Piano North
Biographie Piano North
Jesper Mejlvang
I remember a watershed moment from my childhood.
My mother had bought an old piano. The piano tuner had just finished tuning it and the instrument was now standing all by itself in the living room, disassembled with all the piano strings visible. I was about six years old and I cautiously laid my hands on the keys for the very first time – and a wonderful sound suddenly flowed through my ears. I had not yet learned to play the piano at the time, so I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was utterly fascinated and absorbed by the sound emanating from the instrument. It was like a door had opened up to a brand-new universe, revealing an infinitely deep and colourful world which could encompass everything – joy, pain, grief, euphoria – at one and the same time.
Whenever I compose music, I strive to express in my works just a fraction of the feeling from that experience. I try to unlock that door – and keep it ajar.
In my world, there is no language more powerful than music and there is no better way to communicate an emotion. Music does something to us and touches us, regardless of whether we are aware of it. Nothing can warm a cold heart or make us forget our loneliness like music can. Music can be an angel or a demon, light or dark, soft and hard, or beautiful, horrifying, shrill, or warm – so a composer’s job is to select the sound that best describes the state of mind or emotion he or she wants a work to impart. My passion is music, nothing is more important – it’s that simple.
