Magdalena Cerezo explores the relations between the broad concept of performance and aural aspect of music on the basis of two groundbreaking piano works from the early 1990s, which give her extraordinary freedom of interpretation.
About the pieces
The early nineties were marked by the search for new ideas, a time when the so-called avant-garde was becoming a tradition. The works in SZENARIUM stem from this period: Sergei Zagny's "Sonata" (1990) and María de Alvear's "La tonta del bote - Die Dumme vom Pott/Das Weiblich Göttliche" (1991). Interestingly enough, both composers seem to share almost as many differences as similarities. They were born in the same year (1960) in Russia and Spain respectively, countries that were quite out of the radar beam of contemporary music at the time. This perhaps unconsciously enabled them to develop unique artistic voices, combining influences from the European contemporary mainstream with their respective classical traditions.
Although these works treat the piano in a rather "traditional", key-centered manner, and especially Zagny uses a tonal-friendly language, they are full of surprising, fresh and innovative elements and ideas in terms of structure, form, and dramaturgy. One of the most remarkable aspects of both works is the vast realm of freedom given to the pianist. They must complete or even finish the score while choosing from a large list of instructions (Zagny), or seeking for the meaning hidden behind a very sparse notation (de Alvear).
In pursuance of such goal, Cerezo develops a sort of screenplay or “invisible dramaturgy” for each piece. This approach allows her to consciously shape aspects such as timing, the role of transitions, or the presence of various musical figures within repeated sections or harmonies. The result is a rich interpretation that goes beyond mere reproduction of the notes, subtly exploring the boundaries between creation and interpretation.