A European premiere of piano pieces and recordings by the American minimalist composer. Two powerful pieces that propel him among the most adventurous composers of recent years.

Gendarme de la Libertad (2020) is a work for speaker and piano (or for just speaking pianist) and utilizes a text that Toub had wanted to set for many years but was not certain ofthe best approach until later. The text for the speaker is taken from the original Spanish words, as well as from an English translation, of the speech by Dr. Ernesto Guevara (Che) before the United Nations on 12/11/64 : "Those who kill their own children and discriminate daily against them because of the color of their skin; those who let the murderers of Blacks remain free, protecting them, and furthermore punishing the Black population because they demand their legitimate rights as free men - how can those who do this consider themselves guardians of freedom?"

Duophony for open instrumentation (2020) is one of the few works Toub composed in which there are no silences at all (except at the beginning and ending of the piece, as per custom to start and end on empty measures, which is Toub's own tribute to Quaker culture and practice in which meetings begin with a moment of silence).

David Toub is a unique voice in American minimalism, a genre that has produced quite a few composers over the past 80 years. Our first contact dates back about fifteen years, and from the very beginning, David struck me as a committed composer, dedicated to building a coherent body of work. But he is also an engaged individual, deeply concerned with the challenges of our time and genuinely generous. In other words, a mensch-a rare kind of person. His music, in some ways, reflects today's anxieties and uncertainties: repetitive, obsessive, often dark, and questioning.

Stephane Ginsburgh has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at numerous international festivals. An tireless explorer of both repertoire and new combinations integrating voice, percussion, performance, or electronics, he dedicated himself early on to contemporary music while also developing an extensive classical repertoire. He has worked closely with composers such as Frederic Rzewski, Jean-Luc Fafchamps, Stefan Prins, Joanna Bailie, Alec Hall, François Sarhan, and Matthew Shlomowitz, premiering several of their works. Stéphane Ginsburgh has recorded around fifteen albums for Sub Rosa, World Edition, Grand Piano (Naxos), and Kairos.