Pianiste Helena Basilova: Homage to Ryuichi Sakamoto

Amsterdam-based pianist Helena Basilova brings together the piano works of composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. The pioneering Japanese composer linked many different styles in his vast oeuvre, from electronic pop music to classical film soundtracks. Basilova plays an ode to this composer, who died last year. This tribute to his musical legacy and to his innovative approach to piano sounds will be heard on Sunday afternoon 9 March in Finkum's Vituskerk.

Piano music has always been central to the oeuvre of Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-2023), who was a musician and producer in addition to being a composer himself. Sakamoto broke boundaries between different musical genres, ranging from classical, jazz and film to synthpop and experimental electronic music. Best known was his soundtrack for Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, a film with David Bowie.

Sakamoto has been called an impressionist of the modern era. He drew inspiration from a wide variety of composers; from Bach to Debussy, from John Cage to Boulez and Ligeti. His pieces range from minimal and intimate to complex and ‘ambient’. In this programme, Basilova opts for the intimate, mysterious and poetic world of sound.

Pianist Helena Basilova is always looking for new music. Even when she was young, new works were written for her by her father - a prominent composer. For the music of Ryuchi Sakamoto, Basilova searched for new possibilities of the piano sound and experimented with electronic music.

Since 2008, Basilova has played in all major concert halls in the Netherlands and then worldwide. In 2010, she moved to New York, where she performed at Carnegie Hall and was part of the NYU Contemporary Music Ensemble. In recent years, Helena has also been writing her own music, such as the new film score for science fiction film Aelita- Queen of Mars (1924) together with Salvador Breed or new music for the installation Monolith, which was shown at FIBER Festival 2023 at Muziekgebouw aan het IJ. Helena released albums of piano music by Scriabin, Janacek, Firsova, Prokofiev, Schnittke and Morton Feldman, among others. In autumn 2023, her tribute to Ryuchi Sakamoto was also released on CD.

This concert has no intermission; a drink afterwards is included.