The concert is divided into two parts the first is made up of original piano compositions and improvisations performed by Terry Riley, the second of works and arrangements as a duo with the participation of Amelia Cuni.
Terry Riley's piano improvisations are based on themes and structures drawn from his work, constantly seeking new relations between rhythmic structures and melodic forms based on a great variety of scales and modes. The independent use of hands and voice allow him to achieve improvised three-voiced polyphonies and is one of the characteristic traits of his work. He is considered one of the most important figures of contemporary American music, together with La Monte Young, the originator of the “minimalist” movement. His piano improvisations make free use of rhythmic and melodic modules, which make the musical structure fluid and constantly open to new and unexpected developments. His music draws on a great variety of compositional techniques and ideas and is influenced by Jazz and blues as well as Indian music.
The classical tradition of northern India has had a profound influence on the musical thoughts of Terry Riley, who has studied Khyal singing with Pandit Pran Nath from 1970 until the death of the Indian maestro in 1996. Riley's attraction to this antique and refined tradition was immediate and whole-hearted, also thanks to the many connections and similarities with his own musical and philosophical inclinations. He has continued an intense practice of Indian singing along side his notable artistic production as a virtuoso piano composer and improviser.
Amelia Cuni is a Dhrupad singer, the most antique form of Hindustani cultural music. This music has its origins in the ritual music of the Indian temples of the 14th century, and subsequently became the music of the court of the Mogul emperors. This tradition has been preserved up to the present day within family dynasties of performers, and Cuni has studied intensively with such families during her 10-year residence in India. She has lived in Germany since the end of the 1980's, and together with her activities as a traditional Dhrupad singer she is also active on the international scene with numerous experimental projects and the production of contemporary music. Numerous composers have written pieces for her voice, including Terry Riley ('What the River Said', 1999, commissioned for the Norwich and Norfolk festival in England).
Thus the Indian vocalisation is the principal source of inspiration for these collaborative works as a duo. Riley contributes with his exceptional ability to draw close East and West using modal piano improvisations and inflections typical of Khyal music in his personal vocal expression. To this, Amelia Cuni brings over 20 years of research aimed at a “contemporary” presentation of Dhrupad singing.
The melodic and rhythmic filigree which enrich Indian singing, the emotional impact and the evocations of traditional raga (raga: from Sanskrit: “that which colours the mind”), together with traditional improvisational techniques, are elaborated by the two musicians according to their personal, and in part similar, experience and study of Indian culture. Riley and Cuni share a heterogeneous approach, which lends itself to overcoming the geographical and cultural borders between the continents, whilst maintaining a respect for the traditions in the sense of a continuous evolution and renewal of the common patrimony. Both have demonstrated their ability to integrate their deep knowledge and technical mastery of Hindustani traditions in their creative work many times, work which always shows the signs of direct, first-person experience. Not a quotation, but rather a “lived experience” of raga, from which a circular and cyclical vision emerges, a vision which encompasses east and West, man and nature, daily experience and the supernatural.
Riley, talking about the project, says: “The challenge in this form is to create a coherent dialogue between the keyboard and vocal improvisations. This is something that has occupied a large part of my creative efforts in recent years.”
The RAGA D'OLTREOCEANO are composed and improvised in numerous languages, including American, Hindi and Italian and include verses from the poets of the Beat Generation and modern Indian poets.

www.terryriley.com
www.ameliacuni.de