For Mattia Douwe Eisenga

• Douwe Eisinga (B. 1961): For Mattia:
• 1Eisinga: For Mattia07:43
• Summit:
• 2Eisinga: Summit04:18
• The Opposite:
• 3Eisinga: The Opposite04:24
• Gentleman:
• 4Eisinga: Gentleman04:02
• Julia:
• 5Eisinga: Julia05:45
• Pendulum Waves:
• 6Eisinga: Pendulum Waves04:26
• The Cooper:
• 7Eisinga: The Cooper04:08
• Carried Away:
• 8Eisinga: Carried Away05:40
• On the Edge:
• 9Eisinga: On the Edge04:37
• Total Runtime45:03

Info for For Mattia

Pianist and composer Douwe Eisenga writes sparkling music for sparkling minds, a hypnotic mix of rhythm and compelling lyricism. The melodies carve into the soul of the listener. After having made ten albums as a composer, For Mattia is the very first album on which he himself plays his music.

He composed, others performed his work. That is how it went for 30 years. “I used to play in pop bands. But when I started studying composition at the conservatory in Groningen, I ended up in a different world. There were dozens of people there who played much better than me. It seemed better to everyone that I should stick to compositions. I kept that idea up for a long time. ”

Now he has released this album with nine recent piano pieces, including For Mattia, in that characteristic, compelling Eisenga style that leaves virtually no one untouched. “But it is and remains important to keep a certain distance as a composer. The music does not dictate emotion, but has a certain openness. As a listener you can go into it yourself and make your own story out of it. That makes it more universal.”

Eisenga has “giant pride” now that For Mattia has been released. It’s actually my first album. This feels like a debut. That’s kind of crazy, at age 57. I hope it will end up with many people, not so much because of the sale, but because it is so nice to share the music. In addition to writing it, I get the most satisfaction when it lands well. The essence of a musician is that you want to be heard. ”

Douwe Eisenga, piano

Douwe Eisenga
After a short career in pop music, Douwe Eisenga studied composition at the Conservatory in Groningen (NL). Firmly shaken by all sorts of contemporary composing techniques, it took a while until Eisenga found his own sound after his study.

Around 2001 this own musical language developed rapidly, which resulted in the chamberopera Kabaal, the large-scale Requiem and the premiere of his Piano Concerto in Yokohama, Japan. He worked with the writer David Mitchell for the project Cloud Atlas, and with theatre company Schweigman+ for the danceperformance Wiek.

Since 2010 his music attained more and more attention worldwide. Pianists as Jeroen van Veen (NL), Lisa Kaplan (US), Nicolas Horvath (FR) & Francesco di Fiore (IT), and harpist Assia Cunego (Germ) play Eisenga’s music in America, Canada, China and Europe.

His Requiem was done again in Rumania, the Italian ensemble PADS recorded the album House of Mirrors and harpist Lavinia Meijer premiered several compositions.

The Claudia Schreier Dance Company premiered the ballet Harmonic in NYC, followed by Charge and Pulse, all set on Eisenga’s music. In 2014 followed the music for The Writer, his Wife, her Mistress, performed by the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet.

Follow-up projects were Momentum as part of the National Celebration of Liberation in 2015, the premiere of Bliss by Cello8tet Amsterdam and Echoes for the Belgian ensemble Origami and a mini-tour with the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble.

In 2017 the pianopiece For Mattia rose to no 53 in the Dutch Heart & Soul List, a list of the 300 most populair classical pieces, chosen by Dutch radio-listeners.

This album contains no booklet.