From an ensemble that names itself after a brilliantly coloured fish, you have some expectations about its sound. Fortunately, under the name Koi Collective, Emmy Wils (piano) and Maarten Vergauwen (saxophone) are fulfilling those expectations. This evening, they will be ringing in a contemporary mix of, among other things, fresh repertoire including work by Tim Mulleman, a young Belgian composer, the renowned Japanese Takashi, the Turkish top pianist and composer Say and J.-L. Fafchamps who openly admits that, with his Décalcomania, he was inspired by the Hungarian-Austrian composer György Sándor Ligeti.

The contemporary Japanese composer Takashi Yoshimatsu is particularly appreciated for his accessible, lyrical style. He wrote a piano concerto for the left hand and is also known for his chamber music for saxophone and soprano saxophone. 

The work by Tim Mulleman (°1993, Turnhout) was performed by Koi Collective for the first time before an audience on April 28th 2022 in the Miry concert hall in Ghent. This work is a duo, originally for violin and piano, rewritten for piano and sax by Maarten Vergauwen and Emmy Wils. The duo is characterised by an improvisational style that gives every second a deep dimension. 

Turkish pianist Fazil Say commands a repertoire of both Eastern and Western music, from Turkish folk and classical music to Bartók, Stravinsky, Ravel and Gershwin. In his own composition Suite opus 55, we read a mark on the path of his own individuation. He gives the dialogue between piano and saxophone a very deep meaning. 

Fuzzy Bird Sonata - T. Yoshimatsu

Duo - T. Mulleman

Suite op. 55 - F. Say 

Décalcomanie - J.-L. Fafchamps inspired by Ligeti and Reich.

In the presence of composer Tim Mulleman with short introduction beforehand.

Video here.