Wim Mertens

The Belgian composer Wim Mertens (born 1953) is an international recording and performing artist who has given several concerts, as a soloist and with his ensemble all over Europe, in North and Central America, Japan and in Russia.

Wim Mertens plays the piano and the classical guitar. He sings in a characteristically high-pitched voice, using a carefully crafted personal language.

Since 1980 he has composed many pieces in different formats, from short, accessible songs or Lieder to magnanimous and complex three and four parts cycles, and for different settings: from piano solo to chamber music ensembles and symphonic orchestra. He often writes for unusual instrumentations: twelve piccolos, ten basstrombones, thirteen clarinets.

Since his recording debut in 1980, titled For amusement only, an electronic composition for pinball machines, Wim Mertens has released more than 50 albums. He wrote American Minimal Music, the first book which deals in depth with the school of American repetitive music. Early landmark albums are Vergessen (1982) and Struggle for pleasure, including Close cover, still one of his classics.

The 1985 album Maximizing the audience, marks the introduction of the vocal element in Mertens' music. Throughout the years the composer has expressed the increasing vocal inspiration of his music on piano and voice albums such as A man of no fortune, and with a name to come (1986), After virtue (1988) and Stratégie de la rupture (1991), Jérémiades (1995), Der heisse brei (2000) and Un respiro (2005).

Mertens also released albums for various ensembles: Motives for writing (1988), Jardin clos (1996), Shot and echo - A sense of place (1992), Integer valor - Intégrale (1999), Skopos (2003) Partes extra partes (2005), recorded with the Brussels Philharmonic (Vlaams Radio Orkest) and Receptacle (2007), performed by a group of 17 musicians, all women and L'heure du loup (2008).

Started in 1991 with the trilogy Alle dinghe, the ambitious cycle Qua, covering 37 cd's, followed by the tetralogy Gave van niets in 1994, the trilogy Kere Weerom in 1999 and the tetralogy Aren lezen in 2001. The whole cycle Qua was released as a box set in 2009. Other special releases included the 1997's guitar album Sin embargo and Moment (2003), a 13 albums box set covering the period 1980-1989 with 80 compositions.

In 2002, Wim Mertens started with the release of a live series entitled Years without history composed of live

recordings completed since the 80's. The series includes so far 7 albums: Moins de mètre, assez de rythme (2002), In the absence of hindrance (2002), Cave musicam (2002), Not yet, no longer (2004), With no need for seeds (2004), The promise kept in advance (2008, only included in the 6 cd's box set Years without history vol. 1-6) and Nosotros (2008).

In 2006, first DVD live recording, What you see is what you hear, including 16 compositions selected from 25 years' career.

Since July 2003 several scores by the composer are published. Particular projects include the composition and live performing of original music for piano and voice for the silent movies La femme de nulle part by Louis Delluc and The land beyond the sunset by Harold Shaw in 1993 and original composition for the new men collection Christian Dior Homme, performed live with the Wim Mertens Ensemble during the fashion show in Paris in early 2008.

Wim Mertens also works for the theatre and the movies. He wrote several scores such as Jan Fabre's performance's The Power of theatrical madness (1984), Peter Greenaway's film The belly of an architect (1987), Je pense à vous by the brothers Luc and Jean- Pierre Dardenne, Marion Hänsel's film Li - Between the devil and the deep blue sea (1992), Paul Cox's Father Damien (1999), among others. Actually the artist is performing with different settings : Solo piano, Duo (violin, piano), Pianotrio (violin, cello, piano) with different Ensembles and also with Symphonic Orchestra. 2009's releases include the box set Music and film, composed of three cd's covering a large selection of Mertens' film music.

In June 2009, EMI Classics gathers together for the first time the cycle Qua, started in 1990 avec Alle dinghe, followed by Gave van niets in 1994, Kere weerom in 1999 and Aren lezen in 2001. The 37 albums are now available in an elegant box set. At the same time, the new Wim Mertens ensemble studio album The world tout court is released. Wim Mertens discography is now worldwide available on EMI Classics, except in Spain where it is licensed by Warner Music Spain.

Zee versus Zed has been released in 2010. With this album, Wim Mertens releases 10 pieces for an ensemble composed of strings, brass, harp and guitar. With titles such as Zusammensetzen, Zing'up, Zoet'kemiesch and the vocal Z's rival, the last letter of the alphabet serves as fil conducteur for the new album.

In 2011, with Series of ands - Immediate givens, his new double album, the composer achieves an enlarged musical scale. In total, more than 30 musicians participated to this ambitious production. A complete scale of strings, horns, guitars, harp and even an authentic harpsichord (it's the first time that Mertens includes this instrument in his music) ensures a hyper orchestral sound and a striking development of the composer's palette.