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The new, second
Rainbow Studio in Oslo, Norway, is the creation of Jan Erik
Kongshaug, a sound-engineer with a remarkable knowledge and
reputation known all over the world. He had already worked for
the small, but very nice, Arne Bendiksen Studio in Oslo in 1970.
He was a distinguished musician himself (guitar & bass), but
most of all a very talented engineer, who was able to respond to
very different musicians’ and producers’ aesthetic approach. At
that time, many new and influential jazz-labels started, but Jan
Erik Kongshaug was also working for pop and rock-producers, as
he still does today.
I was lucky to
work in this studio in much of the seventies, along side Arild
Andersen and Jon Christensen, among others, as well as with the
highly gifted Norwegian producer Svein Erik Børja, who at the
time continuously discussed sound and recording methods with
many different musicians and producers. I felt a very special
creative energy in the studio, and I also loved the small
Steinway A. I recorded my first solo piano-album for Philips on
that instrument in 1975. I think fondly of the now deceased
Svein Erik Børja with deep gratitude. He taught me so much about
being intuitive, and also how to think about sound and the
different instrument qualities when recording music. It was an
exciting atmosphere in Oslo during those years. Young musicians
felt the presence of world-famous artists who would show up at
the unforgettable Club 7 (even Miles Davis was there). They
changed our way of thinking about what improvised music could
be.
Later, Jan Erik Kongshaug moved to Talent Studio in the same
area of town. I never worked with him there, but was proud when
he asked me to work with him when the later renowned Steinway
D-model for the first Rainbow Studio in Christies Gate 5 was
chosen. In between, I recorded my first volume of Preludes
on the fine and interesting C-model that was used during the
first Rainbow-years. I was also fortunate to have Jan Erik
Kongshaug as my main studio-engineer during the nineties, who
was also my live recording-engineer on both Grace and
Seafarer's Song, and had the pleasure to mix both albums
with him. I enjoyed experiencing his way of approaching the
soundscape with his careful way of listening to the music’s
inner needs.
When Jan Erik Kongshaug told me that he would be moving Rainbow
Studio from Christies Gate to Sandakerveien, an idea occurred to
me about how nice it would be to be the last musician recording
in the old studio and the first musician recording in the new. I
prepared two solo piano-CD's, which later developed into a
triple-session. This was due to Jan Erik Kongshaug and my very
close friend, the hi-fi-boss and art-collector Erling Neby’s
generous offer to buy a new Steinway D for the new studio.
A grand piano has a remarkable life and is full of surprises. I
have been playing on a Steinway A-model since the sixties at
home. Even today, it is still surprisingly brilliant and
dynamic. The old D-model in Rainbow Studio was not at all
outdated, but it could sometimes be difficult to differentiate
between pianissimo and forte, even if it had fantastic qualities
both in the upper and the lower registers.
To choose between eight remarkable D-models at the Steinway
Factory in Hamburg is very difficult because every pianist has
his or her own personal touch and taste for sound quality. The
one that was eventually chosen has a wonderful brilliance and is
more open and dynamic than some of the older Steinways. It is
possible to communicate in the most transparent pianissimos, and
also possible to play a full scale Brahms on it.
There are so many theories about piano sound, and the most
surprising is how many classical pianists and producers prefer a
rather dull and distant sound for their recordings. Even more
tragic is that some star pianists have to take their own
instrument on tour all over the world. No instrument on earth
suffers from changing places and climate more than a
distinguished grand piano. Listening to exhausted instruments
suffering from jet-lag is never very pleasant, even when masters
are playing on them.
The instruments in the Rainbow Studio don’t suffer from any
jet-lag. They reside stress-free in a wonderful studio, and both
are taken very good care of by Thron Irby the tuner, who is also
the Steinway-agent in Norway.
It may be possible, in these recordings, to hear the difference
between the recordings from the old and the new studios, and the
old and the new instruments, without necessarily preferring one
over another. Music and sound should be enjoyed and removed from
comparative thoughts. Every musical moment and every sound has
its own value.
I am grateful for having had this opportunity to work in a
dream-like setting for a pianist, with Jan Erik Kongshaug behind
the mixing-table. These recordings are made with my most
deep-felt thanks to him, Erling Neby and Thron Irby, who have
participated in setting the standard in different ways and have
also created this very special soundscape, directly or
indirectly, which I have always felt is the most dynamic and
correct for what I as a pianist wish to express.
As a piano
player, one must remember that the grand-piano is both a string
and a percussion-instrument. Much of the romantic grandeur
associated with the instrument during its peak, such as from
Beethoven’s "Hammerklavier" Sonata through to the two heavy
Brahms piano-concertos, to the incredible Busoni-transcriptions
of Bach-organ-works, describes a certain historic period that
belongs to the past, even if the music speaks to us today owing
to the genius of the composers. Many contemporary pianists
approach the instrument with much more awareness of the
string-sound the grand-piano is able to give. This also creates
new possibilities to work inside a much more intimate aesthetic.
I have not yet discovered if this development is because many
modern jazz-pianists play with a technique lacking the power of
classical technique. But since the overtones in this musical
setting are much easier to hear, it is also easy to understand
that a grand-piano is unique and impossible to copy digitally.
When I chose the
repertoire for these three sessions, I was thinking of the
instrument, the studio-acoustics and my mood on each respective
day. The first recording was in June and became the final
session in the old studio, when Norway is overwhelmed by light.
The second one became the first session in the new studio. It
took place in August when one can sense autumn is approaching.
The final one happened in December when Oslo is dark and cold,
and the snow is falling. But I didn't want to be too sentimental
about the seasons. The Christmas-carol, "In the bleak
midwinter", was recorded in the first session, when it was
mid-summer. I wanted to play compositions I felt close to on the
day of the recording. Both very old and also quite new material
was chosen.
The three sessions were recorded live,
without any corrections or editing.
Oslo, September
2006
Ketil Bjørnstad
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