O. Messiaen: Visions de lAmen
C. Ives: 3 Quarter Tone Pieces
C.van Zeeland: Initials

Pianoduo has its roots in the Dutch group Hoketus. Gerard Bouwhuis and Cees van Zeeland were involved as pianists in this group from its founding. The group existed from 1976 to 1986 and within it a strong ensemble developed between the two pianists. After working in the group for a number of years Bouwhuis and van Zeeland began to perform as Pianoduo. Although they consider the performance of new works an important objective, such pieces are usually combined with an established 20th century repertoire or pieces which are seldom or never performed. The current CD is a good example of this. Many composers have now written for Pianoduo. Through this expansion of the repertoire for two pianos, Pianoduo hopes to lend an extra dimension to the art of music. Initials (1989) Cees van Zeeland (1954 -) For a long time I have been interested in bringing together in my compositions the various sorts of music which have affected me during my lifetime. The piece Initials is the first in which I have not used different types of music as my point of departure. Instead I have sought a form in which to give shape to a number of worlds of sound which are new to me. This time my starting point does not lie in music external to myself, although the listener will doubtless be able to find a nexus with music of the past. Although the piece consists of one whole, distinct sections are discernible. The transition from one section to the next becomes increasingly blurred and thus material which is initially rich in contrast becomes steadily more integrated.

Awards: Diapason 5 keys

(...) Bouwhuis en Van Zeeland hebben een veel architectonischer aanpak, bouwen de spanning op langs grote lijnen en werken de details uit met bijzonder scherpe ritmiek en nuancering. Volkskrant, December 1992
(...) Hun spel overtuigt in beide uitersten: de vaak schrijnende extase en de welgevallen sereniteit. De complexe akkoorden klinken gedisciplineerd, hun pedaalgebruik is geraffineerd, de ritmische controle voorbeeldig. Dat dit duo daarbij de strenge structurele opvattingen van de componist niet uit het oog verliest, bewijst hun grote klasse. De onberispelijke opnamekwaliteit van de cd blijkt ook uit de andere werken. Cees van Zeeland slaat, naast Ives en Messiaen, een zeer goed figuur. Entracte, December 1992
(...) De uitvoering door het pianoduo is perfekt. CD (Belgium), February 1993
(...) Despite such formidable competition, this one stands as a terrific recording by artists who seem to have lived with the music and understood it.(...) Allegro, June 1993
(...) Piece de belle envergure, Initials de Cees van Zeeland clt avec bonheur ce programme vou aux chocs de matire et exploite habilement la personnalit du duo sans en faire le prtexte de la partition comme cest souvent le cas avec les contributions des interprtes-compositeurs. Diapason, October 1994 (...) Opmerkelijke muziek, inderdaad een extra dimensie voor de muziekpraktijk.