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IRLANDIANI - BAROQUE MUSIC FROM IRELAND, BY 'CELLIST CARINA DRURY WITH NATHANIEL MANDER, POPPY WALSAW, AILEEN HENRY AND EIMEAR MCGEOWN - DIGITAL RELEASE WITH PENNY FIDDLE RECORDS - 23 APRIL 2021

27/3/2021

Click above to dowload on iTunes with digital booklet

Irlandiani, featuring Baroque 'cellist Carina Drury with Nathaniel Mander (harpsichord), Poppy Walshaw ('cello continuo), Aileen Henry (harp) and Eimear McGeown (Irish flute), releases digitally on 23 April 2021, released by Penny Fiddle Records, distributed by Ulysses Arts.

Irandiani is a testament to the musical richness of 18th Century Ireland, and the connections between Baroque music and folk traditions, explored in works by Bocchi, Geminiani, Turlough O'Carolan, Burk Thomoth, and traditional melodies from the Neal 'Collection of the Music Celebrated Irish Tunes'.

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Album Details

Lorenzo Bocchi, Sonata IX in C major and Sonata X in D major

Francesco Geminiani, Sonata Op. 5 No. 3 in C major and Sonata Op. 5 No. 6 in A minor

Lorenzo Bocchi, Plea Rarkeh na Rourkough

Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738) , Carolan’s Concerto

Traditional, arr. Neal: A Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes (1724):
Thomas Burke
Limbrick’s Lamentation
Ye Clarge’s Lamentation

Turlough O’Carolan - Captain O’Kane

Neal: A Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes (1724) – Capten Magan

Turlough O’Carolan – Sí Bheag, Sí Mhor

Burk Thomoth (fl. 1739-1750) 12 Irish and 12 Scotch Airs with Variations – Slaunt Ri Plulib

Burk Thomoth (fl. 1739-1750) 12 Irish and 12 Scotch Airs with Variations – The Major

Turlough O’Carolan – Carolan’s Farewell to Music

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Carina Drury

Nathaniel Mander

Eimear McGeown

Poppy Walshaw

Aileen Henry

'Superbly engaging and highly virtuoso performances ... bravura, expressiveness and collegiality.' Planet Hugill

''The playlist is excellent and the musical story fascinating.'
Andrew Benson Wilson

Released by Penny Fiddle Records, with digital distribution by Ulysses Arts
Producer and recording engineer: Simon Fox-Gal
Mastering engineer: John Croft
UPC 5056495471370

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ANTON ROSPUTKO LAUNCHES CHOPIN'S MASTERPIECES ALBUM ON 30 APRIL 2021

27/3/2021

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Download on iTunes with digital booklet or stream on Apple Music: click above

Ulysses Arts is delighted to release Latvian pianist Anton Rosputko's debut album, Chopin's Masterpieces, on 30 April 2021. The album features three of Chopin's greatest solo piano works - his Ballade No. 4, and Sonatas No. 2 and No. 3.

Anton describes his thoughts behind the album:

‘If somebody asked me about the main challenge during recording and playing Chopin’s 4th Ballade and the 2nd and 3rd Piano Sonatas, my answer without hesitation would be: to offer something new in this music, so long been an inseparable part of the culture of classical music lovers for generations, while staying sincere and far from artificial decisions foreign to my genuine view of the works.

These pieces are a seduction for a pianist, a desirable professional and artistic challenge that cannot be resisted, even if there are already hundreds if not thousands recordings of the same music. We all know that there are dozens of piano compositions that have received so many performances that often we want to restrain ourselves from listening to them. The 2nd and the 3rd Chopin’s Piano Sonatas appear frequently in recitals (the 2nd especially, not to mention outside-of-concert performances of the 3rd movement, the Funeral March), and the 4th Ballade is the most played of the Ballades. However for me the beauty and possibilities of these works are never exhausted, whether listening or playing them. I have been contemplating the reason: a possible answer lies in Chopin’s raw emotions – as raw and true as can be, and the absence of “concert stage effects” – emotions which already evoke so much trust in a listener. This is especially relevant for the 4th Ballade. The introversion of this music remains shocking despite its open outbursts of emotion that culminate in the desperate coda.

Chopin composed several works that were meant to provide a charming and brilliant cherry on the top of his concert programmes, with virtuosity proclaimed openly by the use of term ‘Brilliante’ in their titles. In the works recorded here however, virtuosity is truly nothing but the server of a function – a speed necessary for a certain expression, as in the apocalyptic kaleidoscope of the 4th Ballade’s coda, or the whirling runs in 2nd Sonata’s ‘Presto’. The 3rd Sonata’s Finale is close to Chopin’s concert rondos, but far from their intent to please the audience merely with entertainment, and equally far from declaring self-satisfaction, even in its joyfully glowing B Major conclusion.

These works are true masterpieces, on which I have tried to work with sustained artistic attention and respect towards the music itself, and I am delighted to present my personal rendition of them to you.’

Anton Rosputko

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Scherzo from Sonata No. 2 on Spotify Classical New Releases playlist

Piano Sonata No. 2 on Apple Music 'Beethoven and The Romantics' playlist

Ballade No. 4 on Apple Music 'New in Classical' playlist

Funeral March from Piano Sonata No. 2 on Apple Music 'Melancholy Classics' playlist

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About Anton Rosputko

Anton Rosputko was born in Jūrmala, Latvia, in 1993. Interntional awards include 1st Prize, Gradus ad Parnassum Competition, Kaunas, Lithuania; Third Open Russian Competition in Kaliningrad, 2nd Prize, Virtuosi per musica di pianoforte, Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic), 3rd Prize; Schumer Prize in Enschede (Netherlands), 2nd Prize (2007) and 1st Prize (2010) at the Jūrmala International Competition. His main mentors have been Tatyana Pavlyuchenko, Jānis Maļeckis, Pavel Gililov and Boris Petrushansky.

Anton Rosputko received a Latvian Ministry of Culture prize in 2005, 2006 and 2008, as well as a Latvian 'Recognition Award' in 2009. In 2012 he received the Hübel Foundation Scholarship. He is a prize-winner of the Mozarteum International Summer Academy (Salzburg, Austria, 2009), including performing in the Salzburg Festival.

Anton has also taken part in masterclasses with Armen Babakhanian, Arkadiy Sevidov, Pavel Gililov, Sergej Maltsev, Anatol Ugorski, Peter Tacács, Jacques Rouvier, Matti Raekallio, Siegfried Mauser, Wolfgang Manz, Boris Petrushansky and Denis Proshayev.

Anton Rosputko was a participant of the Kaunas Festival in Lithuania in 2006 and 2010. As a soloist with orchestra he has performed with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and Normunds Vaicis, Sinfonia Concertante Orchestra with Andris Vecumnieks, Kaunas City Orchestra and Modestas Pitrenas, Liepāja Symphony, and Amber Sound Orchestra with Tadeusz Wojciechowski. Anton Rosputko has performed widely in Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Venues include the Great Hall and the Vienna Hall of the Mozarteum Foundation, Solitär Hall of the Mozarteum University, Great Concert Hall of the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, Great Hall of the University of Music and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Theatre Leipzig, Concert Hall of Kaliningrad Philharmoniс Society, Great Hall of Kaunas State Philharmonic Society; the Small Guild, Riga House of Moscow, Great Hall of Latvian National Opera and Dzintari Concert Hall.

www.antonrosputko.com

Ulysses Arts freut sich, das Debütalbum von Anton Rosputko, “Chopin's Masterpieces“, am Freitag, 30. April, zu veröffentlichen. Anton beschreibt sein Album:

„Wenn mich jemand über die Hauptherausforderung beim Aufnehmen und Spielen von Chopins 4.Ballade und der 2. und 3.Sonate fragen würde, wäre meine unverzügliche Antwort so: etwas neues in dieser Musik anbieten, die so lange ein fester Teil der Kultur von mehreren Generationen der Liebhaber von der klassischen Musik gewesen ist, und dabei ehrlich und weit von künstlichen Entscheidungen bleiben, die meiner natürlichen Beziehung zu diesen Werken fremd sind.

Diese Werke sind eine Verführung für Pianisten, eine gewünschte professionelle und künstlerische Herausforderung, der man nicht widerstehen kann, auch wenn es schon Hunderte, wenn nicht Tausende Aufnahmen derselben Musik gibt. Wir wissen alle, dass es Dutzende von Klavierkompositionen gibt, die so viele Aufführungen erlebt haben, dass wir oft uns davon distanzieren wollen, sie zu hören. Die 2. und die 3. Sonaten Chopins erscheinen in Solokonzerten häufig (besonders die 2., ganz zu schweigen von nicht-Konzertaufführungen des 3.Satzes, „Marche funèbre”), und die 4.Ballade ist von allen die am meisten gespielte. Jedoch sind für mich die Schönheit und das Potenzial dieser Werke nie erschöpft, egal, ob ich sie höre oder spiele. Ich habe über Ursachen nachgedacht: eine mögliche Antwort liegt in Chopins rohen Emotionen – so roh und wahrhaft wie es sein kann, ohne „Konzertbühneneffekte“ – Emotionen, die so viel Vertrauen beim Zuhörer hervorrufen. Das ist besonders für die 4.Ballade relevant. Diese Musik ist unglaublich introvertiert, auch wenn sie ab und zu emotionelle Aufschwünge bekommt, die in der verzweifelten Coda ihren Höhepunkt haben.

Chopin komponierte einige Werke, die dafür gedacht waren, ein charmantes und brillantes Sahnehäubschen für seine Konzertprogramme zu schaffen, mit der Virtuosität, die öffentlich mit dem Begriff „Brilliante“ in ihren Titeln angekündigt wurde. Jedoch macht in den hier aufgenommenen Werken Virtuosität wirklich nichts anderes als eine Funktion – die für bestimmten Ausdruck notwendige Geschwindigkeit, wie im apokalyptischen Kaleidoskop der Coda in der 4.Ballade, oder in den wirbelnden Läufen im „Presto“ der 2.Sonate. Das Finale der 3.Sonate ist Сhopins Konzertrondos nahe, aber weit von ihrem Ziel,, das Publikum lediglich mit Unterhaltung zu befriedigen, und genauso weit davon, Selbstbewusstsein zu erklären, sogar in seinem froh glänzenden Schlussteil im H-Dur.

Diese Stücke sind echte Meisterwerke, während der Arbeit an welchen ich versuchte, mit ständiger künstlerischen Aufmerksamkeit und Respekt gegenüber der Musik selbst zu bleiben, und ich freue mich, meine persönliche Interpretation von ihnen für Sie zu präsentieren.”

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A Kick in the Teeth for Civilised Values from the Government of Afghanistan?

11/3/2021

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According to the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, the Afghan government has just decided to forbid girls above the age of twelve singing in public - even their own national anthem.

From James Ross, Director of Ulysses Arts:

'A dreadful kick in the teeth for civilised values from the government of Afghanistan. To deprive people of the right to make music because they happen to be women smacks of Taliban barbarism. If individuals wish to see making music through the lens of a false and perverted interpretation of religion, that is their right, but they have no business imposing their idiotic prejudices on others in the form of tyranny. The Afghanistan National Institute of Music has worked tirelessly to advance education and culture for the people of Afghanistan, sometimes amid great personal danger, injury and sacrifice, and we should all show the country's government the contempt in which we will hold them if this decision is not reversed.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of foreign intervention in Afghanistan, many British soldiers died or were seriously injured for a cause they believed was to bring a better life to the Afghan people. This decision also insults their memory, and those of many people of multiple nationalities who have died trying to achieve this aim.'

Ulysses Arts has been proud to collaborate with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music: while as a Company we want to bring together and support musicians around the world regardless of politics, we wish to voice our support and solidarity with ANIM on this issue.

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DAMIR DURMANOVIC LAUNCHES SCHUBERT PIANO SONATA IN A D.959 ON 19 MARCH 2021

1/3/2021

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Ulysses Arts releases Bosnia-born British-resident pianist Damir Durmanovic's debut solo release of Schubert's great Piano Sonata in A, D.959, on Friday 19 March. Damir comments:

'Schubert described Mozart as "the Christ of music": written in the last months of Schubert's life, this Sonata is his homage to Mozart, but bursting with Schubert's distinctive playfulness, with mercurial changes of mood, virtuoso hand-crossing, and sudden moments of darkness.' Recording this work as his solo debut release combines Damir's love of both these composers.

You can hear Damir playing on Ulysses Arts' recordings of Franck and Debussy with violinist Dillon Jeffares released in July 2020; we are delighted to be now releasing his first solo recording too.

Click above to dowlnoad on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

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I: https://youtu.be/TDiHHdEXL9I
II: https://youtu.be/WXJrxBieeMU
III: https://youtu.be/4LEe87Eds-8
IV: https://youtu.be/slczUD8dFnU

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STEPHEN HORNE LAUNCHES SILENT SIRENS - SOLO PIANO MUSIC INSPIRED BY SILENT FILM

1/3/2021

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Download on iTunes with digital booklet or stream on Apple Music: click above

Ulysses Arts launches Silent Sirens, an album of music composed and performed by Stephen Horne, on 9 July 2021. One of the world's leading silent film performers, Stephen Horne is pianist in residence at the British Film Institute at London's Southbank Centre.

Prior to the release of Silent Sirens, we have pre-released three singles from the album: Beyond the Trees on 19 March, Will You Wait? on 16 April and Faces of Children on 14 May.

Silent Sirens is on all main streaming services including Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, YouTube and Qobuz.

Stephen Horne comments: 'I have been a silent film pianist and composer for over thirty years. What began as an intriguing musical sideline developed gradually into a full-time nomadic career, accompanying more than a thousand films in more than twenty countries. During that time I developed hundreds of musical themes and it has long been my ambition to record an album, incorporating some of these into musical pieces.

The tracks on this album are intended to stand alone from the films by which they were initially inspired. However, most of these films have two things in common. Firstly, they share a certain haunting quality, leaving unanswered questions to reverberate in the viewer’s mind long after ‘The End’. Secondly, at least for me, the strongest impression is made by the films’ leading women – the actresses and their roles. Combining these two elements suggested the theme of Silent Sirens.

While the music of Silent Sirens stands on its own, in general terms inspiration has come from The First Born, The Manxman, Varieté, The Informer, Tonka of the Gallows, Menilmontant, Stella Dallas, L'Hirondelle et La Mésange and Visages d’Enfants. For those who are interested, some of the titles are taken directly from the films’ inter-titles. A couple of the pieces are purely personal, with no connection to any film.'

Beyond The Trees

Miles Mander’s The First Born was co-written by Alfred Hitchcock’s wife Alma Reville, which may explain its startlingly Hitchcockian elements. Madeline Carroll’s lead protagonist has a yearning quality, as she misguidedly tries to hold on to her unworthy husband’s love, by giving him the child he craves more than anything.

Will You Wait?

The melody of ‘Will You Wait?’ was originally the love theme in my score for Hitchcock’s film ‘The Manxman’. The title is taken from a pivotal moment in the romantic triangle at the centre of its story. Pete Quilliam has always loved Kate Cregeen, but she secretly desires his best friend Philip Christian. On the eve of leaving to make his fortune in America, Pete asks Kate ‘Will You Wait?’ Blithely thinking that he will never return, she says "Yes Pete, I’ll wait."

Faces of Children

Faces of Children is inspired by 1925 French film Visages d'enfants – one of the most haunting portrayals of childhood ever made. Despite the perfectly rendered happy ending, what lingers is the impression of a child’s struggle to comprehend bereavement. The melody of my piece originally accompanied the final scene, when the boy protagonist stares into a churning river, contemplating oblivion.

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Download Beyond the Trees on iTunes or Stream on Apple Music