Review by C. Cornell Evers:
In the year of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Simeon ten Holt, a celebrated minimalist composer from Bergen, performances of his masterpiece Canto Ostinato are taking place all over. Polish pianist Adam Kośmieja has released an album called “Infinity” that includes his solo version of ‘Canto Ostinato’, originally intended for four pianists. He uses the Dolby Atmos system to create a 3D sound experience that surrounds the listener with sound coming from all directions.
For “Infinity,” Kośmieja used many microphones to capture the sound of the entire concert hall, allowing him to create specific tracks and fragments of the piece in places around the listener. His version of ‘Canto Ostinato’ lasts about 45 minutes and comprises six movements, or “phases,” with different titles referencing the album’s overarching concept of “the infinite horizon, the physicality of sound, time, and mechanics.”
Kośmieja’s vision of ‘Canto Ostinato’ is based on the concept of freedom, both on a micro and macro level and has a spatial and cosmic nature. His version takes the listener on a musical journey through a wide range of experiences, from soothing and relaxing sounds to intense bursts of emotion and swaying harmonies that invite dancing. It includes violent accents and snatches of rhythmic energy, similar to techno music, and ends with an almost celestial melody that takes hold in the listener’s mind and does not let go.
Adam Kośmieja’s sensitive and meticulous keystrokes on “Infinity” lead to an immersive performance that, in all its brilliance, reflects the infinity of the title like the dazzling shimmers of color do in the rays of the sun on the album cover.
Composers in the crosshairs of our attention