VAN VEEN: PIANO MUSIC, Vol. 2 - Jeroen van Veen (7 CDs)

A cornucopia of catchy melodies and hypnotic music from the king of minimalist piano.

Jeroen van Veen has won international success with albums of Satie, Pärt, Glass and Riley. These are only some of the most significant composers whose work he has recorded for Brilliant Classics in building a library on record of minimalist piano music. Simplicity, repetition and appealing melody are the qualities shared by all the composers who subscribe to this aesthetic, and they underlie van Veen’s own compositions.

Although subtitled Volume 2, this is the third album to focus exclusively on the pianist as composer. Books 1 and 2 of his Minimal Piano Preludes were reissued on a 2CD set (BC95383) in 2016, and won high praise from MusicWeb International: ‘Both spectacular and simple, these pieces all have bags of content and an underlying surge of joy in creation and performance that is irresistible.’ Further preludes feature in a 5CD box of his piano music (BC9454) and this sequel takes us up to Minimal Prelude No.60, a ‘tango for organ’.

‘All my music is about time and space,’ says van Veen in a booklet essay. ‘The duration of music is an essential part of the concept in my music. The concept of music, specifically my minimal oriented music, only can exist in time. The slow progression, building of the material, the motifs and the search for new sounds is audible in this new box.’ All the works featured here were composed between 2010 and 2018.

Continuum (CD1) is a concertante work for piano and flute octet. Incanto (CD2) is another CD-length piece, entirely composed in an unusual 11/8 time signature. Ripalmania (CD3) is written for six pianos, a scoring which creates an entrancing effect. In Velvet Piano (CD6) van Veen explores the timbral possibilities of pianos prepared with objects after the style of John Cage, though without the American composer’s aim of disconcerting the listener. The final disc is a celebration of minimalist jazz, in which the border between composition and improvisation almost vanishes.

Jeroen van Veen about his own piano music: “All my music is about time and space. The duration of music is an essential part of the concept in my music. Time goes by so quickly in these modern times that it has become an exclusive privilege to people. The concept of music, specifically my minimal oriented music, only can exist in time. The slow progression, the building of the material, the motifs and the search for new sounds is audible in this new box”.
This set contains music ranging from one piano, two pianos, piano and keyboards, organ, up till 6 pianos.
Jeroen van Veen established himself as “The leading exponent of minimalism today” (Fanfare), “Jeroen van Veen has been a powerhouse in the piano world” (Musicweb). His numerous recordings for Brilliant Classics include works by Glass, Reich, Ten Holt, Pärt, Satie, Tiersen, Einaudi, Preisner and many others.

Disk 1
1Jeroen van Veen: Continuum, Pianoconcerto No. 1, I

2Jeroen van Veen: Continuum, Pianoconcerto No. 1, II

3Jeroen van Veen: Continuum, Pianoconcerto No. 1, III

4Jeroen van Veen: Continuum, Pianoconcerto No. 1, IV

5Jeroen van Veen: Continuum, Pianoconcerto No. 1, V

6Jeroen van Veen: Continuum, Pianoconcerto No. 1, VI

7Jeroen van Veen: Continuum, Pianoconcerto No. 1, Applause

8Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 50 for two Pianos

Disk 2
1Jeroen van Veen: Incanto No. 2, Section 01

2Jeroen van Veen: Incanto No. 2, Section 29

3Jeroen van Veen: Incanto No. 2, Section ossia 36

4Jeroen van Veen: Incanto No. 2, Section 36

5Jeroen van Veen: Incanto No. 2, Section 44

6Jeroen van Veen: Incanto No. 2, Section 46

7Jeroen van Veen: Incanto No. 2, Section 63

8Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 48

Disk 3
1Jeroen van Veen: Ripalmania for 6 Pianos, I

2Jeroen van Veen: Ripalmania for 6 Pianos, II

3Jeroen van Veen: Ripalmania for 6 Pianos, III

4Jeroen van Veen: Ripalmania for 6 Pianos, IV

5Jeroen van Veen: Ripalmania for 6 Pianos, V

6Jeroen van Veen: Ripalmania for 6 Pianos, VI

7Jeroen van Veen: In Sea, for any Combination of Instruments

Disk 4
1Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 41

2Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 46

3Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 47

4Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 49 for Piano and Tape Delay

5Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 51, Hotwax

6Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 52, for Mike

7Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 53

Disk 5
1Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 58, for Luk Perceval

2Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 54

3Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 55

4Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 56

5Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude for Two Rippen Grand Pianos and 6 Ebows

6Jeroen van Veen: Almost Six O’clock

7Jeroen van Veen: Una corda

Disk 6
1Jeroen van Veen: Velvet Piano, Looping I

2Jeroen van Veen: Velvet Piano, Into Space

3Jeroen van Veen: Velvet Piano, Intemite

4Jeroen van Veen: Velvet Piano, Deepness

5Jeroen van Veen: Velvet Piano, Looping II

6Jeroen van Veen: Velvet Piano, in 5

7Jeroen van Veen: Velvet Piano, Toy Piano

8Jeroen van Veen: Velvet Piano, Rhythmical Pleasure

9Jeroen van Veen: Velvet Piano, Looping III

10Jeroen van Veen: Minimal Prelude 60, Tango for Organ

Disk 7
1Jeroen van Veen: Ebow4two

2Jeroen van Veen: Building

3Jeroen van Veen: Inside Out

4Jeroen van Veen: Muted String

5Jeroen van Veen: Dreaming

6Jeroen van Veen: Rocking

7Jeroen van Veen: Back to f

8Jeroen van Veen: Sambanova

9Jeroen van Veen: Two Ways

10Jeroen van Veen: On the Move

11Jeroen van Veen: With a Little Help from my Piano