One of the most important moments for a pianist who moves in the field of classical music is to take the stage all alone. With a single light illuminating only them and a small part of the piano, they and they alone are faced with the task of interpreting the work on the page before them. As much as she loved the solo piano repertoire, Martha Argerich, one of the most important pianists of the 20th century, said she always felt very lonely when there were no musicians around her. A classical pianist in a recital has memorised the score. Or rather, more correctly, has studied it deeply and made it their own. Thus, their fingers run on a specific musical text so deeply experienced that it seems as if the performer is recreating it while playing. However, the text pre-exists. But what if a musician is all alone on stage without a single written note?
Keith Jarrett, with his iconic 1975 recording "Cologne Concerto" for ECM, showed that improvisation can not only produce excellent results but also highly commercial and widely revered recordings. Of this improvisation, Jarrett writes: "Those who expected to hear me play the Cologne Concerto again never made it. I used to say that if a listener could hold back every second of improvisation, then they would just enter my world; they would understand exactly what I'm trying to do." But how is such improvisation produced? Jarrett writes: "The first answer to 'how I create' is 'I don't know.' While I'm playing purely improvisationally, all mental and emotional control doesn't help at all to let the river go where it's meant to go. If you are a mountaineer, when you are on a slope, all you have to do is keep moving, go somewhere. And that's what I'm trying to do, to find a way."
Very recently, Tania Giannouli released her first album for solo piano. On experiencing such a performance, she says: "Playing solo is, for me, the most liberating thing. Being alone with the instrument gives me an incredible sense of freedom. And yet, there is nothing more demanding than a solo recital. Being alone on stage forces you to be honest, not to hold back or pretend anything, and to allow yourself to be vulnerable. In this way, if you are real, you find strength. 'Solo' is a very personal journey – a story it tells without filters, a story that I hope listeners will recognise, identify with and appreciate with their minds and (most importantly) their hearts."
"If you walk onto a stage or into a recording studio the way Jarrett did", says Giannouli, "it's best to have no ready-made idea. If an improviser can create themes that release the flow of their music, then they will create music as they play. Solo recitals are a completely different world, and it's not me who made its rules."