Music TipsListening tips from Bert van der Wolf
Gees, Ehlhart, von Tilzer: Secret Key MastersGees, Ehlhart, von Tilzer Secret Key Masters
Three pianists who had never met before, one grand piano and two days without time pressure: their own pieces and free improvisations.
Listening tip from Bert van der Wolf
In March 2014 three pianists who did not know one another met at Galaxy Studios in Mol, Belgium. They had been invited by Bert van der Wolf, who had previously got to know each of them individually. The project was his idea, according to the booklet.
The three come from different directions. Michael Gees is known above all as a song accompanist and improvises as a soloist, often starting from a single chord. According to the booklet, his four pieces titled Extempore came about in this way in the studio. Marion von Tilzer writes chamber and orchestral music; Frans Ehlhart comes from the theatre and combines jazz, pop and classical music. Each played their own pieces on the same Steinway grand while the others listened.
According to the album page, there was no time limit and no fixed goal. In two days, more than eight hours of music were recorded. From this, Bert van der Wolf selected 14 pieces in which the three take turns, just under 78 minutes in all. He also recorded the album.
Personnel
Michael Gees, piano
Frans Ehlhart, piano
Marion von Tilzer, piano
All three play their own compositions and improvisations, on a Steinway D.
Column
Listening tips from Bert van der Wolf
Bert van der Wolf is a recording engineer (Tonmeister) and producer. He has run his own recording studio in the Netherlands since 1996 and owns the company behind the labels Turtle Records and The Spirit of Turtle. Audio Unscripted works with him: he chooses the albums, our editors introduce them. He produced these recordings himself; the high-resolution downloads are available from The Spirit of Turtle.
All listening tips →Details from The Spirit of Turtle and the booklet. Album page →