Overgrown Path

Thoughts from Tristan Murail [on whether it is possible to write for the piano today] resonate with Hazrat Inayat Khan’s teachings on the centrality of vibrations, and with al-Kindī’s theory that all objects and beings emanate radiations that affect all other beings. Tristan Murail was writing in the sleeve note for Marilyn Nonken’s recording of his complete piano music on Métier. Accompanying photos were taken at the 2011 L’art dans les chapelles in the Pontivy region of Brittany. Further resonances include Murail’s degree in classical and Maghrib Arabic, and the inclusion of his Cloche d’adieu, et un sourire … In memoriam Olivier Messiaen in Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Norman Perryman’s ‘Piano Colours’ kinetic art project. Marilyn Nonken, who has written that “composers sharing the spectral attitude would lead their listeners to discover the eroticism of hearing”, continues her survey of spectral piano music with the newly released Voix Voilées. This features compositions by Joshua Fineberg and Hugues Dufort and answers the question ‘Can one still write for the piano today?’ with a resounding yes.

—'Pliable'