PHILIPPE BOESMANS (b.1936): Tunes for Piano (David Lively [piano]), Surfing for Viola and Orchestra.

Description: The brief Tunes form part of an ongoing series of aphoristic, fugitive impressions, with echoes of Prokofiev, or Debussy, or jazz; often harmonically ambiguous, never actually atonal. 'Cadenza' was derived by the composer from his 1978 Concerto; it is what the name suggests, a bravura series of gestures with n improvisatory feel, though actually precisely notated. 'Fanfare I' is a study in multiple piano voices, with the pianist playing two pianos, giving the impression of even more instruments in different acoustic planes, indifferent spatial perspectives. Some degree of license is afforded the performer in the course of the piece. The impression of multiple performers is also present in the highly virtuosic concertante viola work, Surfing, which also suggests a cadenza, multiplied and amplified by the ensemble. The composer recognises the role played by Berio's viola Sequenza in elaborating the range of techniques available to him and incorporated into his own work. Christophe Desjardins (viola), Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles; Georges-Elie Octors.