Black and White Statements, the new album by the Istanbul-born pianist Seda Röder, are twelve Austrian reflections on the piano; miniatures by contemporary composers from Austria that each reinvent and define the sound of the piano. The works, the majority of them written for Seda Röder, are characterized by the most varied preparations of the instrument, experimental performance techniques and other effects. You can hear Karlheinz Essl’s Take the C Train and Matthias Kranebitter with drei nihilistische Etüden über eine Liebe der Musikindustrie, Rupert Huber’s Teardrops IIa and Liszten to... Totentanz by Johanna Doderer. Further miniatures derive from Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin, Katharina Klement, Bruno Strobl, Bernd Richard Deutsch, Manuela Kerer, Klaus Ager, Herbert Grassl and Bernhard Gál.

In recent years, the Turkish pianist Seda Röder has established a reputation for herself as one of the most interesting interpreters of contemporary music through her many commitments and her unusual concert programmes. ‘You are a master of the avant-garde piano!’ Alfred Brendel once remarked, impressed by Seda Röder’s performance.

‘Your dialogues with silence enthralled me.’ As an associate at Harvard University (2007 until 2011), the musician conducted research on Viennese musical life at the beginning of the 20th century and the music of Alban Berg, Anton Webern and Arnold Schoenberg. In addition, the pianist has taken a keen interest in Old Music and historical performance practice.