Festival 20·21 let us discover again little-known work but this time especially also a lesser-known performer and at the same time also composer, the young Leuven pianist Brecht Valckenaers. He played the complete Musica Ricercata by György Ligeti which in this way in his avant-garde manner wanted to "examine" all kinds of musical structures, rhythms and styles. He did that in 11 short pieces. In between, compositions were programmed by other avant-gardists such as Helmut Lachenmann, Henry Cowell, György Kurtág, George Crumb but also Béla Bartók. The real icing on the cake were the interludes by Valckenaers himself. Wonderful but short compositions of his own, whether or not based on those well-known 20th-century predecessors, but above all played with an unprecedented supple strength. Truly a revelation. At the end of the concert there was no moment to wait for the standing ovation.
Often at performances too much attention is paid to the performers and too little to the composer. Here you could immediately congratulate both. Here no tyranny of the score. Here almost pure improvisation, admittedly noted in that supple mind of that young pianist. Here everything was present. An excellent performance of a young Ligeti score which was the result of his search for composition techniques, summarized in his Musica Ricercata; a flawless introduction to a number of composers who also experimented with new sounds and ultimately the interlude-results of Valckenaers' own musical research. But Valckenaers had no need for scores at any moment. Many composers write for eternity, the young Valckenaers was deeply rooted in the hic et nunc. What a bliss. Phenomenal, almost genius.