composer
Ton de Leeuw was born on November 16, 1926 in Rotterdam. He died on May 31, 1996 in Paris (France).
In 1949, after some years of composition lessons with Henk Badings, ...
related works
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Piano
Scoring:
pf
Losing : for piano / Celia Swart
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Piano
Scoring:
pf
Schumanniana : for piano / Pavel Karmanov
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Piano
Scoring:
pf
Practical joke : for piano, 1982 / Jan Felderhof
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Piano
Scoring:
pf
composition
Men go their ways : for piano, (1964) / Ton de Leeuw
Description:
Program note (English): The title is taken from an English translation of a Japanese haiku: haikus are short 17-syllable poems which are open to various interpretations. This haiku formed the inspiration for a number of songs, from which the five piano pieces with the above title originated. They are not in fact related structurally to the poem; rather they are based on the typical freedom of interpretation associated with the haiku tradition. This shapes the music in that there is an attempt to install each individual note, and the music as a whole, with as deep as possible a life of its own, rather than forcing it into a predetermined act of will or expression. This applies not only to the composition but also to its performance: the composer's idea of a good performance is one which leaves the actual interpretation to the listener. The pianist should therefore play neither with deliberate expression nor with deliberate objectivity: he should aim to allow the material to sound as freely as possible,
leaving aside any aesthetic of tension. The pianist is just as much a listener as are the members of the audience - and as was the composer when he created the work. This is not as easy as it might appear; non-intervention is one of the most difficult tasks an interpreter must endure. - TON DE LEEUW