Concerto for piano and orchestra
Aki Hoffmann, piano solo
Friedrich Gulda:
Making the Impossible Possible -
an outstanding and spellbinding masterpiece in the merging of musical worlds
The legendary Friedrich Gulda – celebrated early on as a brilliant young Beethoven interpreter – is arguably THE trailblazer in bridging classical music and jazz. His "Concerto for Myself" is a piano concerto for soloist and orchestra that shifts effortlessly between Mozart, Bach, Jazz, Rock, and Latingrooves, accomplishing what seems impossible: seamlessly fusing seemingly irreconcilable styles into a single, large-scale orchestral masterpiece.
The concerto
Built on the classical piano concerto structure, the work nonetheless provides abundant space for the pianist’s spontaneous creativity.
The soloist must improvise – sometimes in classical vein, sometimes with jazzy flair, and at times drawing on Latin American idioms. Each performance thus becomes a unique re-creation, attuned to or mirroring the present moment and its energies. A further highlight is the scoring: alongside the solo piano, the piece calls for a drum set and electric bass, enabling dedicated trio passages that grant the pianist even greater improvisational liberty and playgrounds.
Improvisation in earlier times
From the Baroque through the Classical period and far into the 19th century, soloists in piano concertos were routinely expected to improvise. This was especially true in the cadenza, where they would extemporize on the work’s motifs in real time. Elsewhere in the score, there were often openings for creative, on-the-spot variations of the notated text. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and their contemporaries – today known almost solely as composers – were in fact celebrated virtuosos of improvisation.
Aki Hoffmann and Gulda’s concerto
“Concerto for Myself” fits Aki Hoffmann like a glove. Classically trained, he came to jazz and improvisation during his youth and has since woven these elements ever more deeply into his classical approach. His remarkable stylistic range and exceptional gift for improvisation perfectly equip him to bring this outstanding – though still under-performed – crossover gem to life.
Gulda‘ misunderstood musical universe
Hoffmann manages to shed clear light on Gulda’s frequently misunderstood musical universe through his rendition of the concerto – rekindling the fundamental joy of music-making that Gulda envisioned and exemplified throughout his life.
The skill of spontaneous improvisation vanished for a long period, overshadowed by the quest for perfect, authentic renditions of classical masterpieces. In today’s classical landscape, the norm is largely “cover pianists” who aim to recreate others’ works with near-photographic precision. Hoffmann, on the other hand, aspires to the ideal of the universal pianist: a musician who reimagines, reshapes, decorates, and invents new music afresh on the basis of established compositions.
Today, Aki Hoffmann stands as one of the rare pioneers worldwide resurrecting the lost art of classical improvisation. He also masterfully bridges classical music with modern idioms – jazz, pop, Latin – and is widely regarded as an innovative pioneer of 21st-century crossover. His playing is characterized above all by the singular, never-to-be-repeated quality of each concert and his unmistakable individuality as an artist.
Friedrich Gulda said about himself:
“Throughout my whole life, I have tried to discern, live out, and creatively put into practice the deep-rooted commonalities inherent in the various musical styles.”
Gulda’s lifelong motto is one Aki Hoffmann has wholeheartedly embraced.
As a true universal pianist, he translates this philosophy into practice with his own inimitable style and depth.
In "Concerto for Myself", both classical devotees and lovers of jazz, rock, and Latin grooves embark together on a spellbinding, soaring musical flight!