Riccardo Del Fra - Open Book

The new project of Riccardo Del Fra

With Open Book, RDF writes a new chapter of his own book. He takes on board his listeners to a magnetic and oneiric musical voyage where apparently simple melodies and compositions of chromatic richness embrace each other with elegance and subtlety. 

Riccardo Del Fra writes about his new project: 

"A book lies on a table under the sun. A soft but obstinate wind turns the pages. Some pages remain vertical and flutter about in the breeze. Pages already read reappear beneath our eyes, also those still unread. Glancing at a page read only days before, it now appears new. The book we read at the age of 15 and re-read when we were 30 or even older, appears new to us and yet is the same. Our reading changes and modifies our perception (and understanding). A music piece played when we were 15 years old and played again at 30 or older, remains the same piece and yet is different. My Chet My Song was the musical translation of such a thought process . 

The “My Funny Valentine” that I was playing with Chet, today becomes an area of exploration and expression. Life experience takes shape in the unexpected, the unique. An open book, such as “The Book of Sand” by Jorge Luis Borges, in which the number of new pages is growing every time it is opened, is what I would like the music project Open Book to be. 

The writing should trust the improviser as he gives him the opportunity to open unforeseen spaces, allowing him to intervene in the form. The writing should prepare the interpreter to take the initiative when adding improvised parts to his creativity, also forgetting (not using) his virtuosity if necessary, to extend the work of the composer in some way. 

The experience of mixing French and German musicians has been very fruitful. I would like to continue and extend this idea of partnership through the concept of mixing generations, choosing players who are open to different approaches - going from tradition to contemporary idioms.