The UA Blog - Press Centre

Crystalline by Alex Heffes and Ryuichi Sakamoto releases on 1 December 2023

11/9/2023

Crystalline, a four-track EP written and performed by Alex Heffes and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, releases on 1 December 2023, in partership with Platoon. Two singles from the EP, Celestina and Obsidian, will be released on 6 October and 3 November.

Alex Heffes writes:

'When I learned that Ryuichi had died, I went back through my archives and discovered a number of previously unreleased and unheard pieces that I had written and played with Ryuichi. Each track is like a miniature piece of crystal broken from a larger stone with its own unique character - Celestine, Obsidian and Amethyst. The final track, After, was created posthumously by taking a loop of us both playing and combining it at different speeds and pitches to create the dream-like texture of the piece. Crystalline is a tribute to Ryuichi and the inspiration he was to me and so many others.'

Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alex Heffes

More details, pre-order and streaming links will be published here.
Electronic press kit for reviewers and radio stations available from Ulysses Arts.

Nimbus Releases Wiener Schubert Trio Album - music by Pfitzner and Smetana - on Friday 3 November 2023

9/9/2023

Nimbus Alliance releases the Wiener Schubert Trio's album, with works by Pfitzner and Smetana, on Friday 3 November 2023 (NI.6441).

'Hans Pfitzner (1869-1949) and Bedřich Smetana (1824-84) hold special places in music history as ardent nationalist composers and creators of significant stage works. Pfitzner’s operas and incidental music culminated in his Palestrina (1917), while Smetana established a canon of eight national operas incorporating traditional Czech dance and song into much of his mature oeuvre. Both composers also contributed widely to other genres, including significantly, if not extensively, to the chamber music repertory. Although written more than forty years apart, these two piano trios share notable common ground. Both were written during troubled times for their creators and count among their composer’s first mature artistic achievements; moreover, both resort to motivic recall or transformation between movements with the intention of realising structural unity, and both received hostile critical receptions.' Robin Stowell.

The Wiener Schubert Trio (Vienna Schubert Trio) was founded in 1985 and performed as a full-time ensemble until 1993. From the outset the Trio appeared regularly in the music centres of Europe, North America and Asia, and established rapidly a reputation as one of the foremost piano trios. After its first United States tour in 1986, the Trio was named the year’s ‘Best New Visiting Chamber Ensemble’ by The Washington Post. The Ensemble devoted itself to both the established masterpieces of the repertoire and many less familiar works, often presented in the context of concert series designed to demonstrate relationships between various composers and styles.

Boris Kuschnir (b.1948) studied violin at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory but his artistic development was profoundly influenced by Dmitri Shostakovich and David Oistrakh, who also taught him. He was a founding member of the Moscow String Quartet, where he played for nine years. He was a co-founder of the Vienna Schubert Trio and later the Vienna Brahms Trio, making numerous recording for record labels such as EMI, Naxos and Nimbus Records. He has received numerous awards at international violin and chamber music competitions in Paris, Belgrade, Sion, Trapani, Bratislava, Florence, Trieste and Hamberg.

Claus-Christian Schuster (b.1952): Taught initially by his father, he went on to study at the Vienna Musikhochschule, Indiana University School of Music and Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He has won numerous international piano and chamber music competitions, and until 1984 he performed worldwide as a soloist. After he founded the Vienna Schubert Trio he made regular guest appearances. However, immediately after the break-up of the Vienna Schubert Trio in 1993 he formed the Altenberg Trio Vienna, where he continued his international chamber music activities with increased intensity.

Martin Hornstein (1954–2009) was most influenced by his teachers Valentin Erben and Harvey Shapiro as well as by members of the Alban Berg Quartet who stirred his interest for chamber music from early on. He has performed as a chamber musician with numerous colleges including Christian Altenburger, Thomas Christian and Eszter Haffner as well as with ensembles like the Aron Quartett, the Artis Quartet and the Orlando Quartett. Between 1985 and 1993 he was the Vienna Schubert Trio's 'cellist, and from 1994-2004 a member of the Altenberg Trio Vienna. With these two ensembles he gave more than 1,000 performances across the world.

Pre-order and streaming links will be published here.
Electronic press kit for reviewers available from Ulysses Arts.

NIMBUS RELEASES WORLD PREMIÈRE RECORDING OF PHILIP SAWYERS, MAYFLOWER ON THE SEA OF TIME ON FRIDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2023

9/9/2023

Nimbus Alliance releases the world première recording of Philip Sawyers, Mayflower on the Sea of Time, on Friday 3 November, with soloists April Fredrick and Thomas Humphreys, the English Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Kenneth Woods.

Philip Sawyers, Mayflower on The Sea of Time

World Première (NI6439)

April Fredrick, soprano
Thomas Humphreys, baritone
English Symphony Orchestra Chorus
English Symphony Orchestra

Kenneth Woods, Conductor

'The 400th anniversary of the Mayflower's sailing to New England was in 2020. My task as a composer was to write a substantial choral and orchestral work to celebrate this event and the challenges the Pilgrims faced in the New World. My librettist wrote an imaginative piece that incorporated both a narrative and a reflection on the wider implications the story contained. Human attributes and frailties, moral, religious and political questions are touched upon. The resulting oratorio, Mayflower on the Sea of Time, is in four parts. The soprano and baritone soloists take on multiple roles as both narrators and different characters from the story.' Philip Sawyers

This recording captures the debut performance of the English Symphony Chorus. Assembled for this project, the group brings together some of the finest professional singers from across the UK. Ensemble members appear as part of elite groups such as The Sixteen, performers on the operatic stage, working as lay clerks at cathedrals across the UK, as well as working with leading orchestras and new music ensembles.

'Given the strong narrative of the work's source material, it will be no surprise to listeners to hear music that strives forward purposefully. In his symphonies, Philip takes care to highlight structural moments, punctuating musical sentences and paragraphs with great precision and clarity, whereas Mayflower is a study in constant transition and transformation.' Kenneth Woods

Digital pre-order and streaming links will be posted here.
Electronic press kit for reviewers available from Ulysses Arts.

ULYSSES ARTS RELEASES FIVE NEW ALBUMS IN AUTUMN 2023, ALL INCLUDING WORLD PREMIÈRE RECORDINGS

11/8/2023

British label Ulysses Arts is releasing five new albums in autumn 2023, all including world première recordings. Founded as a digital consultancy for classical music in 2008, Ulysses Arts has developed into an innovative record label presenting albums dedicated to original programming and new works.

Ulysses Arts' director, James Ross, comments: 'This is the most ambitious series or releases in our history. We are proud to be presenting this outstanding range of new music, great performers and ensembles, including musicians from the UK, USA, Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Hungary. Collectively, these five albums include the work of nineteen living composers, showing classical music today as a thriving, evolving art form, full of energy and imagination.'

Click above covers and titles below for full details:

22 September: Paul Henley Piano Works
Duncan Honeybourne, piano

Piano Sonatas No. 1, 2 and 3; Five Epigrams; Suite; Adagietto

UA230060

29 September: Todd Mason Violin Concerto & Chamber Suite

Tosca Opdam, violin; Budapest Scoring Orchestra; Péter Illényi, conductor

UA230080

6 October: All Shall be Amen

Caritas Chamber Choir, directed by Benedict Preece

New choral music by Gabriel Jackson, Cecilia McDowall, Phillip Cooke, Sarah Cattley, Eric Choate, Benedict Preece, Neil Wright, Andrew Smith and David Conte.

UA230120

3 November: Neoteric Ensemble Volume 1
Toby Street, James Fountain, Sarah Field, Rob Buckland, Richard Watkin, Adrian Miotti

New music for brass and saxophone sextet by Rob Buckland, Misha Mullov-Abado, Andy Panayi, Charlotte Harding, Toby Street, Dan Jenkins and Mark Nightingale.

UA220001

10 November: Soliloquies

Songs by Messiaen, Chausson, Frank Bridge, Hanns Eisler and Paul Willot-Förster

Maria Hegele, mezzo-soprano and Anna Szałucka, with Connie Pharoah, viola and Emily Turkanik, violin.

UA230090

Eletronic press kits, listening links and CDs for all albums are available for reviewers from Ulysses Arts.

CARITAS CHAMBER CHOIR ALBUM 'ALL SHALL BE AMEN' RELEASED BY ULYSSES ARTS ON 6 OCTOBER 2023

22/7/2023

Click above to pre-order on iTunes with digital booklet

Caritas Chamber Choir, directed by Benedict Preece, releases its next album, 'All Shall be Amen', on 6 October 2023, in partnership with Platoon. Details of iTunes pre-order and other digital links will be published here. Benedict Preece's Pange lingua will be pre-released as a single on 11 August 2023.

All Shall be Amen is Caritas' sixth album: it presents music by composers including Cecilia McDowell, Eric Choate, Benedict Preece, Gabriel Jackson, Sarah Cattley, Phillip Cooke and Neil Wright, that Caritas has regularly performed and recorded, alongside new exciting collaborations with David Conte and Andrew Smith. The album’s sacred theme is broad, demonstrating an omnium-gatherum of new works, and contemporaneously, championing many fantastic living composers. The majority of its works are world première recordings.

Caritas is a British chamber choir, passionate about raising money for charities through singing, and performing to the highest level both in the UK and throughout Europe. The choir, founded by Benedict Preece, performs music from all periods in around 20 regular concerts per year around the UK and in France, as well as services in Canterbury Cathedral.

All Shall be Amen: Track List

1. A Prayer of St Bernard of Clairvaux: Gabriel Jackson ........................... 2:29
2. O vos omnes: Neil Wright ........................................................................ 3:17
3. Ubi Caritas: Phillip Cooke ........................................................................ 4:42
4. Vinea mea electa: Andrew Smith ........................................................... 4:22
5. Prayer of Richard Rolle :Sarah Cattley .................................................. 3:21
6. My Eyes for Beauty pine: Sarah Cattley ................................................. 2:41
7. O Lord, support us: Sarah Cattley ......................................................... 3:23
8. Keep watch, dear Lord: Eric Choate ...................................................... 3:34
9. Adoro te devote: Gabriel Jackson .......................................................... 3:31
10. Crux fidelis: Neil Wright ......................................................................... 4:52
11. Nunc dimittis: Phillip Cooke .................................................................. 4:19
12. Rise heart; thy Lord is risen: Cecilia McDowall ................................... 4:09
13. Ave Maria: Neil Wright ............................................................................ 4:21
14. Pange lingua: Benedict Preece .............................................................. 4:24
15. O salutaris hostia; Gabriel Jackson ........................................................ 3:18
16. O sacrum convivium: Benedict Preece ................................................. 3:58
17. Locus iste: Phillip Cooke ......................................................................... 4:31
18. By Night while others soundly slept: David Conte .............................. 3:07
19. Night Prayer: David Conte ...................................................................... 4:36
20. All shall be Amen: Gabriel Jackson ........................................................ 6:02

Total time: 1:18:58

Released on 11 August 2023

Benedict Preece

Benedict Preece sets the classic liturgical text Pange lingua 'accessibly and sympathetically, so many church choirs could sing my music. Pange lingua is a partner for my setting of Tantum Ergo, for performance during communion or Holy Week, or in concerts. All voice parts have lyrical lines, whether or not they are singing the melody. The final “Amen” quotes my Tantum Ergo, to connect both works.'

SOLILOQUIES - SONGS BY MESSIAEN, CHAUSSON, EISLER AND PAUL WILLOT-FÖRSTER WITH MARIA HEGELE AND ANNA SZAŁUCKA ON 10 NOVEMBER 2023

13/7/2023

Click above to pre-order from iTunes with digital booklet

Ulysses Arts releases a new album of songs by Messiaen, Frank Bridge, Chausson, Eisler and new works by Paul Willot-Förster on Friday 10 November 2023, performed by mezzo-soprano Maria Hagele and pianist Anna Szałucka with Connie Pharoah, viola, and Emily Turkanik, violin. Full details of streaming links will be published here.

SOLILOQUIES ALBUM DETAILS

OLIVIER MESSIAEN, Harawi - Chant d'amour et de mort
1: I. La ville qui dormait, toi 02:31
2: II. Bonjour toi, colombe verte 03:27
3: III. Montagnes 02:58

FRANK BRIDGE, Three Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, H. 76
with Connie Pharoah, viola
4. I. Far, far from each other 03:33
5. II. Where is it that our soul doth go 03:08
6. III. Music when soft voices die 02:01

'CLEMENS CZERNIK'
with Emily Turkanik, violin
7. Graciella 02:02

PAUL WILLOT-FÖRSTER
with Emily Turkanik, violin
8. Selbstgespräche: I. Vorwort/Entschuldigung 01:48
9. Selbstgespräche: II. Schlaflied 03:05
10. Selbstgespräche: III. Vokalise 03:22
11. Selbstgespräche: IV. Weltende 01:45

ERNEST CHAUSSON, Serres chaudes, Op. 24
12. I. Serre chaude 03:03
13. II. Serre d'ennui 02:30
14. III. Lassitude 02:22
15. IV. Fauves las 01:51
16. V. Oraison 02:16

HANNS EISLER
17. Fünf Elegien No. 4: Diese Stadt hat mich belehrt 01:28
18. Der Pflaumenbaum 01:41
19. Faustus‘ Verzweiflung 00:50
20. Fünf Elegien, No. 1: Unter den grünen Pfefferbäumen 00:53
21. Goethe-Fragment 01:45
22. Was ich dort gelebt 00:57

OLIVIER MESSIAEN, Harawi - Chant d'amour et de mort
23. X. Amour, oiseau d‘étoile 04:47
24. XI. Katchikatchi les étoiles 02:01
25. XII. Dans le noir 05:42

Click here for texts and translations

Maria Hegele

Anna Szałucka

Connie Pharoah

Emily Turkanik

Chausson, Lassitude, on Apple Music's New in Classical playlist

Lyrita releases British Piano Concertos Volume 2 with Simon Callaghan and BBC National Orchestra of Wales on 1 September 2023

22/6/2023

Lyrita releases British Piano Concertos Volume 2 with Simon Callaghan and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (SRCD.416) on 1 September 2023, with three world première recordings of works by John Addison, Gordon Jacob and Edmund Rubbra. The album is conducted by Stephen Bell and George Vass.

Gordon Jacob’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in E-flat was completed in 1957 and premièred on 11 July of that year at Bournemouth's Winter Gardens with soloist Edith Vogel. A Proms performance took place at London's Royal Albert Hall on 9 August 1957 with the same soloist. A review in The Times of the Proms performance declared that ‘the composer’s masterly understanding of the orchestra enables him to express each idea economically and in the most clean and attractive colours’, while The Sunday Times’s critic wrote that ‘having taught the craft of orchestration to a whole generation of composers, Dr. Jacob is himself a past master at clear and effective scoring’.

The Variations for Piano and Orchestra by John Addison, a pupil of Jacob's at the Royal College of Music, was written in 1948 and revised the following year. According to Alan Poulton’s Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers, It was first performed in a BBC broadcast in 1960 by Margaret Kitchin. The work for a small orchestra, comprising double woodwinds, four horns, a pair each of trumpets and trombones, bass trombone, timpani, modest percussion and strings, and combines passages of lyrical charm with brilliantly effective soloistic writing.

Though the piano had played a prominent role in an earlier student piece by Rubbra, his Piano Concerto Op. 30 (1932) is the composer’s first fully-fledged, large-scale work for soloist and orchestra. The score features an elaborate solo part and requires substantial orchestral forces.

For publisher details, click below:
Jacob, Piano Concerto No. 2 (OUP)
Addison, Variations (Stainer & Bell)
Rubbra, Piano Concerto (ed. Simon Callaghan: Nimbus Music Publishing)

Buy CD: Europadisc Classical

'Gute und engagierte Interpretationen machen aus diesen drei Ersteinspielungen ein hörenswertes Programm.' Remy Franck, Pizzicato, 5 September 2023

'Marvellously enterprising and revelatory ... These wonderfully idiomatic performances and the recording are outstanding, and Simon Callaghan plays reflectively when needed but also with great power and agility. Snap it up.' Gary Higginson, British Music Society, 18 August 2023

'Stephen Bell ... i George Vass, director artístic ... dirigeixen l’Orquestra Nacional de la BBC de Gal·les —amb el seu so perfectament equilibrat—i fan un retrat vívid d’aquestes tres obres poc conegudes.' Núria Serra, Sonogramo, 29 August 2023

'Simon Callaghan’s discography continues to grow and he is proving to be an excellent guide especially in the field of British music. This new CD builds upon that reputation with intelligent and nuanced performances alertly accompanied by the BBC NOW recorded with Lyrita’s usual sophisticated engineering.' Nick Barnard, Music Web International, 4 September 2023

'The keen-edged and eager performances convince you that Callaghan, the BBC NOW and the two conductors [Stephen Bell and George Vass] are everything you might cherish for such a project.'
Rob Barnett, Music Web International, 2 August 2023

Simon Callaghan, George Vass and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Full press kit including listening links available from Ulysses Arts.

TODD MASON VIOLIN CONCERTO AND CHAMBER SUITE, RELEASING ON 29 SEPTEMBER 2023

16/6/2023

Ulysses Arts releases Todd Mason's Violin Concerto, with soloist Tosca Opdam, and Chamber Suite, with the Budapest Scoring Orchestra conducted by Péter Illényi, on 29 September 2023.

Spirito, the third movement of Mason's Chamber Suite, pre-released as a single on 21 July 2023.

More details including download and streaming links will be posted here.

Releasing on 29 September 2023. Click above to pre-order on iTunes.

'The writing for the solo instrument is both expressive and virtuosic.'
Geoff Pearce, Classical Music Daily, 8 Sep 2023

'A superb recording that should be listened to time and again.'
Maureen Buja, Interlude, Sep 2023

Find out more here about the making of Todd Mason's Violin Concerto, featured in The Strad.

Spirito - pre-released on 21 July 2023

YURI PATERSON-OLENICH - SCRIABIN, PIANO SONATA NO. 8 RELEASED BY ULYSSES ARTS ON 30 JUNE 2023

25/5/2023

Stream on Apple Music or download with booklet on iTunes - click above

Yuri Paterson-Olenich

British pianist Yuri Paterson-Olenich releases Scriabin, Piano Sonata No. 8, on 30 June 2023.

'Some years ago, I recorded an album of late Scriabin piano works, and in hindsight, there are pieces I wish I had also included. The Eighth Sonata is one of them. 2022 marked the sesquicentennial of Scriabin’s birth, and I was invited to perform in several celebratory concerts. One work I was asked to play was this Sonata and serendipitously, there was an opportunity to record it.

Written in 1912-13, the Eighth was in fact the last of Scriabin’s ten sonatas to be completed. It is perhaps the most abstract of his already esoteric later oeuvre. The composer described it as the most difficult of his sonatas and, during the short time between its completion and his death in 1915, he never performed it.

Igor Stravinsky described this Sonata as ‘incomparable’. Scriabin ingeniously employs a variety of techniques including sonata form, leitmotifs, variation and uses his own unique harmonic language to underpin and unify them. The writing is exacting and sophisticated - fully appreciating the work entails imaginatively losing oneself in its elaborate cascades of sound.'
(Yuri Paterson-Olenich)

Featured on Apple Music New in Classical playlist

Electronic press kit available from Ulysses Arts.

Recorded at Eton College by John Croft / Chiaro Audio. Artwork by Hannah Whale / Fruition Creative Concepts

HAHN, KŒCHLIN, TAILLEFERRE PIANO DUOS WITH ADRIAN FARMER AND MARTIN JONES RELEASED ON 7 JULY 2023

2/5/2023

Download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music - click above

Martin Jones has been one of Britain’s most highly regarded solo pianists since first coming to international attention in 1968 when he received the Dame Myra Hess Award. The same year he made his London debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and his New York debut at Carnegie Hall, and ever since has been in demand for recitals and concerto performances. He has made over 90 recordings with Nimbus Records exploring rarely-played music including the complete works of 18 composers.

Adrian Farmer trained as an accompanist at Manchester's Royal Northern College of Music following a music degree at Birmingham University. Adrian has made several recordings with other Nimbus artists: bass-baritone Shura Gehrman, pianists Nina Walker, Simon Callaghan, and Martin Jones. It is with soprano Charlotte de Rothschild that he has found his most enduring partnership releasing albums which include the première recording of the songs of her ancestor, Mathilde de Rothschild.

REVIEWS

'Recording quality is pristine, and the two pianists play this repertoire with true understanding. Altogether, an absolute delight.' Phillip Scott, Limelight, September 2023

Roger Nichols, BBC Music Magazine, 8 August 2023

William Kreindler, MusicWeb International, 23 August 2023

Michel Dutrieue, Stretto, 14 July 2023

Núria Serra, Sonograma, 29 June 2023

Electronic press kit available from Ulysses Arts

DANCE FOLDINGS FOR ORCHESTRA, BY AUGUSTA READ THOMAS, RELEASED BY NIMBUS RECORDS ON 7 JULY 2023

2/5/2023

Click above to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

In celebration of the diversity and published objectives of the Royal Albert Hall on the occasion of the venue’s 150th anniversary, BBC Radio 3 commissioned DANCE FOLDINGS for orchestra: the prompt was to reflect the arts and sciences as they are now. The natural world, explored by scientists, engineers, and physicians in laboratories and clinics, offers a wealth of opportunities to explore resonance and balance through sound. Few orchestral works attempt to capture the kinetic and emotional content of scientific topics and convey these concepts through abstract, rather than descriptive, music. The musical materials of DANCE FOLDINGS for orchestra take as their starting point the metaphors, pairings, counterpoints, foldings, forms, and images inspired by the biological "ballet" of proteins being assembled and folded in our bodies.

Dance Foldings was recorded in the presence of the composer, and produced in association with BBC Radio 3 and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Augusta Read Thomas is one of the most active composers in the world, with commissions, performances, recordings, awards, and honours, but she is also a long-standing, exemplary citizen of the profession at large with an extensive and deeply committed history as a generous colleague in the profession. She is without question one of the best and most important composers of our time. Her music has substance, depth, and a sense of purpose. She has much to say and knows how to say it, and in a way that is intelligent yet appealing and sophisticated.

Electronic press kit available from Ulysses Arts.

NIMBUS RELEASES DVORÁK PIANO TRIO ALBUM WITH SHAHAM-WALLFISCH-EREZ TRIO ON 2 JUNE 2023

2/5/2023

NI5952: Antonin Dvořák Piano Trio No.3 – Shaham Wallfisch Erez Trio

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was a prolific and versatile composer who made richly diverse contributions to practically every genre of classical music. As a violist and keyboard player, he had a particular affinity with chamber music composition. Some of his chamber outputs held significance at crucial milestones in his career, as this disc clearly corroborate. Piano trio.No.3 is dark and reflects Dvořáks personal grief due to the loss of three of his children in infancy, the death of his mother and self-doubt. Dvořák began to compose his Sonatina Op.100 in 1893 and completed it the same year, dedicating it ‘to my children’ after taking into consideration his 15 year old daughters piano playing abilities, and 10 year olds sons violin. It was ‘intended for young people … but grown-ups, too, may not be unwilling to amuse themselves with it.’ The legendary violinist, Fritz Kreisler’s version of the Slavic Dance in E minor remains fairly faithful to Dvorak’s original whereas his arrangement of Op.72 is much freer from its waltz like strains and skillful use of double stopping making much of it sound like a violin duet.

Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch was founded in 2009 and comprises three of the world's finest international instrumentalists. Since formation, the Trio has been invited numerous times to prestigious chamber music series at venues such as London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Rotterdam De Doellen, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie. The Trio oftens appears in Spain, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Israel and Canada. It was invited by the Wigmore Hall to present the complete Beethoven Piano Trios in 2020, the composer’s 250th anniversary.

NI5952 Antonin Dvorak Piano Trio No.3

1-4. Piano Trio No. 3 Op. 65                          37:53

5-8. Sonatina Op. 100                                     18:48

9-11. 3 Slavonic Dances arr. Fritz Kreisler
            Op. 46 No. 2, Op. 72 & No. 8               12:13

Also available from Shaham Wallfisch Erez Trio on Nimbus Records: Rachmaninoff – Russian Piano Trios.

ELECTRONIC MASTERS VOLUME 9 RELEASED BY ABLAZE RECORDS ON 26 MAY 2023

24/4/2023

Download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music - click above

Electronic Masters Volume 9 released by Ablaze Records on 26 May 2023. Music from the USA, South Africa, Italy and Norway, by Rodney DuPlessis, Pierre-Henri Wicomb, Chin Ting Chan, Marshall Jones, Michael Boyd, Leo Cicala, Julius Bucsis and Mathieu Lacroix.

Marshall Jones, Coffeegate, on Apple Music's New in Classical playlist

Electronic press kit available for reviewers from Ulysses Arts.

PAUL HENLEY PIANO WORKS ALBUM WITH DUNCAN HONEYBOURNE RELEASING ON 22 SEPTEMBER 2023

2/4/2023

Paul Henley's Piano Works album will be released by Ulysses Arts on 22 September 2023, performed by Duncan Honeybourne, with several works pre-released digitally this summer.

Pre-order on iTunes or stream IG tracks on Apple Music - click above

Duncan Honeybourne

Duncan Honeybourne comments: 'Paul Henley told me that he feels the piano is more 'orchestral' than any other solo instrument. His intention is to highlight its “very diverse expressive potential, ranging from beautiful lyricism to considerable rhythmic vitality”. As Henley explains: “although it has considerable lyrical potential, the piano is actually a percussive instrument”. The latter is particularly significant to him.'

All three sonatas are shot through with an attractive blend of the percussive and the lyrical: No. 3 is the most extended and ambitious scale, and with a correspondingly extended expressive range. The Suite was composed in 2002 to celebrate the eighth birthday of the composer’s son; its five movements convey an engaging directness and simplicity in character and design. Framed by two cheerful Fanfares, there is a bouncy Scherzo, a warm hearted Nocturne and a dramatic Chorale. As with all Henley’s music, it is effective but never loaded with complexity for its own sake. Sometimes touching, sometimes punchy, and often surprising, it is constructed skilfully with a distinctive ear for rhythmic zest and harmonic colour, allied to a natural gift for melodic charm.

ALBUM DETAILS

Piano Sonata No. 1 (2005): 13’02

i. Moderato ma maestoso - Allegro molto: 5’00
ii. Adagio: 4’42
iii. Allegro moderato :3’20

Sonata No. 2 (2016): 7’17
Allegro vigoroso - Meno mosso - Allegro moderato - Come prima -
Maestoso - Moderato calmo - Allegro vigoroso

Sonata No. 3 (2020): 20’42
i. ‘Processional’ - Solenne: 4’54
ii. ‘Moto perpetuo’ – Allegro molto e sempre tempo giusto: 2'05
iii. ‘Departure’ – Adagio: 6’10
iv. ‘Danza’ – Allegretto deciso: 7’33

Five Epigrams for Piano (2019): 9’23
i. Molto moderato
ii. Allegretto
iii. Andantino
iv. Allegro
v. Molto moderato

Suite for Piano (2002): 5’27

Adagietto (2020): 3’12

Epigram No. 1 in Apple Music playlists: New in Classical and Pure Piano:

More pre-order and pre-release track links will be published here.

Piano Music of Francisco Mignone - Martin Jones, on Nimbus Records, releasing 5 May 2023

25/2/2023

Francisco Mignone

'Although Mignone wrote a large number of pieces for piano solo, his preference had always been for the orchestra, and for solo song. In his works for the piano the search for orchestral colour and texture is clearly evident in his use of ornamentation, spaced chords and explorations at the extreme ends of the keyboard. His focus on piano composition tended to be sporadic, producing many pieces in the 1940s, almost nothing in the 50s and early 60s, and eventually a return to larger forms, in particular the 2nd, 3rd and 4th sonatas.

Mignone's works for piano solo fall into some natural groupings, the four sonatinas and four sonatas, more than thirty waltzes, and the the nine Lendas sertanejas. Of the remaining pieces two-thirds are written in a predominantly 19th century European language, and the remainder reflect the influence of Brazilian folklore, in rhythm and form.' © Adrian Farmer

Martin Jones

Martin Jones has been one of Britain’s most highly regarded solo pianists since first coming to international attention in 1968 when he received the Dame Myra Hess Award. He has made over 90 recordings with Nimbus Records exploring music that is not often played including the complete works of 18 composers. This year will see the release of four albums of newly discovered manuscripts of Daniel Jones. Also, together with Adrian Farmer, three albums of French music for four hands. During next year ,as well as giving concerts, he will complete three albums of the first recordings of all the piano works of Elizabeth Lutyens for Resonus Records, and continue his American Piano Series with Volumes 6 & 7 for Prova Recordings. THis will include several new works especially written for him, and, for Nimbus a collection of Brazilian music by Mignone, Gnatalli & Lorenzo-Fernandez.

Electronic press kit available for reviewers from Ulysses Arts