German reedist Udo Schindler was not born for acridness and collision. The owner of a transparent "inner tone" transferred on different species of saxophone and clarinet, Schindler is a firm flag-bearer of that area of improvisation where "balance" is the first commandment. Not exclusively in terms of acoustic weight and artistic relationship; what is looked for is an ideal equality of the existing gradations to be achieved — almost at the molecular level — through a precisely defined emission. This constitutes the starting point of a series of delicate questions to which only a committed player can answer; the symbol of a musician's pursuit, in a way.

Based on the above, the extraordinary clarity of these six duets for reeds (plus cornet in "Schmutzton, Rechte Sprechkapsel") and piano is not surprising. A bit of curiosity lies in the fact that the pianists are all women: Claudia Ulla Binder, Masako Ohta, Elisabeth Harnik, Katharina Weber and Lisa Ullen. We don't want to act like low-budget psychologists by wondering about the origin of this choice; it may be chance, or merely a normal occurrence for a performer as sensible as Schindler. What is indeed crucial is that the interactions are perfectly functional: not a given, when a program consists of extended dialogues as in this case.

A listener's concentration is de rigueur, for there's a whole dialectic of the impromptu at work in each piece. Without highlighting individual methods — those in the know will feel acquainted with them as soon as a track begins — let's just say that the accuracy of the playing and the attentive regard for what the partner is expressing are tangible, exactly as the sense of proximity transmitted by pitches, noises, pauses, and consequent counterpoints. Gratuitous embellishments and unproductive anarchism are out of the question; here, the actual core of the research places the artists right between a resounding taciturnity and an unwavering smoothness. The coupling of Schindler's skill with the diverse approaches of equally accomplished instrumentalists warrants significant changes in the physical refinement and in the proportionality of the dynamic laws to which this excellent music obeys.