HUBER POUR LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS Piano

world première Darmstadt, April 3, 2004 - Ciao Ciao Zhu (piano). . . . . . "Pour les Enfants du Paradis" is a collection of short character pieces for piano plus, which the composer wrote especially for children who play the piano very well and are curious about the music of today. It is these talented children who are alluded to in the title borrowed from Marcel Carné's film 'Children of Paradise.' I see these compositions in the neighborhood of the children's pieces written by Lachenmann (Child's Play) and Zender (Walks and Games) – and Schumann (Scenes from Childhood) of course – even though the underlying concept is completely different.". . (Nicolaus A. Huber) . . . . . . . . Some of the pieces clearly exceed the boundaries of conventional playing on the piano keys. This departure from the norm is what Huber refers to with the indication "piano plus." The pianist is encouraged to experiment with unconventional sounds such as his own voice, the metronome, the piano lid, or with paper, scissors and string used inside, on and next to the piano.. . . . . . Bibliography:. . . . Förstel, Francois, « Dripping » und nichtige Tontropfen. Gestaltungsaufgaben zu N. A. Hubers „Pour les Enfants du paradis“ und Klaus K. Hüblers „Vanitas“, in: Hören und Sehen – Musik audiovisuell (= Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Neue Musik und Musikerziehung, Band 45), Mainz 2005, S. 351-359. . . . Huber, Nicolaus A.: Pour les Enfants du paradis. Kurze Charakterstücke für KlavierPlus (2003), in: Hören und Sehen – Musik audiovisuell (= Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Neue Musik und Musikerziehung, Band 45), Mainz 2005, S. 57-61. .