Steffen Schleiermacher's piano music may strike listeners as a bit esoteric and mystifying, particularly because it is static, darkly toned, and extremely soft, with comparatively few points of arrival or climax. This German composer's influences are not readily apparent: Indian music is particularly strong in his development, along with ceremonial music from Japan and gamelan from Indonesia. But if his music may be compared in its muted effects and expansive pacing to works by western composers, it most closely resembles piano pieces by Olivier Messiaen (at its most active) and Morton Feldman (at its most ambient.) For such subtle and controlled effects as Schleiermacher demands in Echo (2003), Reconciliations (3) to Heiner Müller (2000-2003), Soundscapes (12) Inside the Piano (2000), and Lîla (2003), it is perhaps best that he himself performs the pieces on this 2004 release from MDG. Other pianists might find his immense structures too difficult to contain, too dense in their voicings, too repetitive, and -- perhaps most frustrating to the performer -- too self-effacing in their cosmic anonymity. Schleiermacher may not be a master pianist, but he commands the instrument with adequate skill and delivers performances that are colorful and nuanced. MDG's all-natural, unprocessed sound is pleasant in its resonance, though a little distant.
© TiVo