Simeon ten Holt: Canto ostinato

During the 1970s, the Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt—a pupil of Jakob van Domselaer, Arthur Honegger and Darius Milhaud—began to fall under the spell of minimalism and created a series of works for multiple pianos, the earliest and best-known of which is his Canto ostinato. Composed in 1976, the work comprises 106 little cells of a few bars each, which the performers are invited to play as many (or as few) times as they wish. Ten Holt does not stipulate the number of instruments or duration; instead, it is left to the performers to decide for themselves on matters of scale, repetition, harmony, texture, dynamics and phrasing. This 2008 recording by the husband-and-wife partnership of Jeroen and Sandra van Veen captivates the listener with its hypnotic concentration.