LDV87

22 THIS IS AMERICA! How did this joint project come about? VanessaWagner — Wilhem and I have known each other for a number of years now. I discovered him through his very first recording, a Villa-Lobos programme. After that I contacted him for a tour centred on Varèse’s transcription of Amériques , with four pianists on two pianos. That enabled us to give a number of concerts together and to get to know each other better. We share a slightly atypical ‘profile’ in the profession, which naturally brought us together and gives us an appetite for doing the same sort of things. Alongside my classical discography, I had already released two discs devoted to minimalist music in 2016 and 2018. I told Wilhem of my dream of playing Steve Reich’s Piano Phase (exclusively available here as a digital bonus) and John Adams’s Hallelujah Junction , two pieces I had been listening to for years without ever having performed them. That was the kernel of the idea, this urge to record together a repertory that isn’t very popular, especially in Europe.