From the liner notes by Ciro Longobardi:

This CD includes the live recording of a concert given on December 17, 2011 at Area Sismica in Forlì (Italy). Before the mixing, very few micro-editing interventions were made and the applause was cut away (except the final burst). The Exercises can be realised by any number of instruments up to a maximum of 8 plus the 'tape' [nowadays we could call it prerecorded elctronics]...In short a compositional approach, the possibility of a predetermined organization of the materials comes into play. Ferrari himself does not exclude this aspect, on the contrary he integrates it saying the exercises can be either of improvisation or of composition… A la recherche du rythme perdu concerns a different ambit. The prerecorded part was already used for a 1972 work, 'Musique Socialiste' for harpsichord and tape. It was addressed to interpreters coming from classical music, while 'A la recherche' is intended for musicians coming from jazz...

As a classical, not-jazz but improvising musician, I believed I was a possible addressee of this piece. I followed the small notated parts until I felt the need to go on my way...to match the composer's preference for a piano and percussion realisation, I extensively used prepared and inside piano techniques. Luc Ferrari ( 1929 – 2005) was a French-born composer of Italian heritage, particularly noted for his tape music. He studied the piano under Alfred Cortot, musical analysis under Olivier Messiaen, and composition under Arthur Honegger. He was profoundly influenced by Varese's 'Déserts' and by John Cage.

Ferrari's 'Presque rien No. 1 'Le Lever du jour au bord de la mer'' (1970) is regarded as a classic of its kind. In it, Ferrari takes a day-long recording of environmental sounds at a Yugoslavian beach and, through editing, makes a piece that lasts just 21 minutes. It has been seen as an affirmation of John Cage's idea that music is always going on all around us, and if only we were to stop to listen.