Kleines Präludium zu Brian Agros "poems and preludes" Auffallend an dieser Musik ist ihre Unauffälligkeit. Wie Erik Satie bei "Relâche" scheint sie manchmal sagen zu wollen: "Ich möchte nicht stören!" Die Stücke sind kurz, basieren meist auf einem Motiv und nennen sich auch ganz simpel und neutral: Short piece, etude, poem, prelude. Der Komponist scheint es vermeiden zu wollen, dass den Stücken zuviel aufgelastet wird. Das Ohr soll nicht nach dem Extraordinären suchen. Aber gerade durch solche Äusserlichkeiten (bzw. ihr Fehlen), durch ihre Schlichtheit verleitet diese Musik zum genaueren Hinhören.

Aber was heisst schon "unauffällig"? Gemessen am permanenten Überdruck manch zeitgenössischer Avantgarde oder an den Ausgelassenheiten einer Free Music mag Brian Agros Musik wohl zunächst reduziert und zurückgenommen wirken - oder geradezu alltäglich. Die Melodien flögen ihm oft einfach zu, an irgendeinem Ort, sagt er, und dann entwickle er sie weiter, verarbeite sie auf gefühlvolle Weise mit einfachen Begleitungen, Arpeggi, Harmonisierungen. Das Ausserordentliche dieser Einfachkeit ist es aber gerade, dass nie der Eindruck von Banalität aufkommt. Es gehört zu den grossen Schwierigkeiten des Komponierens, mit diesem Problem umzugehen: Weder soll das Einfache zu simpel erscheinen noch soll es aufgeblasen und lächerlich grosssprecherisch wirken. Das zu vermeiden erfordert Behutsamkeit und ein leises Geschick. Es ist die Nuance, die geringe Abweichung, die dieser Musik eine Art Geheimnis gibt und die das Ohr immer wieder mitsuchen lässt. Brian Agro gelingt das immer wieder in einer Weise, die an Komponisten wie Erik Satie oder den Katalanen Federico Mompou erinnert. Die Überraschungen finden sich hier im scheinbar Gewöhnlichen.

Zentral ist dafür die harmonische Farbe, die sich oft in warmen, dunkleren Bereichen bewegt. In ihrer Weichheit und ihrer Sinnlichkeit klingen manchmal Assoziationen an Alexander Skriabin an, ohne dass dies je überdeutlich würde, und gestisch fühlt man sich stellenweise an französische Komponisten des frühen 20. Jahrhunderts erinnert. Aber das sind behelfsmässige Konstruktionen für Freunde der Musikgeschichte. Es sei nicht so wichtig zu analysieren, sondern vielmehr zu geniessen. Brian Agro ordnet sich ebenso wenig explizit in einen Stil ein, wie er sich davon absondern will. Gegenüber seiner älteren CD "a hole in the ice" (percaso productions 06) fällt allenfalls auf, dass die Reduktion weiter getrieben ist. Die Tonsprache ist noch tonaler geworden, die Gestik einfacher. Das Ganze wirkt geradezu klassisch. Es trägt die eigene Art so selbstverständlich vor, dass die meisten kleinen Abweichungen vom Herkömmlichen, die "Störungen" gar nicht als solche empfunden werden. Nicht zuviel also! Eine kleine Ironie mag zum Beispiel genügen, Titel wie "peintre célèbre" oder "zainta", die von Rennpferden stammen, oder ein kleiner Bruch. Geht die Musik in "what goes up" nicht eher runter als rauf? Und ist ein neoklassizistischer Triller wie jener in "prelude 12" nicht schon das Äusserste an stilistischer Anspielung? Und selbst, wo sich ein Schluss öffnet oder sich die Musik auflöst ("Resolution" heisst ja auch Auflösung.), ja selbst in "peintre célèbre" oder der "improvisation on Resolution 4", wo Thomas Bächli einige improvisatorische Freiheiten hatte, wird der Rahmen nicht gesprengt. Gerade solche Stücke zeigen auch, wie einheitlich (wenn auch längst nicht hermetisch abgeschlossen) dieser kleine musikalische Kosmos von Brian Agro ist. Er hat zu einem Stil gefunden, ohne dass er seiner Musik ein dickes Markenzeichen aufdrücken musste. Thomas Meyer, Zürich

Small Preludium to Brian Agro’s poems and preludes Remarkable about this music is its lack of remarkableness. As Erik Satie in Relâche, it appears to say ”I would rather not disturb!” The pieces are short, based mostly on a motive and are named simply and neutrally: short piece, étude, poem, prelude. Apparently the composer does not want to put too much of a burden upon the pieces; the ear should not search for the extraordinary. And yet because of such appearances (or their lack thereof), because of the simplicity of the pieces, this music seduces one to listen carefully. 

What, however, does ”unremarkable” really mean? Measured by the high pressure seriousness of some contemporary avant garde or by the boisterousness of free music, Brian Agro’s music may seem at first reduced and reserved—or downright quotidian. The melodies often simply came to him, at any location, he said, and then he developed them further, processed them in sensitive ways with simple accompaniments, arpeggios, harmonization. Extraordinary that that banality never emerges amidst this simplicity. Indeed, being able to deal with this is one of the most difficult sides of composing: neither should the simple appear too simple, nor should it seem inflated and ridiculously boastful—avoiding these pitfalls requires caution and skill. The nuance, the small deviance gives this music a kind of secret and causes the ear to search. Brian Agro succeeds doing this in a way that reminds one of Erik Satie or the Catalonian Federico Mompou. The surprises are found in the apparently ordinary.

Central to all this is the harmonic color, which often moves in warm, darker areas. In their softness and sensuousness, the associations one hears, sometimes on Alexander Skriabin, never become all too clear; in places, gesturally one is reminded of French composers of the early 20th century. These constructions, however, help friends of music history. Analyzing is not so important; enjoying, rather, is. It is as difficult to explicitly put Brian Agro in a category as it is to isolate him from one. In contrast to his older CD ”a hole in the ice” (percaso productions 06), one notices that the reduction has been taken further. The tonal language has become more tonal, the gestures simpler. The whole seems almost classic. Indeed, it presents its own style so naturally that the small deviations from the conventional, the ”disturbances,” are not perceived as such. Thus, not too much! A small irony may be enough to exemplify this: titles like ”peintre célèbre” or ”zainta” come from racing horses. Or a small breach may suffice: doesn’t the music in ”what goes up” go down rather than up? And is a neo-classical trill like in ”prelude 12” not already at the limit of stylistic allusions? Even where a conclusion opens up, or the music resolves, even in ”peintre célèbre” or the ”improvisation on Resolution 4,” where Thomas Bächli had some improvisational freedom, the frame is not exceeded. Precisely such pieces also show how unified (if also not hermetically finished) this small cosmos of Brian Agro is. He has sorted out a style without having to put a huge trademark upon it. Thomas Meyer, Translation: Bruce CarnevalE

Poems and Preludes presents twenty of Brian Agro's latest compositions for solo piano, interpreted and performed by Tomas Bächli. Brian Agro, born in Hamilton, Canada and now living in Berlin, released his debut CD on Percaso in 1989 titled A Hole in the Ice. Tomas Bächli, born in Zurich and now also living in Berlin, has been awarded numerous prizes for his work in promoting, interpreting and performing new music. Describing these pieces does not come easily, although listening to this music comes with great ease. Compositions for solo piano often capture my interest and imagination, although I often struggle to describe exactly what it is that so captivates me. Such is the case with Brian Agro's music. All of these pieces are short (from one to four minutes in length), and are defined by what Thomas Meyer describes in the liner notes as being largely "unremarkable". These poems, preludes and études each capture their own unique mood, theme and presence. Agro's music is a book of snapshots. The style might be described as neoclassical, reminiscent in turns of Satie or Debussy, but this is merely a suggestion, an affinity only hinted at in this music. At times the music takes flight in a sudden flurry of keys, at times it returns to the soil, sullen and slow. These pieces are at once simple and complex, remarkable and unremarkable, caged and free. Poems and Preludes is a lyrical and evocative new work. 

Brian Agro is a Canadian-born pianist/composer who, like Gunther Schuller, William Russo and Anthony Davis, straddles the sometimes-overlapping worlds of jazz and contemporary notated (i.e., “classical”) composition. Poems and Preludes is a collection of Agro’s pieces for piano, played here by Swiss pianist Tomas Bachli. Those who know the Percaso label for documenting the European avant/free jazz scene (the fine trio Day & Taxi, for one) may be a tad surprised by the “accessibility” of the music here. But hopefully not dismayed, for P & P is a fine, charming collection of miniatures for piano. They share qualities of some pianists’ legendary works for ECM Records in the early 70s: the unsentimental spaciousness of Paul Bley, the mix of folk simplicity and gentle urbanity of Dollar Brand/Abdullah Ibrahim and the romantic, rhapsodic nature of Keith Jarrett, while influences outside of jazz would include the piano music of Maurice Ravel (impressionist) and Phillip Glass (minimalist). And of course, the shadow of The Duke falls across the key now ‘n’ again. Yet all these sounds are not present as mere pastiche but are fully assimilated into Agro’s compositional approach. This music – extremely lyrical while avoiding sappiness, direct, reflective but never self-absorbed - seems “familiar” while also seeming like it belongs to no particular time or place at all. jazzreview.com, Mark Keresman

Non è necessario essere dei critici musicali specializzati per rendersi conto della difficoltà che incontrano i compositori contemporanei nello sviluppare un linguaggio coerente e con caratteristiche di omogeneità, quando non addirittura innovativo. La ragione, si potrebbe pensare, è che mai come oggi risulta difficile scegliere una musica nella quale credere in un contesto in cui le tradizioni si assottigliano a vista d'occhio e - almeno potenzialmente - tutti ascoltano e conoscono tutto. Enni Morricone ha detto in più occasioni che qualsiasi via della musica è stata percorsa, non rimane più niente da scoprire. Se fosse vera sarebbe una prospettiva sconcertante, alla quale non possiamo nè vogliamo credere. Brian Agro, giovane compositore canadese trapiantato in Germania da alcuni anni, per questa seconda raccolta di composizioni uscita a suo nome pare non essersi posto il problema. Poems and Preludes è nato dalla volontà del pianista Tomas Bachli di registrarla sua musica; Christoph Gallio, il fondatore della piccola etichetta svizzera Percaso che lo ha pubblicato, ha fatto da tramite. Agro scrive dunque brani brevi dal sapore neotonale in varie forme, con un'attenzione incentrata sul versante melodico. La prima traccia, "Two Short Pieces 1 & 2", non nasconde uno splendido tema della terza sinfonia di Brahms; in altre appaiono frammenti della sonata Op. 28 di Chopin, addirittura delle poco frequentate pagine pianistiche di Alexander Skriabin e si potrebbe andare avanti nel gioco del riconoscimento di temi noti. Non si può negare che questi siano posti in modo tale da far rimpiangere gli originali. Ma ci sono anche e soprattuto composizion(relativamente) originali, con degi li spazi destinati all'improvvisazione per l'esecutore in "Peintre célèbre" e "Improvisation on Resolution no. 4". Nelle note di copertina Agro asserisce di non aver cercato nuovi sentieri da percorrere, solo piacevoli melodie, suonate (splendidamente, aggiungiamo noi) da Bachli. Le sue interpretazioni e improvvisazioni meritano da sole l'acquisto del disco. Ciò detto, chi è a caccia di novità si rivolga altrove. Valutazione: * * * 

In Poems and Preludes, Tomas Bachli gives a powerfully expressive solo piano performance of modern classical music by Brian Agro. The forms are varied, contrasting, and adventurous, and at times evoke the spirit of Ferrucio Busoni's early 20th century Sonatinas, particularly at track number four, entitled "What Goes Up." However, as a composer, Agro is not so easily pigeonholed, as his technique is all encompassing, making use of the complete harmonic spectrum and orchestral range of the modern grand piano. And his chromatic concept should not be underestimated. Even students of improvised music should benefit from close attention to the highly original chord structures and melodic treatments here. Make no mistake about it: these are perfect piano recital pieces. The depth and breadth of these performances make them as important as Paul Jacobs' late 1970s sessions for Nonesuch Records. 

Percaso est un label suisse crée en 1986 par Christoph Gallio, dont les préoccupations rejoignent celle de nombres de ses confrères, à savoir assurer la production et la diffusion (lasurvie ?) De créations d’artistes européens dévoués à l’improvisation, tout genre confondu et à la musique minimaliste classique. Le Label compte déjà 19 références parmi lesquelles Urs Voerkel, Michel Kanan, Matthew Ostrowski, Day & Taxi, Ueli Derendinger, Christian Wolfarth,… Ce 18 ème coup de semence est l’œuvre du Canadien Brian Agro. Celui-ci est âgé de 48 ans (1953, Hamilton). Epris de piano et de Jazz, « poems and preludes » et son second album, faisant suite à « A hole in the ice ». Le Canadien séduit rapidement, tant il fourvoie avec élégance et simplicité l’instrument piano pour le plier à ses vues. L’aide essentiel de Tomas Bächli, compagnon de fortune de ce disque, dont le répertoire englobe tout aussi bien la musique contemporaine, le néo-classique avec des interprétations d’œuvre de Jean Barraqué ou les travaux méconnus des futuristes Mosolov & Protopopov œuvre à l’ouverture et à la cohésion d’ensemble de ce « poems & preludes ». Un duo de pianiste, pour piano, qui évoque, dans un autre registre l’influence des pianistes du 19ème, ou des signatures Naxos, …. Les phases d’emballement mettent en relief les très beaux passages calmes, prenant à l’occasion l’auditeur par surprise, le brinquebalant au fil de ces multiples ruptures.