Premiere: 2020
Commission: Mannheimer Schlagwerk
Musicians: 4 percussionists
Duration: 11 minutes
Part of the “MINIMAL” program
Swiss pianist and composer Nik Bärtsch, born in Zurich in 1971, shares with New York musician Shelley Washington a taste for music with open horizons, at the frontiers of the most zen-like jazz and modern composition, where pop and groove have their place. With his groups Mobile and Ronin or under his own name, his various albums – all released on the legendary ECM label – bear witness to a constant interest in the repetition, combination and superimposition of phrases and motifs. The composer also writes for other ensembles, notably pieces for percussion, such as the bewitching Seven Eleven (2020) based on interlocking rhythmic cycles, or Shaker Kami, commissioned by the Percussions de Strasbourg in 2020 and performed on stage with the pianist himself. The great precision of his compositions presupposes intense work and a particular understanding of the performers.