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

21/12/2020

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Pre-order on iTunes: click above
Ulysses Arts is delighted to release Latvian pianist Anton Rosputko's debut album - Chopin's Masterpieces - on Friday 30 April. Anton describes his 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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Download, streaming and CD purchase links will be published here.
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MARGARET MARSHALL LAUNCHES SONGBIRD ALBUM: PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED RECORDINGS FROM THE 1970s

21/12/2020

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Scottish lyric soprano Margaret Marshall presents Songbird – an album of previously unpublished recordings, released on 1 December 2020. Songbird features music by Purcell, J.S. Bach, Handel, Mozart and Finzi, all recorded by German radio networks in the 1970s.

Songbird offers a unique document of the early years of Margaret Marshall’s career immediately after she won the 1974 Munich ARD International Music Competition. It is a testament to one of the late Twentieth Century’s most outstanding lyric sopranos, bearing witness to the vocal agility, purity and depth of musicianship for which she become renowned:


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1. Purcell: The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation

2. J. S. Bach: Non sa che sia dolore, BWV 209

3. Handel: Guardian Angels, from The Triumph of Time & Truth, HWV 71

4. Mozart: Ah’ lo Previdi - ah t’invola agl’occhi miei, K 272

5. Finzi: Dies Natalis [1]

Margaret Marshall comments: ‘I’m thrilled that Songbird has been released digitally. I retired from professional singing fifteen years ago and never imagined I would be releasing ‘new’ music. But thanks to wonderfully supportive friends, here it is! Alongside music by Purcell, J.S. Bach, Handel and Mozart – composers and works I loved to sing – is Finzi’s beautiful Dies Natalis, best known for tenors but also a wonderful sing for sopranos.’
 
Miss Marshall shares her experience of singing these works on her new website www.margaretmarshallsongbird.com

Margaret Marshall is one of the finest discoveries of recent years. A perfect technique carries this radiant voice, more varied in colour than some of her world-famous colleagues, full of life and energy, of exquisite expression where the vocalisation pours forth inner enchantment and surpasses technical virtuosity.[2]

[1] 1 and 4: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mosche Atzmon and Hanns-Martin Schneidt; 2: Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Hans Zender; 3. NDR Elbphilharmonie Orkester; Günther Weissenborn: 5. Mainz Chamber Orchestra, Günter Kehr

[2] J.S. Bach, Easter Oratorio, Kurt Redel (conductor), Le Monde, 20 April 1976

REVIEWS AND FEATURES

Graham Rickson in The Arts Desk

Planet Hugill

'I urge all devotees of fine singing to enjoy this previously unheard testimony to the enduring appeal of Margaret Marshall’s lovely voice.'
Ralph Moore, MusicWeb International


Francisco Salazar in OperaWire

Francesca Wilson, Meet The Artist

Download and Streaming Links

iTunes / Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/album/songbird/1539191858

Deezer:
https://deezer.page.link/ay8APAEKm8eBGB1SA

Qobuz:
https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/songbird-margaret-marshall/oy1y55nywy5mb

TIDAL:
https://tidal.com/browse/artist/5920595

KKBOX:
https://www.kkbox.com/jp/en/album/yMjMNYXm.nxPY0F5-RfO009H-index.html

YouTube:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m--osPMbbQ3hv-Xhj5DG55dFvnU-crcGU


Press and radio inquiries to Ulysses Arts via our 'Contact Us' details below.
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ANTOINE PRÉAT LAUNCHES FIRST SOLO PIANO ALBUM POLYPHONY ON 15 JANUARY 2021: BACH , CHOPIN, SCRIABIN

15/12/2020

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Click above to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music
Ulysses Arts launches Franco-Belgian pianist Antoine Préat's first solo album, Polyphony, on 15 January 2021, with music by J.S. Bach, Chopin and Scriabin. Polyphony follows Antoine's debut recording of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.31, Op.110, released by Ulysses Arts in June 2020.

J.S. Bach, Toccata in C Minor, BWV 911
Chopin, Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61
Scriabin, Sonate-Fantaisie, Op. 19

Antoine comments: 'Born into a Baroque-fanatic family in Paris, I grew up immersed in the sound of the 'cello and harpsichord. I have always been intrigued by polyphonic music, with deep emotion contained within a perfectly assembled puzzle. I started this theme with Beethoven’s Op.110; my debut album of Bach, Chopin and Scriabin continues this exploration of intricate polyphony in the solo piano repertoire.’



Download Polyphony on iTunes
or stream on Apple Music

https://music.apple.com/album/polyphony/1544832100

Other Streaming Links

Deezer

Qobuz

YouTube


Amazon Music

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J.S. Bach C minor Toccata BWV 911 on Apple Music's Bach and the Baroque playlist
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Chopin Polonaise-fantaisie in A-flat, Op.61 on Apple Music's Beethoven and the Romantics playlist
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Scriabin, Sonata-Fantasy Op.19 I. Andante on Spotify's Classical New Releases
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Scriabin, Sonata-Fantasy Op.19 II. Presto on Apple Music's Classical Commute playlist
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Scriabin, Sonata-Fantasy Op.19 II. Presto on Apple Music's The A-List Classical (France)

Antoine Préat

Described by Radio France as ‘one of the most gifted pianists of the younger generation’ and as ‘a young artist with a distinctive voice’, Franco-Belgian pianist Antoine Préat is establishing himself as a soloist and chamber musician. 

Since his orchestral debut at 17, playing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 with the Orchestra of Alicante, Antoine has performed with The Tonerl Chamber Orchestra, Sainsbury Soloists, Academy Festival Orchestra, London Student Orchestra and Resonate Chamber Ensemble.  

Winner of Making Music's Philip and Dorothy Green Award 2020, and recently appointed City Music Foundation Artist 2020, Antoine performs regularly in Europe and the United States in halls such as the Salle Cortot, Salle Gaveau, Wigmore Hall, Thayer Hall, Paris Beaux Arts Museum and Frederyk Chopin Institute. His performances have been broadcast by the BBC, Scala Radio and France Musique.

Performance highlights include festivals such as the Nohant Chopin Festival, Lisztomanias, Chopin à Bagatelle, Les Concerts d’Esther, Marathon Chopin, Les Nuits du Piano in Paris, IMS Prussia Cove, Encuentro de Santander. An avid chamber musician, Antoine was the youngest artist invited to join the Centre de Musique de Chambre de Paris, directed by Jérôme Pernoo, with whom he gave a concert series at the Salle Cortot sponsored by Deutsche Gramophone. He has been a finalist or prizewinner in numerous competitions such as the Ettlingen Competition for Young Pianists, Concours International de la Ville de Gagny, Concours international d’Ile de France and received an honour prize at the New York Début Piano Competition.

Having completed his postgraduate course with honours at the Ecole Normale de Paris with Ludmilla Berlinskaia and Guigla Katsrava, Antoine continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Tatiana Sarkissova and Christopher Elton, receiving a Master of Arts and the DipRam, its highest qualification.

To enrich his understanding of the instrument and its repertoire, Antoine began to study fortepiano and period instruments with Carole Cerasi at the Royal Academy and has also been guided from artists such as Andreas Staier, Tobias Koch, Philippe Cassard, Alberta Alexandrescu, Robert Levin, Jerome Lowenthal, Richard Goode, Imogen Cooper and Stephen Hough.

Antoine is supported by The City Music Foundation, Talent Unlimited, Hattori Foundation and Making Music.


... et maintenant en français:

- Beethoven Sonate op°110 en La Majeur
Single de promotion sorti le 19 Juin 2020, playlisté par Apple Music, recueillant plus de 50,000 écoutes
- Bach Toccata en Do mineur BWV911, Chopin Polonaise Fantaisie op°65, Scriabin Sonate n°2 op°19 sorti le 15 Janvier 2021, playlisté par Spotify dans “Classical New Releases”

Vidéo de promotion: https://youtu.be/VWMMPV8-JR8

L’album

'Mon premier album, enregistré à Londres au courant de cette tumultueuse année 2020, se focalise sur l’évolution de l’écriture polyphonique au fil des différentes époques. Vouant une affection particulière à J.S Bach, je souhaitais souligner son influence sur le processus de composition de ses successeurs. Si Bach lui-même fut influencé par ses prédécesseurs, tels que Buxtehude ou Kerll.

il demeure la figure ‘phare’ de la période baroque et de l’écriture polyphonique (que ce soit sous forme de fugue, de choral, d’aria ou de sonate). Toutes les pièces de cet album jouent aussi sur la liberté de la forme musicale: une Toccata comprenant un choral et deux fugues, une Sonate de Beethoven avec ses multiples fugues et arias, la Polonaise-Fantaisie, alternant marche patriotique,
choral et mélodie accompagnées, et la Sonate de Scriabin en deux mouvements.)

Dans ses dernières années, Beethoven se tourne à nouveau vers la musique de Bach et de Haendel, qu’il avait toujours beaucoup admirés. Cette influence est très présente dans ses œuvres dites “de la troisième période” (qui fut d’ailleurs sa dernière), au cours de laquelle il composa certaines de ses œuvres les plus acclamées : la Hammerklavier, les trois dernières sonates pour piano, le quatuor op°131, la Grosse Fugue op°133, Die Weihe des Hauses op°124.

Beethoven, éclatant la forme classique et ouvrant grand la porte à ses successeurs romantiques, insuffle un souffle nouveau à la forme fuguée et à la polyphonie complexe du XVIIIème siècle. Frédéric Chopin est souvent considéré (à tort selon moi) comme le “romantique” par excellence, le
symbole du rubato à outrance interprété avec une mièvrerie mal placée. Il était très important pour moi d’établir un parallèle entre l’oeuvre de Chopin celle de Bach car non seulement Chopin portait une véritable adoration à son vénérable prédécesseur, mais leurs oeoeuvres ne sont pas si éloignées les unes des autres bien qu’appartenant à un style et une époque différents. Si l’on étudie avec attention les compositions de Chopin, on constate que ce qui peut à première vue être qualifié de “mélodie accompagnée” se révèle souvent bien plus complexe et polyphonique qu’il n’y parait (les accompagnements notamment comprennent bien souvent un contrepoint développé en plusieurs lignes mélodiques). Enfin, le rubato dont on parle tant chez Chopin me rappelle la notion d’ ‘élan’ et de respiration en musique Baroque, et ne devrait pas conduire à ce qualificatif de “sentimentalisme” (simplement parce qu’il s’agit la de musique dite ‘romantique’, si la respiration n’est pas naturelle, l’interpretation ne l’est pas plus).

Alexandre Scriabin est le seul compositeur présent qui ne se soit pas réclamé de Bach de son vivant. C’est ce qui me semblait si intéressant: Scriabin, si inspiré au début de sa vie par Chopin, reflète souvent l’influence que Bach a eu sur la musique ‘classique’ à travers sa manière de composer, son sens de l’architecture, de la structure et de la complexité des voix intérieures de certaines de ses partitions.

Quelques mots

Ayant étudié le clavecin et la musique baroque dès mon enfance, ce thème me tient vraiment à coœur, et je suis ravi d’avoir pu l’explorer à travers ce premier disque. Je tiens à preciser que ce disque devait également sortir en magasin, mais la deuxième journée d’enregistrement (Bach, Chopin, Scriabin) ayant été décalée de plusieurs mois à cause du COVID-19, et le piano premièrement utilisé ayant été endommagé, j’ai dû séparer la sonate de Beethoven et le reste de l’album.'

Antoine Préat, janvier 2021


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BÜYÜKADA ENSEMBLE RELEASES FIRST RECORDINGS FROM SEPTEMBER 2020 LIVE BROADCAST - WARLOCK CAPRIOL SUITE ON 18 DECEMBER 2020 AND DEBUSSY DANSE SACREE ET DANSE PROFANE ON 12 MARCH 2021

13/12/2020

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PictureClick above to download on iTunes

The Büyükada Ensemble releases its first recording, made from its IBB TV live broadcast in September 2020, with Warlock's Capriol Suite, on 18 December. Comprising members of the Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and musicians from the UK and Germany, the Ensemble's recording is conducted by James Ross.

Download the recording on iTunes at https://music.apple.com/album/warlock-capriol-suite-ep/1542085175

The Büyükada Ensemble's live broadcast was supported by the European Union Delegation to Turkey, Adalar Municipality and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.



STREAMING LINKS
Amazon Music
Idagio
Deezer
Qobuz
YouTube


Further recordings from the live broadcast, including Saygun Allegretto from the Solo 'Cello Partita with Lale Efendiev and Schoenberg, Verklärte Nacht, will be released during 2021.

Recording Engineer: Kıvılcım Konca
Mastering and Post-Production: John Croft - Chiaro Audio
UPC 5054526832473 (Warlock)
UPC 5056495392750 (Debussy)
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