Guilty Pleasures

It was during the first lockdown in March 2020 that I composed 21 concert waltzes for piano, to which I gave the rather mischievous title of “Guilty Pleasures”. The waltzes, with one exception, are far removed from the familiar commercial stereotype of the Viennese waltz. My waltzes are stylised in form, eclectic in their musical language and primarily intended for concert performance. Surprising syncopations, hidden hemiolas and outrageous jazz rhythms conflict and contrast with the traditional waltz accompaniments, whilst the musical styles and genres range from purely classical, romantic and atonal to jazz, Latino, Eastern, African and Chinese.

Guilty Pleasures relates deeply human tales that take place in the hidden rooms of our subconscious. They reveal our wildest fantasies and irrepressible passions, our most intimate feelings and deepest desires. Each waltz tells its own tale, and each tale is steeped in its own musical microcosmos.

The performance and recording of the 21 waltzes called for an exceptional soloist: for me, the much-praised Eliane Reyes was the ideal pianist to take up this challenge. Thanks to her impeccable playing, feeling for colour and nuance, her capability for empathy and her always enthralling interpretations, Eliane presents the essential character of each waltz with purity and simplicity, whether nostalgic, sentimental, witty, dreamy, sensual, noble, mysterious, tempestuous, cheerful, energetic and always passionate. A gift from heaven.

And there was more to come: we were able to record this new music on the Chris Maene Straight Strung Concert Grand. Pure unadulterated beauty flowing from an inexhaustible source of sound, in which we wanted to bathe forever…

I would like to thank everyone who made this project possible, in particular Inge and Thomas Baert — and Ella as well.
Dirk Brossé, January 2021