Jurriaan Andriessen - Portrait of Hedwig

Perhaps the most intruiging part of this composition for piano(s) is not so much the music itself (pleasant as it may sound), but the concept behind it.

Jurriaan Andriessen junior, nephew to Louis, grandson to Hendrik, was first and for all a graphic artist. He developed the idea to draw his wife Hedwig’s portrait using the partiture of the music on this album. Seriously, he didn’t miss a note. It took him five years to complete it.

It’s all there, the fugues, the canons, the jazz, the boogie woogie, the romantic flights of the imagination, or whatever else Jurriaan’s eclectic taste could come up with. The various genres form lips, throat, hair, eyes, nose and wrinkles in their notation.
Facial elements and lines in the portrait sometimes required a specific image of music notes; a special curve, or a certain density. In this way, the portrait more or less directed the development of the composition.
Jurriaan drew the portrait, and the portrait composed the music, so to say….

Now for even more fun: go to this site

http://www.jurriaan-andriessen.nl/index.php?pageID=11

- and click on the last link in the reddish grey box on the left, “Portret van Hedwig beluisteren”. In the middle Hedwig’s portrait will show up enlarged. Click on any part of her face, and you’ll hear how it sounds. The entire album is there, not just short previews. Tracklists are there too (as well as in the archives).

The album box contains a rather large poster of the portrait. Folded, of course. I included it in the archives. It was sheer hell to sew the various uneven scans together, I’ll tell you that much. I won’t say I managed to do it perfectly into its every detail, but it’s OK.
I included those scan parts as well. You might give it a try, puzzle it together and go one better than me.
Success!

Bernd Brackman, piano
Kees Wieringa, piano