eve egoyan: inner cities

I can only imagine how sore Eve Egoyan's hands might be by tomorrow night.

Egoyan will be performing American composer Alvin Curran's monumental Inner Cities tomorrow.

Made up of twelve pieces in total, the concert will be performed in four segments over the course of five hours at the Glen Gould Studio.

"I've never played a concert this long," she notes, "The longest I've done before was two hours, but the music is great -and I know the (musical) intent will carry me through it."

Curran's work is rich, dense, and varied.

It has a tremendous momentum as it captures the buzz and energy of a city.

At the same time, it's a subtle momentum, one that lulls you into a strangely calm state, even as it suggests the energy and chaos of contemporary life.

As well as Curran, Egoyan's repertoire includes numerous contemporary composers, including Eric Satie, Gavin Bryars, and John Cage.

"When I came to Toronto, after studying abroad, I started exploring music I had heard, that excited me. I began seeing the piano in a new way, and started to focus finding pieces that are written by people who have very unique approach to the piano."

Egoyan's own approach to music is unique.

"I use my intuition about how I play the pieces," she says thoughtfully, "It's about knowing myself too. There are things I am curious about -things driving me. I suppose I have a certain luxury to be a solo pianist and to choose (material), given my temperament and curiosity -and that's what you're hearing."

Having studied music in Canada as well as Germany and England, she says her relationship with living composers is often what gives life and flavour to her performance.

"Alvin's personality is reflected in his music," she explains, "but then art at its best reflects the individual who made the art. If it didn't, would be a problem."

She notes her connections with composers feeds directly into her experience -and thus the audience's -in performing their works.

"If we like each other, there's often a fruitful relationship," she notes, "and the audience pick up on it. It comes through in the music."

Will we be hearing any of Egoyan's compositions in the future?

"Well," she laughs, "I have had a busy life, though lots of things are changing. I'm improvising more with certain players, working on improvising solo more, and notating things. Those are all visions I am feeling out right now."

Eve Egoyan's performance of Inner Cities takes place at the Glen Gould Studio in the CBC Building tomorrow, beginning at 12.30pm.

For more information, go to www.eveegoyan.com