Delirium

A musical labyrinth where space and time blur

Ukrainian-Dutch composer Maxim Shalygin calls his latest cycle S I M I L A R his life’s work. Delirium is the latest part in this cycle, a piece with an instrumentation of four pianos that he composed for Muziekgebouw Amsterdam. In the S I M I L A R-series, sound wizard Shalygin digs deep into the possibilities of ensembles consisting entirely of identical instruments. Four top pianists - Tomoko Mukaiyama, Laura Sandee, Gerard Bouwhuis & Antonii Baryshevskyi - will interpret the nuances of Delirium.

“The idea is to gradually bring the listener into a state of weightlessness,” says Maxim Shalygin about Delirium. The piano has a very precise touch, but by constantly shifting rhythms, Shalygin disrupts the feeling of a clear pulse: thus creating a compelling musical flow that seems to float freely in space.