Simeon ten Holt | Canto Ostinato for two pianos and two marimbas

AllMusic Review by Stephen Eddins  [-]

Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt's massive Canto Ostinato, written in the 1970s, was one of the first examples of European minimalism, and like much American minimalism, it was a reaction to the complexities of academic serialism. Ten Holt professes to have been astonished when this tonal, smoothly rhythmic, melodious music started flowing out of him, but he figured out how to develop it into a work that is at the same time thoroughly avant-garde in conception and immediately engaging and accessible in execution. Although the piece is fully notated, ten Holt gives the performers a Cageian freedom in the use of his material. He has said he envisions the piece for four pianos (the version heard here), but virtually any combination of keyboard instruments is possible, and it has even been performed successfully on solo harp. It is made up of over 100 musical cells, and the number of repetitions of each cell and other performing details are left up to the performers. The recorded versions last from about one hour to nearly three, and this one clocks in at two hours and 25 minutes. It's a satisfying length, and testimony to the sensitive musicality of the performers; the music has plenty of room to unfold expansively with an inexorable sense of flow and momentum, and nothing seems to go on for too long. Pianists Irene Russo, Fred Oldenburg, Sandra van Veen, and Jeroen van Veen play with drive and propulsiveness, but also with carefully shaped phrasing and with coloring that sounds almost orchestral. In this type of repetitive music it would be easy for things to come off as mechanical and undifferentiated, but these players have the sensibility of a finely tuned chamber ensemble and their performance is beautifully nuanced. The impact of the gorgeous performance is somewhat dampened by the cavernous but overly bright, brassy acoustic of the recording. Still, it's a stellar version of a major work that should have strong appeal for any fan of middle-period minimalism.