Philip Glass (1937-)
Opening from Glassworks
Metamorphosis I
Metamorphosis II
Metamorphosis III
Metamorphosis IV
Metamorphosis V
Mzd Rush
The Hours
Modern Love Waltz
Truman Show
Etude n° 11 en do mineur

John Adams (1947-)
China Gates
Phrygian Gates

Simeon Ten Holt (1923-2012)
Aforisme II
Canto Ostinato (1ère Edition)

Jacob ter Veldhuis (1951-)
The Body of your Dreams
On & Off Situation Blues
Sound

Yann Tiersen (1970)
Comtine d'un autre été, l'après-midi
Le Moulin
La dispute
Sur le Fil
La valse d'Amélie

Michael Nyman (1944)
Big my Secret
Lost and Found
The heart asks pleasure first

Arvo Pärt (1935)
Für Alina
Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka
Fratres
Spiegel im Spiegel

Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-)
Bibo no Aozora
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
The sheltering Sky
Ending Theme, extrait de la bande originale des "Sept Samouraïs"
The Last emperor II
Thousand Knives

Erik Satie (1866-1925)
Gymnopédies I
Gnossiennes I
Gnossiennes II
Gnossiennes III
Gnossiennes IV

Jeroen van Veen (1969-)
Minimal Prelude 32
Minimal Prelude 18
Minimal Prelude 15
Minimal Prelude 23
Minimal Prelude 48
Minimal Prelude 50
Minimal Prelude 61
Deuxième mouvement du concerto pour piano

Yiruma (1978-)
River Flows in You
May Be
Kiss the Rain
Yellow Room
Destiny of Love

Zbigniew Preisner (1955-)
To See More
The Art of Flying
A Good Morning Melody
a Tune a Day

Max Richter (1966-)
Andras
H for New England
the Family
Written On The Sky II

Ludovico Einaudi (1955-)
Une Mattina (version longue)
Le Onde
Giorni
Primavera
Nuvuole Bianche
Pasaggio
Seven Days Walking

Jeroen van Veen, piano

Parmi les caractéristiques de Brilliant Classics, figure en bonne place la générosité de ses productions, aidé en cela par la gourmandise prolixe de Jeroen van Veen, dont les doigts de pianiste ne doivent jamais dormir. Généreux est donc ce quintuple disque compact, qui parcourt plus d’un demi-siècle de minimalisme. On y retrouve deux des trois mousquetaires américains qui ont popularisé le genre dans les années 1960 - Philip Glass (1937-) et John Adams (1947-) -, un de ceux qui a été le plus loin dans l’économie de notes - la beauté troublante de Für Alina, œuvre fondatrice du style tintinnabuli d’Arvo Pärt (1935-) -, mais aussi les outsiders hollandais que sont Simeon ten Holt (1923-2012) - son impressionant Canto Ostinato - ou le surprenant et innovant Jacob Ter Veldhuis (1951-), alias JacobTV - qui utilise les voix parlées comme autant de grooves (un peu à la manière de François Sarhan). En offrant une place à des mélodies aussi populaires que les films pour lesquels elles ont été composées - Amélie Poulain pour Yann Tiersen (1970-) ou La Leçon de Piano pour Michael Nyman (1944-), à des compositeurs qui ont inspiré le mouvement - Erik Satie (1866-1925) - ou qui, au contraire, s’en sont inspiré - Yiruma (1978-) -, cette mini-encyclopédie un peu hétéroclite prend le risque d’une introduction au minimalisme, certes accessible mais un peu fourre-tout. (Bernard Vincken)

Highlights from the award-winning, much-praised series of Brilliant Classics recordings by today’s leading champion of minimalist piano repertoire. The journey towards simplicity so comprehensively charted by Jeroen van Veen’s discography over the past decade begins chronologically with the unique world of Erik Satie. In the quietly unique music of this ever-underrated pioneer lies the seeds of so much that was to come to fruition in the latter half of the last turbulent century. Satie belonged neither to the Impressionists nor the Modernists nor any other school, and it took John Cage and the New York modernists of the 1950s to rediscover him as more than a provocateur or a purveyor of salon trifles. Yet, at much the same time on the other side of the Iron Curtain, Soviet-era composers were starting to chafe against both the tenets of serialism and also the requirements of the State for neo-Romantic hymns to labour and triumph. Arvo Pärt was reaching for the same destination as the American triumvirate of Adams, Glass and Reich, only from the other end of the stylistic spectrum. The English critic and composer Michael Nyman first used the term ‘Minimalism’ in print, and it stuck. The last 40 years have witnessed an explosion of popularity and wider interest in a world of music that transcends the four-bar sequences and relentless rhythms of pop, while forsaking the ivory tower of modernism, to offer music that speaks to listeners in search of quiet and stillness, music to meditate by as well as music to stir the blood. And for the last 15 years Jeroen van Veen has recorded much of it in his home studio in the Netherlands, as well as achieving great popular success with performances much farther afield. His recordings have been acclaimed for their nuances of touch as well as their technical command of music demanding formidable reserves of precision and patience. The present collection also includes several new recordings, of Simeon ten Holt and the latest album by Lodovico Einaudi, which sold out houses around the world when the composer toured it last year. This indispensable digest of minimalist piano is the perfect starting point for a new listener but it also holds considerable attractions for seasoned collectors.