"An unquestionable sense of rhythm and an overwhelming strength."
El País, (Spain)

JMB forms part of the reduced list of national musicians with international prestige.
Joan Miró Foundation (Spain)

"Balanyà's duet: without doubt the most original group. Difficult and demanding music which adapts itself perfectly to the definition of art. A fascinating duet".
Berner Zeitung (Switzerland)

"An encore particularly for the compositions of Balanyà, interpreted by himself with precision and energy".
lnformatore (Switzerland)

"The 'feeling' that the public were waiting for came through the pianist who, from the first moment, gave cohesion to the quartet and the compositions"
Der Bund (Switzerland)

"Overwhelming density of new elements"
La Nación, (Costa Rica)

"A restless innovator, JMB rounds off a profound musical work
La Vanguardia, (Spain)

"The compositions are truly original. Balanyà writes and plays his material with distinction".
The Horn Call (USA)

"Balanyà explores the interior of the piano and reaches the unheard of. The result is an intoxicating mind-boggling beverage".
Excelsior (Mexico D.F.)

"Impetuous and Mediterranean piano, perfectly balanced with an academic seal".
Giornale del Popolo (Switzerland)

"Balanyà's musical ideas are clear and convincing".
El País (Spain)

”Bold, intrepid, wild, frenetic and visionary, he is an originator of feelings who doesn’t make any concessions to easy vagueness.
El 9 Nou (Barcelona)

Thorsten Meyer
Jazzpodium, October 1999 (Germany)

The crossing of frontiers, geographical as well as musical, determines the life and music of pianist JMB. His search for new sound dimensions on the solo piano has brought the Spaniard via Switzerland, Mexico and Paris in the last years to Germany. His music is not for labelling. His record company suggests "New Contemporary Music", Contemporary it certainly is, but that is not the whole story.

Balanyà weaves a close-knit web of classical, modern, jazz, folk. He probes the piano's richness of sound and interpretative possibilities and tries to extend the sound possibilities into new dimensions. He doesn't go the path of Cage with a prepared piano, but tries to entice the sounds from the instrument in a natural way. The piano is, in this way, not a tool but a partner. In 1994 he released the inexcusably overlooked CD "Elements of Development", which marked the direction of Balanyà's path, and also the CD "Sonateskas" consists of six pieces of complex and modern sound constructions.

The pianist's hands in the works hold conversations filled with nuances. There are monologues in which single lines are unfolded, but there are also dialogues. Just as in real life, the conversations have various ground feelings, There is the cultivated conversation. In this case, Balanyà creates transparent and yet musically complex atonal structures. More frequently, however, are the confusion of voices and the arguments. Here cluster tones and racing atonal melody lines thunder down on the listener. There is talking past one another, when Balanyà alludes to the motifs and develops them further in completely isolated areas which only hint at the origin.

The works are interpreted with dexterity and virtuosity. The listener is presented with a special listening experience. One must give the works time, however. Some pieces first become clear with the background information given in the booklet, e.g. Balanyà's putting to music of his poem "Y cuando oigas el agua caer..." (”And when you hear the water fall...").

Joe
Jazzthing, September 1999 (Germany)

Sometime in the 1980s, the Spanish born pianist JMB gave lectures on the Mexican radio and in universities about "ecological jazz". "Sonateskas", his second solo piano recording released in Germany is, if you will, a progression from this project. lt seems, at times, that one hears in these sonatas a whole herd of ants hurrying over the keys, and then a waterfall driving its way over the instrument with sound cascades. The piano is for Balanyà a laboratory for experimental arrangements.

He experiments in strict constructivism with metres and interval structures; he consciously uses pauses as a structural device. In ”Good Work for Bad Pianos” (created on a well-preserved Alpina typewriter from the 1950s and a mutilated piano), the letter - and piano keys make the semantic dance-, in ”Sonatesca Gutural” something like a persiflage of Keith Jarrett's moans of concentration waft over the ivories. Economic, ecological.- a must for all the ecumenicist of New Music.

Paco Marín
Voice, November - December 1996 (Spain)
It is such a delight to be able to enjoy a musician who looks at the essences so outrageously, that he doesn't mind appearing cold, rough or abrasive. Also, it is a delight, because behind the highest level of preparation which conceal pieces like Side Effects, Macaccos Macaccos or Both Elements of Development Number Three and Four there lies a searching anxiety and a capacity for improvisation which does not tolerate in itself any kind of compromise.

With the pieces having been explained by the composer -and the explanation is a necessity: it illuminates as well as justifies the enigma surrounding each of the themes- these become more transparent and accessible, it is really all about a transitory fiction.

Balanyà is a working composer who combines a mathematical feeling and a sense of drama, and there ”Musics”, in plural, can only be experienced at the time of listening. It is possible that he does not reach the public at large, but with a group of followers, and above all the vigorous will shown, the pianist states quite clearly that he has no intention to stray from his path. It is possible that one does not realise that "Elements of Development' is an important record. Well, I will state it: it is truly an important record, one of the few important records that has been edited in this country during the past year.

Bert Noglik
HifiVision, January 1996 (Germany)
The sonorous images created magically by Josep-Maria Balanyà, resident of Barcelona, with an immense variety of interpretation, preparation and modulation techniques, remind one of the sound pandemonium of New Music. And yet there is an energy in the cosmos of this pianist, which, although not definable as Jazz. Seems similar to, and indeed partially springs from the energy potential of improvisation.In other words: intriguing excursions of a highly talented frontier composer, spontaneous and yet conscious of form, sensitively amplified in its dimensions by Walter Quintus at the soundboard.

Jesús Moreno
Cuadernos de Jazz, March - April 1996 (Spain)
Balanyá's CD, released in Germany, is even more important than his previous L'Espina.
A solo recording, it is a work of contemporary piano-playing in which each theme transports us to higher plains.

Joan Guinjoan

Mr. Guinjoan, born 1931 in Riudoms (Tarragona, Catalonia), is one of the most outstanding contemporary Spanish composers.

The music of the pianist and composer Josep-Maria Balanyà makes a major impact. His compositions can be compared to a sonorous kaleidoscope in which improvisation prevails as a vital factor via a fertile imagination.
It is visceral music, with an unmistakable personal hallmark that does not allow any classification approaching a determined musical genre. This is his main quality.

Josep-Maria Balanyà (piano)

Josep-Maria Balanyà has been busy in Barcelona. Resident in Brussels, Bcn is his home town and on visits he can be heard and seen (and I recommend you do both) participating in various free improvisation performances. On this trip, he’s performed at two out of the four BCN Impro Fest concerts, appeared more than once at Robadors 23, and this evening, he’s presenting his latest CD, “Don’t Mind” at Jamboree. Busy.

A single grand piano awaits, centre-stage, liberally equipped with microphones trained on its various innards; plus two more set at the stage edge.

After the usual lengthy Jamboree introduction, Balanyà walks on-stage, his darkly attired, compact frame full of obvious energy in much the same way as a zen master might be: limitless potential action surges unseen beneath a placid demeanour...

Pausing only to wedge the sustain pedal down, Balanyà seats himself on the oor, back against the piano, in between the oor mics. With a pair of brushes, he begins to play the air, creating amplied vibrations. The brushes are soon creating further sounds, on the oor, his feet, legs, the body of the piano... A switch to a pair of soft mallets and with a dancer’s poise, Balanyà moves about the piano, reaching inside like some musician-mechanic to elicit fresh tones. This introduction becomes an extended exploration of the instrument’s percussive possibilities. So extended that the rst contact between mallet and an actual string (creating a distinctly piano- ish note) is quite shocking. It’s all primitively satisfying to listen to and enthralling to watch.

Continuing to avoid anything so mundane as a keyboard, Balanyà applies a drumstick, scraping it inside the piano to create sharp, metallic, ringing tones: high-pitched, resonant vibrations.

10 minutes or more into a one-hour solo piano concert, Josep-Maria Balanyà touches a key. Well, pounds it, really – the rst in a series of dark, sonorous hammerblows, the interstices lled with softer, searching notes, the preface to an extended sequence of increasing density, heavy on the bass notes but with bursts of right hand...

As a pause or respite, Balanyà takes a moment to insert a series of wooden rods inside, between the strings – this preparation is a sonic act in itself, silence is impossible – and then proceeds to pinch the rods with his ngers, running them up and down each rod to produce echoing, expanding/contracting exclamations. Each rod offers up its own melancholy, and even the act of changing between the rods is part of the structure – as each rod is let fall, the impact on the piano’s frame becomes a punctuation.

The performance continues. Each piece a different exploration incorporating fresh elements: spontaneous vocalisation, chordal collages, jagged avalanches...

The whole performance is like watching a sculptor at work. First, surface strokes, condent yet preliminary, slicing away the hard edges, softening the shape. Then, deeper cuts, searching for the heart as the subject emerges. Finally, endless detailing, both subtle and bold and always unhurried. As to the subject, perhaps it is simply the piano. But the shape that emerges isn’t necessarily the one we may have been expecting...

Dave Foxal

Encore un mot sur le récital de piano du vendredi 13 octobre dernier, Don’t Mind, compositions, improvisations pour piano préparé par Josep Maria Balanyà à l’espace Toots. Josep Maria est un artiste polyvalent, musicien archi complet, peintre, compositeur et performeur rôdé au jazz, musiques classiques et contemporaines.

Pendant environ une heure et sans interruption, il a livré une performance pour « extended piano/piano préparé », performance d’une grande densité en utilisant pratiquement toutes les ressources du piano (dessus et dessous de l’instrument) et en augmentant les possibilités sonores avec, notamment, l’usage d’un jeu complet de micros et de beaucoup d’objets de texture/matière différentes (bois, métal, gomme, brosses, sa voix).

Déjà fait ?

Voir et entendre une telle énergie physique et créative (les 2 allant ensemble ici !) complètement désinhibée pendant cette soirée ;

Assister à la transformation du piano en cathédrale, en orgue, en musiques de cristal, de métal ou de bois;

Découvrir en direct des élaborations simples ou complexes et sentir tout au long de cette performance une habileté à communiquer avec le public la joie pure de jouer du musicien… Un grand respect à cet artiste qui a permis à des très jeunes et adultes de plonger dans une expérience musicale peu commune. Le concert a été suivi d’un échange tonique avec le public.

Fabio Schinazzi, pianiste, compositeur, directeur de l’Academie de Musique d’Evere, Belgique

Oro Molido n° 16

Publicación de improvisación libre, arte sonoro y nueva música.

Ya por la tarde en el Avenida abrían fuego dos improvisadores con una coincidente fecha de nacimiento y "estancias suizas”, en su primer bis a bis en escena. El barcelonés Josep Maria Balanyà pianista con querencias contemporáneas salido de las filas del jazz rock layetano de los setenta y Pelayo Arrizabalaga miembro de Orgón- grupo seminal del jazz madrileño y pionero del free jazz capitalino y de los alocados Clónicos, a los platos y vientos.

Lo suyo fue una descarga energética de gran intensidad con líneas angulares evitando la regularidad del discurso. Proponían un alegato “contra todas las guerras”.

Un pianismo de entrega física, muy percusivo -ni cuando se "acariciaba el arpa del instrumento hubo medias tintas ni se calmaban las aguas- que se veía respaldado por los raspados, marchas atrás, saltos y loops que Pelayo imprimía a sus vinilos. Una improvisación cruda pero realmente inspirada de la que también habría que resaltar el momento en que Pelayo tocó el clarinete bajo.

A lo largo de casi una hora Balanyà y Arrizabalaga lanzados desde el inicio a una desbocada carrera ensamblaron sus discursos, acústico/ electrónico, de manera eficaz. Mientras Balanyà atacaba su instrumento con contundencia, haciendo apología de entrega física, Pelayo, un manipulador de vinilos que no un DJ al uso, creaba una segunda voz que se mantenía en un segundo plano, las más de las veces de forma complementaria. Los momentos más enérgicos/energéticos venían seguidos de otros de calma tensa en los que no se bajaba la guardia. En los breves pasajes en los que Pelayo sacó el clarinete bajo y el saxo alto se vio que el dúo

Jesús Moreno

Josep-Maria Balanyà
Piano


Los ecos del piano

Josep-Maria Balanyà ofreció el día 24 un imaginativo concierto en el Casino de Huesca

Luis Lles, economista, manager cultural, periodista y crítico de cultura.

Existen diversas formas de tocar un piano, de aproximarse a su sonoridad. El barcelonés Josep-Maria Balanyà apuesta, sin duda, por la más creativa y libre. De hecho, su propuesta se acerca más a lo que sería una performance que a un concierto ortodoxo. Don’t mind 2018 fue el título del concierto-performance que ofreció el domingo en el ciclo Música en el Casino este experimentado músico de la van- guardia catalana. No era la primera vez que actuaba en Huesca. Ya lo hizo hace muchos años en un homenaje a Robert Wyatt que organizó el festival Periferias. Y volvió más recientemente a la capital oscense para un curso de improvisación musical en el Conservatorio.

El concierto fue precedido por una extensa explicación sobre lo que le esperaba al respetable público en la siguiente hora. Además de avanzar el programa, Balanyà presentó los distintos instrumentos / elementos de los que se iba a servir para construir su libérrima arquitectura sonora: escobillas de jazz, baquetas de marimba, corchos, palitos, un peine y hasta una tarjeta de crédito, de la que, con mucho humor, dijo que al frotarla contra las cuerdas del piano sonaba como cuando la tarjeta no tiene crédito. De hecho, el sentido del humor y la ironía sobrevoló todo su concierto, que, a pesar de constituir todo un reto para una gran parte de los espectadores (más habituados a cierta ortodoxia), lo cierto es que se registraron muy pocas deserciones entre un público que se mostró muy atento al desarrollo de su peculiar performance, en la que no faltó ni siquiera un guiño a Els Segadors.

Pero más allá del impacto causado por su espíritu trasgresor, Josep-Maria Balanyà es un pianista con una técnica envidiable y una desconcertante agilidad. Comenzó con una pieza en la que sacó todo el partido posible al piano co- mo elemento de percusión, utilizando escobillas y baquetas sobre el piano y sus tripas, así como sobre el cabello de los espectadores de la primera fila, logrando por momentos un efecto hipnótico similar al del gamelan indonesio o el minimalismo percusivo de Steve Reich. Un buen inicio, sin duda. Sin con- cesiones. Después inició su serie The Shining con la primera parte, caracterizada por un pianismo inusualmente veloz, vivaz, como si de un revoloteo de campanas en una mañana soleada se tratara, a caballo entre el impresionismo y el expresionismo.

En Minimal chant sorprendió con un canto atropellado, quejumbroso y paródico, algo así como el reverso de lo que hace con su voz Wim Mertens, su némesis. En Archaic Rubbers utilizó unos corchos brasileños que dotaron al tema de un sonido seco y amenazante, a ratos conectado a la sonoridad de la marimba. Por otro lado, The Shining Number Two representó su vertiente más delicada e impresionista, con aires minimalistas a lo Philip Glass, interrumpidos puntualmente por cantos guturales, ecos indígenas y gritos. El final, con el interludio Celestial, le correspondió a Dilemma & Shining, una pieza larga que se sitúa más próxima a la estética sonora de la improvisación y el free jazz, y en la que utilizó la tarjeta de crédito como instrumento, así como unos ligeros palitos, a veces frotados con arco, que dieron lugar a uno de los episodios más experimentales de la que fue una excelente velada. Josep-Maria Bala- nyà, en lo que constituye una suerte de aventura metamusical, prefiere explorar los ecos del piano, sus recovecos más misteriosos, que dejarse llevar por el placer que supone su simple pulsación. Fue una actuación brillante, magnética, magnífica.

CD “Don't Mind” Josep-Maria Balanyà (piano)

Laika Records

Recommendation of the month / 5 stars

ENGLISH

When hearing the Catalan Josep-Maria Balanyà playing for the first time or seeing him conducting an improvisational orchestra flailing arms and legs like a wild dancer you go amazed: Can you do this? - Yes, he can. And everything resolves in an infectious laugh. Therefore, this witty, dramatic solo CD is recommended to all who complain of dryness and heavy thoughts of the avantgarde.

In the 1970s, when the electronic keyboards and synthesizers arrived, it was believed to be the end of the glorious era of the grand piano. This production - the fourth Balanyà’s for the label Laika - shows excitingly that the possibilities are far from exhausted. Yes, the achievements of electronics even have inspired the pianists new. Balanyà – once a graduate of the Swiss Jazz School - has blossomed in the last 30 years into a versatile and highly communicative enfant terrible who also enjoys to dupe the listeners' expectations. Apart from playing the piano and he always found it fascinating to knock and drum around on all commodities.

The child in the man has extended the piano into "a toy that I fundamentally explore:" Accordingly, in "On A Closer Furniture" he works the piano case with bare hands and spontaneously elicits it textured sounds that sometimes resemble to the nightly rumblings of martens in the attic, sometimes an importunate insect. Far from clean intonation and belcanto, also his voice becomes an energetic sound.

Making his mostly improvised recordings at Radio Bremen, Balanyà could use two grand pianos: one for the conventional play and one with inventive preparations, which produced very differing results. "Archaic Rubbers" for instance relies extensively on muted sounds caused by rubber pieces clamped between the strings: Isolated hard strokes on the strings are starkly contrasted by a soft “mumbling”. Out of this grows a quasi polyrhythmic network, which also reveals Balanyà’s jazz roots. "Soul Beaters" begins with grinding sounds on the strings, which resemble an over-amplified electric bass. This develops into something resembling a pygmy dance a bit later.

The play on the keys ranges between chromatic clusters and almost baroque moments (Don't Mind). In general, the initial idea mostly evolves into a multi-part but consistent design and not seldom ends suddenly. Quite impressively, Balanyà starts "Celestial" in the high register with a chromatic chord and takes time to hark to each note. Technically polished and with a sense of nuance he especially likes it expressively and rich in contrast. He is staging the improvisations with an agility you do not necessarily attach to a man in his mid-sixties. With Bud Powell's words: Un poco loco.

Jürg Solothurnmann

DEUTSCH

Wer Josep-Maria Balanyà erstmals spielen oder mit einem schieren Veitstanz ein Improvisationsorchester dirigieren sieht, staunt: Darf man das? Ja, er schon. Und alles löst sich in einem ansteckenden Lachen. Darum sei allen, die über Trockenheit und Gedankenschwere der Avantgarde klagen, diese listige, dramatische Solo-CD des Katalanen empfohlen. Als in den 1970er-Jahren elektronische Keyboards und Synthesizer aufkamen, wähnte man sich am Ende der gloriosen Ära des Konzertflügels. Diese Produktion – die vierte Balanyàs für das Label Laika – zeigt packend, dass die Möglichkeiten noch lange nicht ausgeschöpft sind. Ja, die Errungenschaften der Elektronik inspirieren die Pianisten neu. Balanyà – Absolvent der Swiss Jazz School – hat sich in den letzten 30 Jahren zu einem vielseitigen und hochkommunikativen Enfant terrible gemausert, das auch gerne die Hörerwartung düpiert. Neben dem Klavierspiel klopfte und trommelte er seit jeher auf allen Gebrauchsgegenständen her- um. Das Kind im Manne erweitert das Klavier zum ”Spielzeug, das ich von Grund auf erforsche”. So bearbeitet er in ”A Closer Furniture” das Klaviergehäuse mit blossen Händen und entlockt ihm spontan strukturierte Sounds, die mal dem nächtlichen Rumoren von Mardern im Estrich, mal einem zudringlichen Insekt gleichen. Auch seine Stimme wird – weit weg von Intonation und Belcanto – zum energievollen Sound.

Bei den total improvisierten Aufnahmen bei Radio Bremen benutzte Balanyà zwei Flügel: einen für konventionelles Spiel und einen mit erfindungsreichen Präparationen, mit denen er sehr unterschiedliche Ergebnisse erzielt. Mit Gummistücken zwischen den Saiten entsteht beispielsweise ”Archaic Rubbers”: Isolierte harte Schläge auf die Saiten stehen in krassem, Kontrast zu einem leisen ”Murmeln”. Daraus wächst ein quasi polyrhythmisches Geflecht, das auch die Jazzwurzeln Balanyàs offen- legt. ”Soul Beaters” beginnt mit geriebenen Sounds auf den Saiten, was tönt wie ein übersteuerter E- Bass. Daraus wird später quasi ein Pygmäentanz. Auf den Tasten liegt die stilistisch-technische Span- ne zwischen chromatischen Clustern und fast baro- cken Momenten ("Don't Mind"). Generell folgt dem Einfall am Anfang meistens eine manchmal mehrteilige, aber immer konsequente Gestaltung und nicht selten mit einem plötzlichen Schluss. Eindrücklich, wie ”Celestial” mit einem chromatischen Akkord von oben beginnt, und wie er den einzelnen Tönen nachlauscht. Technisch geschliffen und mit Sinn für Nuancen liebt es Balanyà vor allem expressiv und kontrastreich und inszeniert alles mit der Agilität, die man einem Mittsechziger nicht unbedingt zutraute. Mit Bud Powells Worten: Un poco loco.

Josep-Maria Balanyà, piano

La primavera la música altera.

Lo Otro recibió por primera vez a Josep-Maria Balanyà, un pianista-acróbata del sonido. Catalán afincado en Bélgica, tuvimos el privilegio de escucharlo en Madrid presentando su último trabajo, Don’t Mind. Y nos quedamos con los oídos como platos.

Compositor, improvisador, artista e investigador sonoro, Balanyà nos invitó a una sesión muy poco convencional, a la que acudir sin prejuicios, donde escuchamos sonidos y timbres insospechados que ni imaginábamos que pueden surgir de nuestro querido instrumento. Piano preparado y manipulado, percusiones intrapianísticas, extended piano, objetos sonoros… Una ocasión única para explorar y dejarse fascinar, para despertar los sentidos y la curiosidad, y desatar la imaginación acústica que llevamos dentro.

Mi primer contacto, como espectador, con el tratamiento del piano como instrumento con posibilidades sonoras, y hasta teatrales, más allá de las tradicionales limitadas al uso del teclado y los pedales, data de los años sesenta del pasado siglo, nada menos. Fue en un concierto de música-acción y música concreta de Juan Hidalgo, uno de los fundadores del mítico grupo ZAJ, evento que se realizó en su ciudad natal, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Entre el público estaba quien había sido su maestro y era el mío entonces, don Luis Prieto, quien, sonriendo, comentaba: "tantos años estudiando el piano para esto". Pero no le parecía mal, realmente. Lo verdaderamente curioso es que estaban también en ese público unas cuantas autoridades importantes de Canarias, las cuales, hay que recordar que era en pleno franquismo, no salían de su asombro. Les pareció tan extraño y escandaloso aquello, que no se atrevieron a dar la orden de detención inmediata del artista, que es seguramente lo que habrían deseado. Se quedaron paralizados, realmente. Por mi parte, descubrí un mundo fascinante y disfruté grandemente.

Cuento esto porque, a estas alturas, es muy difícil ya que me pueda sorprender algo en materia de experimentación sonora. Cuando se trata solo de eso, pura experimentación. Entonces es cuando viene la parte verdaderamente importante: qué se dice, qué es es capaz de decir utilizando estos medios. En realidad, pasa exactamente lo mismo cuando se hace algo utilizando solo los medios convencionales, claro. Pues bien: anoche, en LO OTRO, pudimos sorprendernos, de manera muy estimulante, con la actuación de un pianista realmente singular y original: Josep-Maria Balanyà. Es un espléndido pianista, pero además improvisador, compositor, 'performer', artista sonoro, en fin, búsquense más calificativos, que seguramente se encontrarán. Y percusionista de imaginación sin límites. De hecho, el comienzo de su 'performance' de ayer lo hizo percutiendo el piano desde muy diversos lugares lejanos al teclado. Escobillas, baquetas, palillos, infinidad de artilugios más son los elementos que Balanyà utiliza para conseguir hacer sonar y resonar toda la caja de resonancia del piano en busca de sus ideas sonoras. También toca desde el teclado, por supuesto, y en más de una ocasión utiliza su propia voz con sonoridad que yo llamaría 'primitivista', muy lejana a la impostación operística tradicional.

Esto ocurría sin solución de continuidad en el piano de abajo de Lo Otro. Luego, siguiendo la tradición de este siempre sugestivo lugar, el pianista ofreció una 'propina' en el piano de arriba, el que perteneció al Café Central. Y en ese instrumento sonó algo ya más conocido para el público, jazz en estado puro... pero con sonoridades muy 'balanyànianas'. En resumen, impresión excitante, ratificada por la segunda escucha ya de su CD 'don't mind', que sirvió de base para el concierto-performance' de ayer.

Enhorabuena a Josep-Maria Balanyà, y también a Juan Alberto García de Cubas y Marta Espinós, almas de Lo Otro, por haber propiciado este descubrimiento.

Miguel Bustamante Guerrero, músico, compositor, asesor de música en Radio Clásica

"Josep-Maria Balanyà's "Un peu à gauche, svp" is a music play in its own right. In general, musical theatre is not a new phenomenon, but what we face in Balanyà's “show” is not a sort of snobbism or just the desire to offer something unusual. It's about a special talent that needs a special kind of expression. It's about thoughts that can only be expressed that way. Balanyà reminds me of the genius director of Armenian origin Sergey Parajanov, although the temperament and artistic aim of both artists are totally different. At some point Parajanov realized that just a still picture or colour was not enough for him and so he set it in motion through the dynamic of film. The piano technique and even music itself is not enough for Balanyà and he weaves them into his incredible plasticity."

(Natalia Ilieva, musicologist and music journalist, BNR's Christo Botev Arts & Culture Channel, Sofia, Bulgaria).

"We should point at two things which are very important for Balanyà. Thanks to his phenomenal technique, agile fingers and flexible hands he can get whatever he wants from the piano. The second is the long, concentrated and serious work on the sound, resulting in an amazing variety of unconventional sounds."

Rumen Balyozov, composer, Sofia, Bulgaria (Excerpts from the Metronom weekly broadcast on BNR's Christo Botev Arts & Culture Channel)

"Josep-Maria Balanyà is probably the most curious and creative musician I've ever met. He always tries to learn new things; he is permanently looking for the unknown, the fresh, the surprising. On the other hand his remarkable invention and mastery of both piano and percussion allow him to express all the complexity of the human being, our (at least) two faces - the child and the adult, which is the main subject of his music.

But what is most precious among Balanyà's qualities is his freedom, because he knows very well that in order to play like an innocent child, being a serious and responsible person at the same time, he must be free. And he really is. That's something I can say about very few musicians of our time.”

(Milen Panayotov, composer and music journalist, BNR's Christo Botev Arts & Culture Channel, Sofia, Bulgaria).

Josep-Maria Balanyà. Unforgettable concert, brilliant ideas! The impression will last forever. All of a sudden a person on the stage was expressing the most deeply hidden artistic instincts, recreating at the same time a sense of humour. His ideas were clear and their realization absolutely perfect.

(Julia Tsenova, composer, pianist, artist.)

Sound storm à la Balanyà

Catalan pianist gives concert in completely darkened Sendesaal.

By YORK SCHAEFER, Weser-Kurier

During a concert in the Sendesaal almost 10 years ago one could marvel at the Catalan piano improviser Josep-Maria Balanyà producing all sorts of sounds and unusual peculiarities. For example, he lay like an auto mechanic under the piano to knock its underbody - and he worked percussively on the stage floor itself. Whether or not the radically liberated sound-explorer, born in Barcelona in 1949, did similar experiments in his latest performance in the Sendesaal, 18th November, it will remain his secret forever.

The concert took place in the completely darkened room, you could not see your hand in front of your eyes. For almost any other musician in this concert series (Konzerte im Dunkeln), the visual sense deprivation and forced focus on purely listening would have been more appropriate than for Josep-Maria Balanyà. A "naked improvisation" and "pure listening experience", as the Catalan describes his concert in the dark, where the music is ‘composed’ and follows a rough structure live. He would have liked to perform naked, he lets the audience know before the lights go out, but is afraid of catching cold.

An atmosphere of freezing cold and heart-stopping explosions characterizes the concert’s beginning. "The Shining #1" is the title of the first piece. Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 psycho-thriller of the same title, tells of the horror in a completely snow-bound Colorado mountain hotel. Josep-Maria Balanyà alternates between tonal compression and openness, between the harsh sound of noise and lonely sounding notes which fade away.

A mostly dissonant and agitated music, sometimes menacingly gloomy, to which Josep-Maria Balanyà at times adds trance-like singing, giving it a magical touch. The experimental parts of abrasive and biting sounds, which seemed to come from the inside of the piano, were also quite effective. These somewhat quieter passages, for this listener, could have been more extended… Nevertheless, a pure listening experience of a special kind.

Thursday, April 24, 2008 (Supplement 30 April 2008)

Adventure, beyond, new music

Josep-Maria Balanyà and Philip Corner

Josep-Maria Balanya's music, he has written 113 pieces so far, cannot only be labeled as experimental Jazz. He makes music on various fronts, from prepared piano or with ethnic influences, to solo piano or multimedia projects for dance ensembles, for example. He is a contemporary musician who performs on the most diverse stages. Josep-Maria Balanyà studied in Barcelona and Switzerland and has performed with Claudio Pontiggia, Hans Koch, Joachim Kühn, Michiel Borslap, Ksenija Lukic, the Neue Ensemble Hannover and Ana Maria Rodríguez, among others. The CD "Un peu à gauche, svp" (a little to the left please) was recorded between 19 and 23 March 2007 in the broadcasting room of Radio Bremen. The title may have something to do with his left-wing views and these may have been the reason for writing this 13-part work.