Description
This is music with an ethnic feel, inspired by nature poetry from the Chinese Middle Ages. Two of the pieces originally belong to the work Songs from the Planet of Life but are here in revised versions. Lotus Dance part II is presented for the first time. There's a lot going on in the orchestra, and some of the rhythmic divisions might look complicated in the score but become simpler once they fall 'into the groove.' It doesn't take much; small irregularities in the tempo can cause the rhythmic foundation to collapse. The performance won't 'swing,' as they say in jazz. But within the concept of swinging lies a paradox: while the underlying pulse represents mechanical timing, we won't say that something swings unless the soloist or the orchestra relates effortlessly to this pulse. Conductor Rolf Gupta brings the score to life with a genuine sense of the intentions for effortless lightness amid the multitude of musical impulses. Gupta himself says about the work: 'Iberg's piano concerto has an almost crystalline transparency that can evoke associations with Ravel and Mozart. It feels both free and restrained at the same time.'