Lubomyr Melnyk at the Aarhus Festival, Denmark, 2018
Lubomyr Melnyk (born December 22, 1948) is a composer and pianist of Ukrainian origin.[1][2][3]
Melnyk is noted for his 'continuous music', a piano technique featuring extremely rapid notes and complex note-series, usually with the sustain pedal held down to generate harmonic overtones and sympathetic resonances.
"This is a completely-completely different piano universe from everything that has existed before", Melnyk explains.[4]
Music
Melnyk links his piano technique to his national identity.
"This music would not exist at all if I were not Ukrainian. Our distinguishing feature is that we tend to sacrifice ourselves. Ukrainians are self-sacrificing for things that are important to them".[4]
Melnyk often plays rapid sequences, and can play up to 19 notes per second with each hand.[5] These overtones blend or clash according to harmonic changes. Most of his music is for the solo piano, but he has also composed chamber music and orchestral works where he plays the continuous piano and is accompanied by musicians with other instruments, for example: "The End of the World"[6] or "Vocalises and Antiphons".[7] Some pieces are performed for two pianos, where he plays over a recording of himself, for instance "Niche-Nourish-Niche-Xon".[8][9] Of his technique, he has said:
There's an act of creation. For this act of creation to happen every day the body of the pianist, and not just the fingers, but the entire body has to be transformed. Because in order to make these very small changes and very small decisions that I make when I'm creating music, or when I playing the music, it has to happen at a faster speed of time than any other music. The mind has to control many things. So the decisions happen in another dimension than what the fingers are doing. Part of my mind controls the fingers, part of my mind controls my hand, part of my mind is controlling my entire body, part of my mind is thinking about something else, and part of my mind is combining everything. For the body to be able to reach this enormous universe, which is huge, it has to be changed. This is what continuous music is about.[4]
Teaching
Melnyk offers lessons to a general audience of piano students,[10][11] and has liked to run workshops[12] at concerts in the past - when possible. Though, few have truly taken interest in studying.[13] Two notable students who are successful pianists in their own right are Ell Kendall[14] and Matthew Thomasson,[15] who perform their own music which is (occasionally) seen to be inspired by Melnyk's technique. Another is Hauschka, who helped Melnykr's music become noticed by the record label Erased Tapes, which he has worked with for many years.[13] One of the only current students of his, who performs and promotes his music online, is the student Nathan Adlam.[16] He has also worked with Peter Broderick and Nils Frahm. He has expressed fears that his music will not outlive him.[13] In another old interview[17] he commented:
I am yet to find anyone who can interpret my music at a level where I could say they are actually able to play the piece. None of my students are ready but when the time comes, their fingers will obey their minds and I will be able to gauge the success of their interpretation.
Melnyk has also made certain educational recordings[18][19] and has written exercises for students such as the Meditations[20][21] and the 22 Circular Etudes.[12] As mentioned in the below section, he wrote a book titled Open Time,[22] which focuses on explaining his notation and surrounding philosophy and spirituality, in relation to the music.
Some of his pieces have individual scores available online, e.g. Cloud Nr. 81[23] or Barcarolle.[24] There is also a scorebook of six pieces, published by Erased Tapes,[25] wherein scores for Pockets of Light, Butterfly, Parasol, Evertina, Awaiting and The Moving Window may be found.
Biography
Melnyk lived in Paris from 1973 to 1975, supporting himself by playing for modern dance classes, most notably in conjunction with Carolyn Carlson at the Paris Opera. Many of his works were presented in conjunction with modern dance. Through his work with Carlson, he began to create continuous music for piano.[26]
Melnyk has composed over 120 works, mostly for piano solo and double piano, and some for piano with ensemble. To explain the proper physical and mental techniques for his music, Melnyk wrote a treatise, OPEN TIME: The Art of Continuous Music (1981) and 22 Etudes, to teach the fundamental levels of his continuous technique.[26]
In 1985, Melnyk set two world records, documented on film and with full audio, at the Sigtuna Stiftelsen in Sweden. He sustained speeds of over 19.5 notes per second in each hand, and played between 13 and 14 notes per second for one full hour.[27]
