"Enormously impressed. I think Track 9, the title track, is now worn out, I have played it so many times !!!"
- Tony Palmer, British film, theatre and opera director
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"The Swiss pianist and composer Ralph Zurmühle launches his new album, As Time Passes. This is his first work after Reflections (his last album), which reached the recognition of specialized critics and established Ralph as one of the great figures in performance and composition of contemporary solo piano music.
As Time Passes has all the recognizable components of Ralph's style. It starts with the evocative Nightwalk and continues developing with other pieces of exquisite subtlety and elegance, enveloping you in an intimate atmosphere, in which he masterfully explores the piano's sonority. A sonority in which one can appreciate the extraordinary textures of Secrets in the Ruins and the suggestive nuances of As Time Passes; the theme that closes the album and for which it is named.
This new album is music to spur the imagination. With inspiration, simplicity and elegance, this superb work by Ralph Zurmühle confirms the solid trajectory of one of the greatest exponents in the world of solo piano."
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"I learned of Ralph Zurmühle’s music several years ago. I reviewed some of his albums and I have been waiting what seems like asmall forever for a new one. Finally, here it is, as time passes. Ralph Zurmühle is a pianist’s pianist. Everything you ever wanted in a solo piano tune is manifested in his. I hear musicality, message, and motivation. And of course, a penchant for being everlasting.
Ralph Zurmühle is an award winning compose living in Spain. He was born in Lichtenstein and raised in Switzerland. For more than two decades, he has been astonishing audiences with his solo piano scores. His music appears in just about all categories, film, theater, and multimedia. For the last two years he has been performing benefit concerts for Syrian refugees. Ralph’s music is generally, neo-classical and contemporary. Just the way I like it. This latest recording has nine tracks.
Nightwalk, the opening track, has a sense of the Satie in it with its minimalist melody and grave tempo. Somehow, Ralph manages to put all things we love about the nighttime into this piece. You can’t see the rotation of the earth as it moves through the heavens, but you can sense it. Warm breezes funnel through the streets, and the stars blaze in a sky of black onyx. In some places you can see light and hear music coming from the doorways. In other places, all you canhear is the clacking of your own heels. Time to think your own thoughts.
There is a vaporous whiteness present in the tune Watching Clouds With You, but the shapes are undefinable. When you think about it, it doesn’t matter what the sky offers. It is the time spent together with the loved one that matters most of all. Ralph’s tune is pensive and dynamic, and every notes has a warm character. This is a sunny day.
I love how Ralph uses the bass notes to build a little intrigue on my favorite tune Secret in the Ruins. There are ruins that end up as a pile of broken stone rubble; their history long forgotten.Then there are ruins that are the result of shattered lives, laying like pieces on the ground amiddust and debris of their remembrances. Each party is afraid to pick what is left and start over.What an evocative tune this is. Another favorite on as time passes is called Samantha’s Gift. It’s a sentimental song suggesting a boxful of memories. It has a touch of the melancholy to it,but that’s part of the appeal. There is a certain elegance to the tune, less than a waltz, but morethan just a dance.
As Time Passes, the title tune is a more than sixteen-minute montage created out of emotionally rich piano notes. It begins like a heartbeat, suggesting a birth of sorts. Note by note the melody grows, as does the story. There are beginnings and endings, trials and tribulations. Ralph infuses several shades of darkness into the tune, but he also releases substantial amounts of light. It waseasy to follow, and wondrous to hear. Okay, it has a happy ending.
Ralph Zurmühle is anything but prolific in the number of his releases. However, everything he does release is absolutely timeless. If anything, his music is honest and genuine. No cards tricks here. Just finely calibrated, expressive notes blended with grace and although not carved instone, they will last forever. Highly recommended.
