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Kwetzinsky/Skinner duo: "Shchedrinfected"

In February 2009 pianists Joachim Kjelsaas Kwetzinsky and David Arthur Skinner visit five universities in Norway, with a project based on the music of Rodion Shchedrin.

 
23/02/09University of Stavanger - workshop 
24/02/09University of Stavanger info
25/02/09Grieg Academy, Bergeninfo
27/02/09University of Tromsø - workshopinfo
27/02/09University of Tromsøinfo
03/03/09University of Agderinfo
05/03/09Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH), Osloinfo
   

We are working with Rodion Shchedrin's preludes and fugues, which, although complex, through-composed pieces, lend themselves to interpretation for several reasons. Several of the preludes have an open, improvised flavour, due to their loose tonality and phrasing. The fugues are strongly rhythmic lattices of sound to be treated firmly. I myself, as an improviser, work with many of the same concepts as these pieces explore, such as free counterpoint, unusual accentuation and polyrhythms. And of course I love playing the piano, and the joy of pianistry often comes through in Shchedrin's compositions.

The music will include various approaches:

  • Joachim playing alone
  • David playing alone
  • Joachim playing "as written" while David improvises
  • Both musicians play from the score
  • Both musicians improvise

Here’s the program:

From "24 preludes and fugues" (1964/70):

Nr. 1 in C major (Allegretto - L’istesso tempo)
Nr. 2 in A minor (Vivace - Moderato)
Nr. 3 in G major (Larghetto, ma rubato - Allegro assai)
Nr. 4 in E minor (Preludium) (Allegretto)
Nr. 7 in A major (Allegro - L’istesso tempo)
Nr. 8 in F sharp minor (Adagio - Moderato)

From "25 polyphonic preludes" (1972):

Nr. 12: Toccatina-Collage

From "24 preludes and fugues" (1964/70):

Nr. 9 in E major (Preludium) (Quasi improvisato, ma sostenuto assai) 		David Skinner: Bulldozers (2005)

From "24 preludes and fugues" (1964/70):

Nr. 14 in E flat minor (Presto - Allegro - Tempo precedente)
Nr. 15 in D flat major (Preludium) (Lento improvisato)
Nr. 19 in E flat major (Allegro capriccioso - L’istesso tempo)

David Skinner: Improvisation in "Rhythmic Circles"

From "24 preludes and fugues" (1964/70):
Nr. 21 i B-major (Preludium, arrangert for to klaver) (Allegro, ma non troppo, rubato parlando)

From "Two polyphonic pieces" (1961): Nr. 2: Basso ostinato


 

Joachim Kjelsaas Kwetzinsky is active on the stage in Norway and abroad, performing as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. In 2004 he was selected, as one of two, for Rikskonsertene’s three-year INTRO Classical programme. The selection committee praised in particular his "well-profiled programme, his impressive overview and shaping of the musical material, and his virtuoso, unsentimental yet sensitive performance".

In 2004 Kwetzinsky completed his diploma course (the highest level of postgraduate performance study) at the Norwegian Academy of Music where his primary teacher was the noted pianist Einar Steen-Nøkleberg. Kwetzinsky’s previous teachers include Liv Glaser and Jiri Hlinka.

Kwetzinsky was a prizewinner in the Concours Grieg 2002. He has performed in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Austria, Germany, France, Spain, Greece, Czech Republic, Lithuania, USA, Oman, China, Bangladesh, Jordan, Sudan and Russia.

He has appeared as a soloist at several festivals in Norway and abroad, including Bergen International Festival, Festival of North Norway, Ultima, Christmas at the Kremlin and Woerthersee Classics Festival.


David Skinner plays the piano, guitar, and percussion, and composes music. He grew up in the south of England, and spent a year in France teaching English before moving to Yorkshire in 1999, to go to the Leeds College of Music. He left the college after a year but carried on to become a full-time musician.

Over the course of the next five years, he played hundreds of gigs, mostly in the Yorkshire area, but also all over England. He got experience playing many styles of jazz (trad, swing, bebop, funk, free impro) with a wide range of musicians in a variety of venues. Skinner was also house pianist at several local jazz clubs over the years.

It was when he was studying at LCM that he joined the group Sphinx. This group has played extensively in Norway and England, and has also taken part in festivals in Germany, France, and Belgium, as well as releasing four albums and touring in Finland in 2006 and Japan in 2007 and 2008.

Skinner moved to Norway in 2005, first to Oslo, and then to Bergen in 2007, where he now studies classical composition at Griegakademiet. He still works as a musician and piano teacher and has played all over Norway, from the south coast to Svalbard.