Solo Piano Series 2016: Season 2

After three wonderful Spring/Summer concerts by Julie Sassoon, Eyolf Dale and Liam Noble, Improvised Music Company are delighted to announce the second season of the 2016 Solo Piano Series beginning in Autumn back to the spectacular setting of The Hugh Lane Gallery as part of the Sundays at Noon sessions. The line-up, just like our first season, is stylistically diverse with each artist bringing fresh material from their very different musical backgrounds: Bojan Z (Serbia), Eve Risser (France) and Huw Warren (Wales). For those of you located further South, each artist this season will be giving an extra performance in the Triskel Christ Church in Cork.

‘Virtuosity, classical knowledge, wit and entertainer's instincts’ - The Guardian (Bojan Z)

Beginning the season in September will be multi award winning pianist Bojan Z (Zulfikarpasic). Based in Paris, originally from Serbia, Bojan Z’s personal sense of style has been known to escape classification. With a background in classical music, rock, Brazilian music, blues, jazz and Balkan Folklore, Z harmoniously blends and twists his colourful musical baggage, innovating yet never losing his taste for melody and song form. He has released two very successful solo albums winning Album of the Year for Xenophonia, Victoires du Jazz with Solobsession in 2007 and Artist of the Year, Victoires du Jazz after the release of the much acclaimed Soul Shelter in 2012. (listen here)

“She generates sounds that are alternately percussive, droning, ringing, buzzing and tuneful: Symphonies of colour and texture that flow with an inexorable compositional logic.”-Downbeat (Eve Risser)

Performing in October will be Eve Risser, multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger of improvised music from France. Eve is most widely recognised as an experimental pianist on prepared and unprepared piano and her adoration of sound is evident in all her work. Her strong sonic voice, relentless sense of pulse and exceptional use of extended techniques are truly unique and her multifaceted musical creativity has been heard in various settings, festivals and groups throughout the world. Risser released her debut solo album last year entitled Des Pas Sur La Neige (Footprints in the Snow) for prepared piano receiving much acclaim. In this album, the piano has been described as an ‘endless source of sonic possibility’ by The Wire and ‘quiet and complex, elegant but tense,’ by the New York Times. This solo concert will be a sonic experience not to be missed. (listen here)

“Huw Warren must be one of the most lyrical pianists around and his playing is the most delicate and subtle imaginable” – John Potter

Huw Warren is a Welsh pianist, composer and educator whose work crosses and fuses many genres. His distinctive sound, innovative and eclectic music making has achieved an international reputation, awarding him the BBC Jazz award for Innovation, and the ACW Creative Wales Award. Equally at home crossing the often exclusive worlds of jazz, world and contemporary music, his compositions are known to move between quirky rhythmic grooves and a simple yet profound melodic beauty. Even at his most experimental, Warren’s music is fun and approachable. With the approaching release of his first solo album since ‘Infinite Riches in a Little Room’ in 2002, this concert will be an experience of new music inspired from a wide range of material. Listen to a preview of his new album here.

• Sat 3rd Sept: Bojan Z – Triskel Christ Church, Cork
• Sun 4th Sept: Bojan Z – Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin
• Fri 7th Oct: Eve Risser - Triskel Christ Church, Cork
• Sun 9th Oct: Eve Risser - Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin
• Fri 4th Nov: Huw Warren - Triskel Christ Church, Cork
• Sun 6th Nov: Huw Warren - Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin