Jürg FREY (Keiko SHICHIJO)
“Les Signes Passagers”

‘Les signes passagers’ is an album of seven pieces for solo fortepiano written by Jürg Frey in 2021, commissioned by the Amsterdam-based pianist Keiko Shichijo. It was premiered by Shichijo on February 5, 2022 at the Concertgebouw Brugge during the SLOW Festival. In the same year, Shichijo performed the piece again at the November Music 2022 and later recorded it for this album in April 2023 at the Concertgebouw Brugge in the presence of the composer.

“As a listener, I have experienced with music played on early piano instruments for many years. And it has become more and more clear to me how delicate the influence of the sound of the instrument is on the inspiration of the composer.

If the modern piano tries to get a constant brilliance over the whole keyboard, in the fortepiano there are worlds between the middle, the high and the low register. The whole construction of the instrument is so subtle, and every movement, the slightest change in registers and density of chords immediately opens a variety of colors, new perspectives and emotions.” – Jürg Frey