 Le Duo de pianistes Van Veen (Jeroen et Sandra) fréquente de longue date le Canto Ostinato de Simeon ten Holt (1923-2012) : l’enregistrement de 2008 pour le coffret Minimal Piano Collection ou celui pour quatre pianos du recueil Complete Multiple Piano Works de 2005 en témoignent, qui complètent ceux de 1996 et 2014. Ecrites, entre 1976 et 1979, dans une esthétique alors peu prisée par les critiques – on lui reproche le caractère doucereux et simpliste de sa pièce-puzzle, de la même façon que les Européens férus de complexité accueillent avec condescendance les œuvres répétitives américaines – et que le compositeur s’amuse à nommer « la tonalité après la mort de la tonalité », la (bonne) centaine de (courtes) sections se prête à des assemblages diversifiés, entre autres libertés accordées aux interprètes – ce qui fait de la pièce une œuvre qui évolue au fur et à mesure de ses représentations. Jeroen Van Veen, qui entretenait une relation suivie avec ten Holt, s’en octroie une supplémentaire en incluant, sur le troisième compact disc de cette version pour deux pianos (Yamaha Grand Piano C7), une composition propre (Incanto 6, en trois mouvements), qui reflète une approche encore un peu plus minimaliste. (Bernard Vincken) A new recording of the Dutch minimalist classic made by two of its most experienced champions. Canto Ostinato is the work that defines the legacy of the composer Simeon ten Holt, who died in 2012 at the age of 89. There are 106 sections of repeating five-beat patterns whose patterned, repetitive but gradually evolving repetition produce a mesmerising effect on the listener – a dance-like sense of even unevenness – akin to masterpieces from the US minimalist school such as Steve Reich’s Music for 16 Musicians and Philip Glass’s Music in 12 Parts. However, the sections need not be repeated literally, and the performers can vary the dynamics, the manner of playing (legato vs. staccato, for example), and the octave in which the material is played. Ten Holt completed Canto Ostinato in 1979 for an instrumentation of three pianos and electronic organ, but the cycle has proved itself adaptable to several different combinations of keyboard instruments, and these versions were brought together by Jeroen van Veen on a compendium produced by Brilliant Classics in 2014. ‘Canto Ostinato XL’ (9453) included this two-piano scoring as well as versions for prepared pianos, organ and marimbas, but Jeroen and Sandra van Veen have re-recorded it in 2021; the fourth version they have produced, which brings together all the varieties of arrangement and articulation developed through the course of concert performances given across the world. ‘Tonality after the death of tonality’, Ten Holt described the language of Canto Ostinato, and Jeroen van Veen compares its style to the music of Chopin: tranquil, immersive, melancholic and romantic. He worked closely with the composer over many years and can justly be regarded as the most authoritative living performer of his music.
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