Kaczmarek by Mozdzer
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and Leszek Mo?d?er
" Kaczmarek by Mozdzer has become a very valuable listening experience I often return to. "Written by Joep de Bruijn - Review of the regular release
Leszek Możdżer is a Polish pianist that has made name by playing the piano on numerous scores by Polish composers such as Zbigniew Preisner, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and Janusz Stoklosa. He thinks of Preisner as his great tutor, but the collaborations with Kaczmarek and Preisner combined showed him at the peak of his career. While they are quite different individuals, one could say Kaczmarek gives him some more time and freedom to developed his ideas as a pianist (and in a sense co-composer), while Preisner only does allow him such space if he does agree with his ideas. His unique sound and abilities as a musician, to play like he's floating in the air, has earned him a lot of credit. On each score he had been granted a certain amount of freedom to improvise and add his unique and trademarks. Yes, on the scale of musical depths some classical pianists have shown a considerable amount of more intelligence, but they miss out on the astonished joy the playing should provide for and previously mentioned unique touch. Therefore, I can safely say I cannot think of another pianist I love more.
He has expressed a wish to work with both Preisner and Kaczmarek again if he was asked, but such a thing hasn't happened for a long time. I wonder if it has anything to do with his ever-expanding musical career... As time went by, he discontinued his collaborations with these film composers and began to concentrate more on writing his own scores, piano compositions and developing relationships with other composers and musicians in different genres, usually signified as crossover projects. In retrospective, his idiosyncratic sound in scores by some of the earlier mentioned composers is terribly missed and his own scores do not provide much solace. It feels like an end of an era, yet all his other music activities are still inspiring. I can´t grasp everything he does, especially with some of fusion projects, but it´s often very engaging.
Kaczmarek by Możdżer is a compilation of their collaborations on the scores to Evening, The Third Miracle, Hachi, Finding Neverland, Hania and Unfaithful. It is a wonderful display of his unique abilities and improvisation based on music by the composer, all solo piano pieces, omitting all cues on which orchestral elements and the piano coincide. Most of the pieces on the compilation share a charming, dramatic sense that is consistent from start to finish.
Compilations are things I usually do not value very highly. Generally, I like hearing the full score, or make my own personal compilations. The real value of compilations lies in those that include previously unreleased music, which is not the case with this release. However, Kaczmarek by Możdżer has become a very valuable listening experience I often return to. For quite some time, minimal and light piano music has captured the attention of a broader audience. It is too easy to just place this compilation in the same category, since the qualities of the Możdżer outshine them indefinitely.
Track Listing
1. Frank & Roxanne - The Third Miracle (3.35)
2. Violent Variation On Maya's Theme - Lost Souls (3.37)
3. Postscriptum - Lost Souls (3.02)
4. Unfaithful (Piano Variation) - Unfaithful (2.43)
5. Neverland (Piano Variation in Blue) - Finding Neverland (4.33)
6. Children Arrive - Finding Neverland (3.19)
7. The Park On Piano - Finding Neverland (5.25)
8. Nadchodza Swieta - Hania (3.40)
9. At Home - Unfaithful (1.37)
10. Frascati - Hania (4.44)
11. Neverland (Minor Piano Variation) - Finding Neverland (3.40)
12. Hania Jest Piekna - Hania (2.53)
13. Evening (Piano Overture) - Evening (2.39)
14. Memories of the Evening - Evening (2.22)
15. Buddy - Evening (3.08)
16. Chasing Moth - Evening (3.58)
17. After The End - Evening (3.13)
18. Parker's Dance Played On Piano - Hachi (3.44)
19. Parker & Hachi - Hachi (3.29)
20. Hachi, Parker & Cate - Memories - Hachi (3.53)
21. Buddy's Memories - Evening (2.19)
Total Length: 61.11
He has expressed a wish to work with both Preisner and Kaczmarek again if he was asked, but such a thing hasn't happened for a long time. I wonder if it has anything to do with his ever-expanding musical career... As time went by, he discontinued his collaborations with these film composers and began to concentrate more on writing his own scores, piano compositions and developing relationships with other composers and musicians in different genres, usually signified as crossover projects. In retrospective, his idiosyncratic sound in scores by some of the earlier mentioned composers is terribly missed and his own scores do not provide much solace. It feels like an end of an era, yet all his other music activities are still inspiring. I can´t grasp everything he does, especially with some of fusion projects, but it´s often very engaging.
Kaczmarek by Możdżer is a compilation of their collaborations on the scores to Evening, The Third Miracle, Hachi, Finding Neverland, Hania and Unfaithful. It is a wonderful display of his unique abilities and improvisation based on music by the composer, all solo piano pieces, omitting all cues on which orchestral elements and the piano coincide. Most of the pieces on the compilation share a charming, dramatic sense that is consistent from start to finish.
Compilations are things I usually do not value very highly. Generally, I like hearing the full score, or make my own personal compilations. The real value of compilations lies in those that include previously unreleased music, which is not the case with this release. However, Kaczmarek by Możdżer has become a very valuable listening experience I often return to. For quite some time, minimal and light piano music has captured the attention of a broader audience. It is too easy to just place this compilation in the same category, since the qualities of the Możdżer outshine them indefinitely.
Track Listing
1. Frank & Roxanne - The Third Miracle (3.35)
2. Violent Variation On Maya's Theme - Lost Souls (3.37)
3. Postscriptum - Lost Souls (3.02)
4. Unfaithful (Piano Variation) - Unfaithful (2.43)
5. Neverland (Piano Variation in Blue) - Finding Neverland (4.33)
6. Children Arrive - Finding Neverland (3.19)
7. The Park On Piano - Finding Neverland (5.25)
8. Nadchodza Swieta - Hania (3.40)
9. At Home - Unfaithful (1.37)
10. Frascati - Hania (4.44)
11. Neverland (Minor Piano Variation) - Finding Neverland (3.40)
12. Hania Jest Piekna - Hania (2.53)
13. Evening (Piano Overture) - Evening (2.39)
14. Memories of the Evening - Evening (2.22)
15. Buddy - Evening (3.08)
16. Chasing Moth - Evening (3.58)
17. After The End - Evening (3.13)
18. Parker's Dance Played On Piano - Hachi (3.44)
19. Parker & Hachi - Hachi (3.29)
20. Hachi, Parker & Cate - Memories - Hachi (3.53)
21. Buddy's Memories - Evening (2.19)
Total Length: 61.11