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LP
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CORTIZONA 006LP
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After Mars II (2018) and Fortune de Mer (2018), the album Frederik Croene made together with Timo van Luijk, Croene releases Cul de Sac: a record where he explores the boundaries and limits of the piano. A mind-blowing journey through his soul and his past. After graduating from Conservatories in 1999, Frederik Croene embarked on several projects in which he would reflect on the ever-changing and multi-layered identities of the classical pianist. As the Gestalt of his instrument is grounded in 19th-century Romanticism, he still uses virtuosity to communicate about what it is to be a pianist. He has performed and recorded the classical repertoire and worked intensively with composers such as Michael Beil, Johannes Kreidler, Simon Steen-Andersen, Michael Finnissey, Alexander Schubert, and Stefan Prins. In 2010, he reached a turning point in his career as a composer-performer with the formulation of the concept of Le Piano Démécanisé ("The De-mechanized Piano") in an article and LP release (AUDIOMER 007LP). Croene composes almost exclusively for piano or dismantled piano, using extra-musical tools such as video, text, and choreography (Roll over Czerny, Piano Hero Parasite, On Education, Eagle Finger). To realize these often complex setups he founded Pianoguide, a piano duo/think tank with pianist Elisa Medinilla (Nadar Ensemble). He established an enduring collaboration with underground musician Timo van Luijk, which has given rise to many live performances and two LP releases: Voile au Vent (2009) and Fortune de Mer. He has been invited to perform recitals at Holland Festival, Transit Festival Leuven, Time of Music Festival in Finland, Huddersfield Contemporary Festival, and Festival van Vlaanderen. In addition to his career as a performer, Croene also curates a piano series at PostX, a small venue in his hometown of Merelbeke. He teaches piano and founded the Vinim atelier, where he coaches youngsters in experimental composition and improvisation.
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LP
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AUDIOMER 007LP
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2010 release. "Le Piano Demécanisé is the result of Frederik Croene's urge to sabotage the piano, to destroy the nostalgic relation between player and instrument, making obsolete acquired techniques, finding himself unable to play repertoire, thus freeing himself and the object." -- Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly 757. Frederik Croene performs his music on a "dismantled" piano, which, if I believe the cover of this record, looks like a drum set. It seems to me that much of the music is played in an improvised manner, but perhaps with classical training in mind. Also, again, I am not sure but it could very well be that Croene takes his inspiration from Zen. Sometimes, like in "Gonflammation," the piano actually sounds like a piano, which is odd if it has been dismantled, but in "Postludium 'pour le piano,'" Croene allows external piano sounds into his music. Overall the music has a very contemplative and percussive nature. Either with hands, sticks, or bows, he gently approaches the piano and works on it, very much like a composer, an explorer, and an improviser. Croene explores the possibilities in a careful way, almost like a scientist, and let's the results speak for themselves. Hard to place on the scale composition versus improvisation, but throughout very nice.
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