BY WENDY ZHANG
ZOFOMOMA
ZOFO (pianists Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi)
Musica Viva season
City Recital Hall, 13 May
ZOFOMOMA was not just an ordinary concert. It was a collaboration of modern art and music concepts, between contemporary modern artists and composers from around the world. More than anything, it showed us the true purpose of attending live performances: that we can use each of our senses to experience, explore, and appreciate the beauty of music and art; and sometimes, challenge our own definitions and assumptions at the same time.
It was clear from the beginning that ZOFO was putting on a show for the audience rather than merely playing the required pieces as in a traditional concert. When the show started, there was no light on stage – the duo Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi appeared and walked straight to a single piano. The stage lit up as the duo started playing their introduction with no hesitation. Then a painting appeared on a screen behind the piano – Le Bassin d’Argenteuil by French impressionistic artist Claude Monet. It had inspired Argentina’s Gilles Silvestrini to compose a musical work, which the duo also performed. The opening was atmospheric and mysterious, and reminded me of Debussy’s piano music, with Zimmermann playing the higher register with expression.
In between the main pieces inspired by (and taking their names from) the artworks, one pianist would play a promenade. The promenades were short pieces with a common theme, functioning as breaks in between the pieces inspired by the paintings. During the promenades, the free pianist would take a short walk, and come back to the opposite side of the piano to prepare to play the duo next piece. That way, each musician had the chance to play the right side (treble section) and left side (bass section), interchangeably throughout the program.
The timing of walks was perfect to suit the length of each promenade. Nakagoshi composed both the Introduction and the 14 Promenades himself, as he took the inspiration from Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, containing a suite of works and a promenade for piano. If this concert was a fancy degustation menu, then the promenades were more like water between each course to cleanse the palate and get one ready for the next course. As each piece was quite distinct in character and style, the promenades were functionally important in getting the listeners back to a neutral state and feeling calm and relaxed before the next course/piece began.
The second painting was The Arrival of Implacable Gifts by James Gleeson, and the duo played a piece by Australian composer Carl Vine – artistic director of Musica Viva who was sitting amongst the audience. The surrealistic painting, according to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, explores the idea that gifts we wish for would often wreck our lives; as in Gleeson’s own description of the painting, the sky was like “a stormy sea where incoming gifts are deposited like wreckage on people underneath”. The music was intense, urgent, rhythmic and dissonant, with a powerful opening. The balance between the bass (played by Zimmermann) and treble (Nakagoshi) was strong, and I felt like I was listening to one person playing.
After Promenade 2, which filled in the gap after the Vine, the duo played the piece by Israeli composer Avner Dorman, inspired by Reuven Rubin’s painting Dancing with the Torah at Mount Meron, which I thoroughly enjoyed. As explained in the program, the painting had three men dancing with tense expressions, with Mount Meron at the background – expressing their devotion to the Torah, which was part of the Jewish culture and tradition. The duo played a fast running passage – an energetic dance accompanied by occasional stomping of the feet, which was powerful and immediately seemed to wake listeners up from their own thoughts! During the fast section, there was complex rhythmic patterns – 3 against 2 between the treble and bass section, which the duo played flawlessly. As it was a very fast movement, when Nakagoshi turned the page, it was as quick as lightning – I couldn’t believe my own eyes. I immediately asked myself why they didn’t have a page turner there, but then realised it was all part of their performance: by adding a third person, there would be a distraction to this performance instead.
The composition by American composer Jonathan Russel, inspired by Stormie Mill’s street art painting, was my personal favourite of the night. The dynamics and movement of the duo during this piece resembled the title of the painting – Untitled Skeleton. Zimmermann stood behind and leant over Nakagoshi throughout the piece, and on the piano followed him from bass all the way to treble, awkwardly playing a few scattered notes. At the end, she finished her last note and still standing, collapsed onto him, as if they were both dead. The composer explored the idea of someone “trying to make his way from the underworld up to East London’s hip, busy streets”, according to the program, but his other self was sabotaging his attempt to rise up, which was represented both visually and musically by ZOFO.
The concert ended with the piece by Cuban composer Keyla Orozco, inspired by Douglas Perez Castro’s painting Viajaros (Travelers). Orozco explored the idea of juxtaposition between Russian children’s songs representing traditional Russian culture, and jazz music representing the American dream; as many Cubans wanting to leave the country and flee to the States after the revolution, according to the program. The duo played the children’s songs in a playful and lively manner, especially the quick descending scales. After the slower jazz section, the children’s songs returned, but becoming very fast and bouncy instead. Many people commented that they enjoyed this piece the most after the concert, and some people said the last section sounded like a ping pong game. For me, it sounded more like a pinball game, with the notes in the treble section bouncing around in a fast and playful manner. A smart choice of music and a spectacular ending to this unusual concert.
I enjoyed the duo’s playing throughout the concert, and felt that Zimmermann was more suited to playing the treble, as her playing was very colourful, expressive, and full of emotions, which captured my heart. Nakagoshi’s playing was sensitive, deep, and thoughtful, which provided a strong base for Zimmermann. It was a smart choice to have Zimmermann playing the treble section for the opening and closing pieces, as the duo worked very much to their strengths in this arrangement.
It was a splendid and unusual performance with a lot of takeaways from artistic and musical perspectives. The duo was successful not only because they were brilliant pianists, but because they were avant-garde in their approach to expressing themselves and the music they love, and being determined and creative in their choice and collaboration with other artists across different genres and countries. I would love to see more of these types of music and artists on the stage in Australia.
Image supplied.
