DUO IJLSTRA-GARCIA

Gently she lifted her foot off the pedal. The last titillation of the piano’s string was muted and made way for that enticing second between music and applause. That moment of silence that shelters eternity. In that same gesture she opened her eyes and saw how her friend relieved her lungs from the emptiness. Their eyes met and sparkled.

It had felt like another journey through time and space, across mythical lands and unearthly paintings. Not a bad big, Femke would say.

That the two of them got on so well, neither had expected. Celia, a pianist with Spanish roots and appropriate passion, and Femke, very blonde saxophonist from the phlegmatic north of the Netherlands. 

“Music can be very nasty. There is beauty in that too. I think you’re more of a pleaser, Celia.” Said Femke to her after a concert.

-“Well, I quite like it that you provoke the audience, but I do indeed want people to go home feeling happy. A concert is like a night of storytelling. And yes, a good story does sting a little bit.”

-“Yes, aggression and madness!” joked Femke.

It had been a little big bang. The origin of their own musical universe. New planets, solar storms, star showers, dark matter… and endless colours. They formed a duo to convert their somewhat odd friendship into sound.

-“You are sweet, but sometimes a bit too hectic!”

-“Haha! No bullshit, as usual.” Celia retorted. “You are so candid. I appreciate that.”

-“Am I too dominant?"

-"Nah, you are a sweetheart"

Following that conversation they continued their dialogue, without words,

with the saxophone and the piano as eager translators.