2011
August 2011
The Electro-Acoustic Piano First Review
The following review appears on amazon.com:
I've heard a fair amount of pianists who focus on 20th/21st C. repertoire. Let's go over the basics:
1.Being able to switch from extreme violence to sotto voce delicacy in the blink of an eye.
2.Have over the top power where the piano strings snap and the timbre turns to white heat.
3.Play fast filigree passages with exacting accuracy, hopefully beyond comprehension, but still convincingly phrased.
4. Being able to play rhythmic syncopations musically (with a pop/jazz sensibility).
5. Being able to play transitions convincing with an iron grip on the material from one section to the next(extremely important!!!!!)
6. All phrasing is exaggerated, convincing, determinately heading towards the next articulation point or climax.
7. Knows all the conventions of all the various styles of post 19th C. music (French/German Axis) as well as knowing 19th and 18th C music.
Keith Kirchoff is such a player and why he is not internationally celebrated, it's beyond me. His crescendo/accelerando hammering on a single note is spectacular in the evenness and the timbral shift, as he brings more and more strength to bear on those whacked strings. God have mercy on any piano he plays on. The fast passages are extraordinarily accurate--not one articulation clam or blooper anywhere that I could hear. The arpeggiations are so full of French ,Messiaenic color, it's spectacular, and the slam chords are brutally barbaric, but still voiced. He has massive chops and when that is linked together with real hot iron musicality , watch out.
Now the down side; I'm not crazy about the repertoire on this CD but don't listen to me---just get it to hear his playing. This kind of live/electro is in its' infancy and Kirchoff has chosen pieces which up to now has skewed heavily to post serial academic music-so let's not be so cranky. Let's do a little mini-review of what's here:
`Servicio a Domicillio' (1991) by Roberto Morales is in the style in the post Stockhausen/Boulez soup/golash but is still very dramatic and effective (where as a lot of these post serial pieces are not). He opens with a fairly tradition motiv that returns periodically to unite the piece. This is followed by periods of extended barbarism (probably graphic score), which is refreshing given the general past shelf date of the style. The brutality is contrasted with very light transparent passages played with extreme delicacy. At the 6:15 min. mark, a quiet, jazzier section unfolds, which was very cool and fresh and I prayed' Make it all sound like this all the time' -alas, it was not to be. Then back to thick barbarism, which would have to leave a few gashes and bruises on any pianist. The ending seemed a little perfunctory-maybe this is his `art of the fugue'? The work is clearly not entirely dry serialism with moments of real beauty and violent passion. But formally one comes away with no sense of real formal progression in the piece towards a raison d'être conclusion.
The next track is `Lush Intrinsic' by Dan VanHassel, which definitely fall in the minimalist camp. Though pleasant to listen to there are too many desperate elements (some which sound vaguely like Steve Reich) to really pull everything together. There are shards of electronica influence throughout which I felt was gutsy and a good direction. It seems his goal is fusing electronica with minimalism--keep going with this.
The next track is `Prava Dubia'by Christopher Trebue Moore which uses a prepared piano to integrate with the electronics--and very effectively I might add. The sound is extremely clean and transparent aurally with lots of glisses of piano strings, repeated notes, hyper transposed single notes, and some amazing Arditti -like playing by Kirchoff. Towards the end panpipes announce the conclusion but by now, too much Ferneyhoughish anti-musicality has had the upper hand (see no groove, no harmony, no melody).
The penultimate track is `In Vitro Oink'by Christopher Jette which has lots of banging on the piano wood over stock footage electronics. Still I liked the piano `echoes', the natural organic `home grown' sounds, and the ever-present high sequenced wateriness emanating from the electronics. In fact I was more drawn to the electronics than the piano writing.
The final track is from one of the Grand Dads of electronic music, Allen Strange with his `Velocity Studies 3'. There's a lot of amazing lizstian-like arpeggio playing here--both on the piano and in the electronics--full of strong harmonic modulations which definitely signaled we are not in the german 20thC., academic tradition anymore. Much like Dorothy felt when she got to Oz.
In conclusion don't let my glib review dissuade you from hearing Kirchoff blast through these works -I'm jaded, so don't listen to me. Listen to this guy play!!!!
July 2011
The Electro-Acoustic Piano Available July 1
My indpendent record label, Thinking outLOUD Records, will be releasing its first album on July 1st. The Electro-Acoustic Piano, volume one will be available on iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon, and most every major online music distributor. At the moment, the album will only be released in mp3 format, but high quality recordings will be available for purchase from my website (more information forthcoming).
This album includes works by Roberto Morales, Christopher Jette, Christopher Trebue Moore, Dan VanHassel, and Allen Strange. All of the works were included on my 2010 EAP tour.
I owe many people a big "thank you!"
Thank you to Christopher Jette who acted as the album's producer and for desigining the album cover.
Thank you to Dan VanHassel who was the album's engineer.
Thank you to Hollis Nolan who mastered the entire album.
Thank you Christopher Trebue Moore, Dan VanHassel, and Christopher Jette who mixed each of their compositions.
Thank you to all five composers for their amazing pieces!
Thank you to Benjamin Buchanan for designing the Thinking outLOUD label!
February 2011
Keith Kirchoff Named 2011 "Distinguished Scholar"
The Seabee Memorial Scholarship Association (SMSA) recently announced that I was the winner of this year's Distinguished Scholar Award. I will be traveling to Washington D.C. on March 5 to receive the award.
I am truly touched to have been selected for this unexpected honor, and I wish to thank the SMSA for their interest and support in my work.