For about a decade now, I have been working on a project which combines my roles as a researcher and performer–composer. Research-wise, the project delves into the surviving piano schools documented within a broad geographical span: Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East. The outcomes highlight a distinct and unexplored aspect of the piano. I have been focusing on the discography of urban folk-popular repertoires found in a variety of musical realities. A careful look at the discography, from the beginning of the 20th century, reveals a multitude of recordings, which surprise with the variety and ingenuity of the ways of integrating the piano into the examined musical genres (for a general image, see https://www.eastward-piano.com/past). These pianistic heterotopias, which are most active even at present, were not studied as much as those of classical Europe or American Jazz.

Artistically, the project moves on two inter-dependent axes: the creation of a unique pianistic repertoire, and the development of a performance practice, which diverges from typical pianistic categorizations. The first axis leads to an expansion of the repertoire, both quantitatively and stylistically, highlighting a wide variety of artistic expressions. The second initiates a new dynamic, since the performance technique it proposes deviates from the standard pianistic categorizations (classical, jazz, rock, Latin, etc.).

More information on the official website www.eastward-piano.com