Voluntas

for piano

(SW1039)

Whether the somewhat cryptic title “Voluntas” means the will of the composer to musically translate his ideas or to convince the listener or designate completely different thoughts, could be discussed; but one thing is certain: a defiant character with a strong willpower is always behind this rather extensive “composed improvisation”, which of course is to be understood in the best sense, as is also the case with composers like Skriabin. “Composed improvisation”, this is an intuitive-seeming synthesis of Walker’s “Voluntas” on the one hand, embodied by a dramaturgy culminating in the center, and on the other hand the improvisational character in the seemingly instantaneous sequences of movement that are the timeline, besides, always atonal, partly smooth-elegant, partly pointed-rough measured. At times certain stereotypical toy formulas seem to remind on Etudes, yes, sometimes something from a “Perpetuum mobile” such as Ligeti. In fact, countless allusions to compositional styles and characteristics in the history of piano music make Walker's “Voluntas” a refreshingly up-to-date look at what has been and how it will be in the future.

Martin Schmeck

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