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Carter Muller

CONCERT PIANIST

“It wasn't the raw power of youth behind the piano needing to be tamed, but rather a mature pianist... It had everything: the 'zeitgeist' of the music, its vibrancy, and the virtuosity of both the composition as well as the composer.”

© Photos: Onder Konuralp

Happy to share that I won 1st prize at the Landolt Piano Competition yesterday! Besides a cash prize I also had the unique opportunity to work with Nicolas Hodges on some Bach, Debussy, Kagel and Adams. A very motivating experience! @zhdkmusic

Photo by Rayan Ghazinouri © @festival4saisons

Really excited to be starting the Master's program with a Specialization in Solo Performance next semester! As part of the audition, applicants had to record a full concerto and I chose to play Beethoven's 'Emperor' in E-flat major. Here's the powerful introductory cadenza, which immediately sets the tone for the whole piece. Performed with the wonderful Arpi Mkrtchyan! (Link in bio for full performance).

@zhdkmusic

#zhdkdiplomas21

A bit of Beethoven's beautiful Sonata no. 12 in A-flat major.. This is the beginning of the final variation in the first movement. To listen to the whole sonata, click the link in my bio!

@zhdkmusic

#zhdkdiplomas21

Here's part of Witold Lutosławski's powerful Partita for Violin and Piano, written in 1984. This was one of my few live performances during the past year. So much fun to play! Link to full performance in bio.

@kamilia_boris
@zhdkmusic

#zhdkdiplomas21

Here's a bit of Mendelssohn's dramatic and fiery Variations Sérieuses which I recorded last year, shortly before the first lockdown.. The rest is on YouTube! (Link in bio)

@zhdkmusic

#zhdkdiplomas21

The last 2,5 pages of György Ligeti's 'Fanfares'.. A real challenge, but so much fun to play! Listen to the whole thing on YouTube (link in bio).

@zhdkmusic

#zhdkdiplomas21

A bit of Beethoven's sunny G major violin sonata no. 8 for Mother's Day! You can listen to the whole first movement on my YouTube channel (link in bio).

@kamilia_boris
@zhdkmusic

#zhdkdiplomas21

Here is a small snippet of a short piece which I wrote for violin and piano titled 'Sketches'. This is my first serious attempt at composing and the first result of my lessons with Mathias Steinauer, my composition teacher at the ZHdK.

Click the link in my bio to listen to the full recording! And swipe left to see a sketch I made detailing the plan for the third movement while I was on my way from Zürich to Amsterdam in August 2020.

@kamilia_boris
@zhdkmusic

#zhdkdiplomas21
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Some background information:

A common theme in all three sketches is a failure to communicate: in the first, a conversation between piano and violin quickly becomes more of an agitated discussion, with tension building until it reaches a climax, after which the piano attempts to defuse the situation with soothing chords.

In the second sketch, the initial gesture leads nowhere, and with both figures unable to find a continuation, the violin takes charge. During the following section, neither instrument is succesful in their attempts to find the other.

In the final sketch, there is really very little communication to speak of: in the first section, both instruments follow a similar development in terms of an increase in density, but there is no rhythmical exchange. After a short pause, violin and piano race towards the end simultaneously but not together.

Here's the beginning of the first movement of Beethoven's 'Waldstein' Sonata no. 21, op. 53. Check my bio for the link to the full video! And swipe left for some behind the scenes footage of the hard work that went into preparing this recording. 💪🏻

@zhdkmusic

#zhdkdiplomas21

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© Photos: Onder Konuralp

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