Programs

Karlheinz Stockhausen: Klavierstück X

"Mr. Kigawa, who grew up in Japan, said he first heard the work as a child and 'couldn’t believe my ears.' Stockhausen referred to his “Klavierstück” series, which originated as a set of four small pieces in 1952, as 'drawings.' The 10th, written in 1961, is a colorful mix of cluster chords, glissandos and dramatic dynamic contrasts. Mr. Kigawa vividly conveyed the kaleidoscopic sonic effects, punctuated throughout by long silences."- Vivien Schweitzer, The New York Times

"He opened his program with Stockhausen’s Klavierstück X, a work filled with constant tone clusters and glissandi, featuring perhaps more virtuosic modernist fireworks than the Boulez. Kigawa took an entirely novel and whimsical approach to playing this work, donning fingerless fleece gloves to aid in the glissandi and clusters. The effect was practical, too, in that Kigawa achieved an unprecedented evenness of tone and sound production. He moved effortlessly between glissando, chunky chords, disjunct angular melodies, and full-arm clusters, never once sounding as though he was using a new technique. At first it had a reductive quality, but eventually, it became clear that Kigawa was perhaps staying truer to Stockhausen’s notation than any version I’ve heard. The final section, with its throbbing, fast repeated notes, was especially emotional, bringing the work to a dynamic climax." - Jake Cohen, Consequence of Sound

"The challenge in number X (Klavierstück X) is the long, dramatic silent gaps, the most difficult thing for a performer to express. Kigawa held these spaces calmly and firmly, and they were some of the most gripping moments of the night, the active tension of listening to his playing carrying over through the empty spaces." - George Grella, New York Classical Review

"Stockhausen: 'Klavierstück X.' Saariaho: 'Prelude' and 'Ballade.' Boulez: Sonata No. 2. While I can’t vouch for every note, there’s no doubt about Kigawa’s ambition and conviction. Thrilling pianism." - Sedgwick Clark, Musical America