (excerpt)
Ni Nyoman Srayamurtikanti, arr. B. Baumbusch Speech Delay
Balinese ceremonial music, transcribed by Colin McPhee for two pianos, arranged for piano four-hands by Eva-Maria Zimmermann
Echoes of Gamelan explores the influence of gamelan music on Western composers, as well as how our music perception changes depending on the context. Colin McPhee’s transcriptions of Balinese ceremonial music are interwoven with pieces by Godowsky, Debussy, Holst and Baumbusch. This juxtaposition prompts us to listen to each piece from outside the western tradition and to experience compositional time differently. Debussy heard gamelan music for the first time at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. This exposure made a huge impact on his development and by extension on many composers to come. The program closes with a transcription of Balinese composer Srayamurtikanti’s Speech Delay. Originally written for Balinese shadow-puppet theater instruments, this piece is dedicated to the composer’s sister. Just as Debussy did with Western classical music more than a hundred years ago, Srayamurtikanti is exploring the outer reaches of traditional gamelan music.