The UA Blog - Press Centre

Viriginia Black, Beethoven Piano Sonatas: Power, Passion and Ecstasy: CRD Records, 7 April 2023

20/1/2023

Pre-order on iTunes: click above

Virginia Black returns to the keyboard and her lifelong love - Beethoven's piano sonatas - in her latest album from CRD Records, released on 7 April 2023.

The three sonatas programmed here - The Tempest, Pathétique and Opus 110 - afford us a window onto Beethoven's life and his increasing struggle with hearing loss. Meanwhile we experience Beethoven at his best: breaking the rules of the sonata form and transcending them.

Camille Saint-Saëns, Volume 4 - Duos for Harmonium and Piano - Miloš Milivojević, classical accordion and Simon Callaghan, piano, released by Nimbus Records on 3 February 2023

2/12/2022

'The rise in popularity of the harmonium in the second half of the nineteenth century brought with it a large repertoire of chamber music, especially in France, where the instrument had been developed and refined. The combination of harmonium with piano was an especially popular one. As well as original compositions, the harmonium attracted composers making arrangements for reduced forces. The accordion, taking the role of the harmonium on these recordings, produces sound in a near identical way – air passes over vibrating free reeds made of metal.' Dr David Jones

It is the performers’ hope that the subtle shift from the 19th century French harmonium to a modern classical accordion will enable these delightful pieces to be performed more often and to gain the widest possible audience.

Electronic press kit available for reviewers.

ALBUM DETAILS

Camille Saint-Saëns. Volume 4: Duos for Harmonium and Piano
Miloš Milivojević, classical accordion
Simon Callaghan, piano

Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911)
1. Scherzo capriccioso Op. 36
2. Pastorale Op. 26

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
3. Duos Op. 8 : V. Scherzo

César Franck (1822-1890)
4. Prélude, fugue & variation Op. 18 [FWV.30]

5. Camille Saint-Saëns Duos Op. 8 : VI. Capriccio

6. Alexandre Guilmant Prière in F Op. 16

7. Camille Saint-Saëns Duos Op. 8 : III. Choral

8. Alexandre Guilmant Finale alla Schumann, Op. 83 - on a Languedoc Carol

Camille Saint-Saëns
9. Duos Op. 8 : II. Cavatina
10. Duos Op. 8 : I. Fantasia e fuga

11. Alexandre Guilmant Élégie Fugue Op. 44

12. Camille Saint-Saëns Duos Op. 8 : VI. Final

Electronic press kit available for reviewers.

SCHUMANN FIRST MASTERWORKS PLAYED BY VLADIMIR FELTSMAN RELEASING BY NIMBUS ALLIANCE ON 6 JANUARY 2023

2/12/2022

Click above to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

Nimbus Alliance releases a new album of Schumann piano music on 6 January 2023 (NI 6433), including rarely recorded early works, performed by internationally renowned Pianist and Conductor Vladimir Feltsman.

Variations on the name “Abegg” Op. 1 was written by the 20-year-old Schumann in 1830 and dedicated to the fictitious “Countess Pauline von Abegg”, whose last name provided Schumann with the theme for his variations – A, B-flat, E, and double G. Abegg Variations is a delightful, unpretentious, and elegant work free of the care, tension, and unresolvable conflicts that would haunt Schumann for the rest of his creative and personal life.

Papillons (Butterflies) comprises eleven seemingly unrelated parts and a grand finale that brings back the main tune (a waltz) of the opening piece, creating an arch that binds the set together. Like a phantasmagorical theatrical vision, the parts follow each other in a rapid succession, each having its own special character, texture, purpose, and expressiveness.

Davids bündlertänze (“Dances of the League of David”) Op. 6 was written in 1836. It includes 18 pieces grouped in two volumes of 9 pieces each. One of the most complex and sophisticated of Schumann’s works, it vividly articulates his essential creative principles, imagination, and unique approach to composing. It is a real artistic manifesto, a self-portrait of the artist.

Carnaval (Carnival), Op. 9 was written during 1834-35. Its twenty-one short pieces represent masked revellers during Carnival, the festive season that precedes the austerities of Lent. The music is filled with cryptograms, riddles, humour and misdirection, as if he was teasing the future ‘readers’ of his works, challenging them to figure out what is really going on and why; as he wrote, ‘deciphering my masked ball will be a real game for you’.

Arabeske (Arabesque) is a subtle, intimate and unpretentious work, beautifully crafted. The main episode is presented three times without any alteration. The two middle episodes are contrasting in character, and the conclusion is dreamy and hushed. Blumenstück has five thematic episodes (five petals), the second of which is presented three times, making it an eight-petalled flower. The form is unique and not easy to define—it just is a flower (‘A rose is a rose...’).

Nachtstücke Op. 23 (“Night Pieces”) was written in 1839 and published a year later. The title Nachtstücke suggested the distinction between the vocalized romantic idioms associated with night music such as the nocturnes of Field and Chopin and Schumann’s much darker visions.

Electronic press kit available for review use.

TAMAYO IKEDA: SCHUBERT LIEDER ARRANGED BY LISZT AND IMPROMPTUS, RELEASED ON 14 OCTOBER 2022

24/8/2022

Japanese pianist Tamayo Ikeda released her album of Schubert Lieder in their virtuosic solo arragements by Franz Liszt, alongside Schubert's Impromptus D. 899, on 14 October 2022.

Download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music: click above

Album Details

1. Ständchen, S. 560/7: Schwanengesang No. 4
2. Der Lindenbaum, S. 561/7: Winterreise No. 5
3. Wasserflut, S. 561/6: Winterreise No. 6
4. Wohin? Müllerlieder von Franz Schubert, S.565/5: Die schöne Müllerin, No. 2
5. Die Müller und der Bach, Müllerlieder von Franz Schubert, S.565/2: Die schöne Müllerin, No. 19
6. Ave Maria: 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, No. 12, S. 558/12

7. Impromptu No. 1, Op. 90 in C Minor, D. 899: Allegro molto moderato
8. Impromptu No. 2 Op. 90 in E-flat Major, D. 899: Allegro
9. Impromptu No. 3 Op. 90 in G-flat Major, D. 899: Andante
10. Impromptu No. 4 Op. 90 in A-flat Major, D. 899: Allegretto

11. Auf dem Wasser zu Singen: 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S. 558/2
12. Der Erlkönig: 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S. 558/4
13. Meeres Stille: 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S. 558/5
14. Die Forelle: 6 Melodien von Franz Schubert, S. 563/6

All tracks arranged for solo piano by Franz Liszt except Nos. 7-10.

Tamayo Ikeda was born in Japan in 1971, and began playing piano aged three. She joined the Toho Gakuen institute 1986 and to completed her studies in France at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris, where she studied with Jacques Rouvier and chamber music with Régis Pasquier. She was awarded two first prizes before joining the class of Pascal Devoyon.

Tamayo Ikeda is the beneficiary of a grant from the APEF and the Société Générale Bank, and has received valuable advice from leading artists such as Dimitri Bashkirov, Halina Czerny-Stefanska, Léon Fleisher and Maria Joao Pirès. She won Second Prize and the special Claude Debussy Award at the Yvonne Lefébure International competition (no first prize awarded), a special prize at the Porto International Ccompetition, and both First Prize and Casadesus Prize at the Francis Poulenc International Competition.

Tamayo Ikeda has appeared at major European festivals, in South Africa, Russia, Indonesia, at New York's Carnegie Hall, and has performed on numerous television and radio programmes. Her discography includes works by Poulenc and Fauré (Arcobaleno), an album of Stockhausen Sonatas with clarinettist Jean-Philippe Vivier (Solstice), a previous Schubert album (Warner-Lontano) and, with violinist Gêrard Poulet, works by Stravinsky and Prokofiev.

'While there are countless recordings of Schubert's piano music available, a more perfect realization would be hard to imagine than Tamayo Ikeda's. On this stellar presentation of 4 Impromptus, op. 90 (D. 899) and Lieder transcriptions by Franz Liszt, the pianist, born in Japan in 1971, demonstrates a deep grasp of the composer's material. Every piece is executed with the utmost attention to tempo, pacing, and dynamics, and her treatments are distinguished throughout by nuance, tenderness, and delicacy of touch. His is a language with which she is clearly fluent.'

Textura, January 2023

'This beautiful recording by Tamayo Ikeda.'

Maureen Buja
Interlude (Hong Kong), 21 October 2023

The Record Geijutsu, February 2023

CD on sale via Ongaku No Tomo, Japan or King International

Electronic press kit available for reviewers from Ulysses Arts.

ULYSSES ARTS RELEASES SPINA AND BENIGNETTI PIANO DUO ALBUM: SCHUBERT FANTASIA, VARIATIONS AND TROUT QUINTET: 30 SEPTEMBER 2022

21/7/2022

Released on 30 September. Click above to pre-order on iTunes or stream on Apple Music.

Ulysses Arts releases a new album of piano duet music by Schubert, played by the Spina - Benignetti Duo - Eleonora Spina and Michele Benignetti - on 30 September 2022 (UA220030). The album includes The Trout Quintet in Hugo Ulrich's version, Fantasia in F Minor, D.940, and Eight Variations in A-flat, D.813. The Fantasia is pre-released as an EP on 26 August 2022.

Laureates of numerous international music competition, the Duo performs regularly throughout worldwide. Highlights include recitals for live shows ‘Génération Jeunes Interprètes’ and ‘Génération France Musique - le Live’ at the Auditorium of the Maison de la Radio in Paris, broadcasts for France Musique national radio, recitals for the ‘Jeunes Talents’ concert series in Paris and at the Osaka Izumi Hall in Japan, a South African tour including the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival, and their Mexico debut at the CENART Blas Galindo Auditorium in Mexico City and at Teatro de la Ciudad in Celaya. Their last tour in South Africa saw them playing to full venues in Johannesburg, Grahamstown, Hermanus, Potchefstroom, Pretoria, and several other cities. To quote the Potchefstroom Herald, 'their two pianos recital will be long-remembered'.

In 2019, Eleonora and Michele performed in Australia, with recitals in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Bateman’s Bay. In New Zealand, they performed at the Turner Center Kerikeri, Globe Theater Palmerston North, Wanganui Royal Opera House, and in Wellington, in China at the Guangzhou Opera House, Tianjin Grand Theatre, Shandong Grand Theatre, Nankai University, La Plantation Beijing, and Dalian Grand Theatere.

Eleonora and Michele are both professors at the Cité de la Musique et de la Danse in Soissons, France. The are regular invitees to give masterclasses in Italy, China, at the Colombes Summer International Academy in Paris, at the Summer Music Academy of Flaine (France), at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music in Melbourne and at Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

The Spina - Benignetti Piano Duo are Official Yamaha Artists and have been sponsored by them since 2017.

Fantasia in F minor on Spotify's
Classical New Releases playlist.

NIMBUS RELEASES RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 2 FOR TWO PIANOS WITH SIMON CALLAGHAN AND HIROAKI TAKENOUCHI ON 4 NOVEMBER 2022

8/7/2022

4 November 2022
NI8110                      Rachmaninoff Symphony No.2 Op. 27 for Two Pianos
                                    Simon Callaghan and Hiroaki Takenouchi, pianos

'There is a tradition of composers arranging their own music for two pianos (Rachmaninoff did a lot), however he seems not to have arranged this particular Symphony Op.27 for two pianos! As it’s such great music, we decided to do it ourselves.' Hiro Takenouchi and Simon Callaghan

Nimbus Publishing

Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 Op. 27 for Two Pianos 2 x Scores
                             Third Movement from Symphony No. 2 Op. 27 for Two Pianos 2 x Scores

Read Robert Hugill's review of Simon Callaghan and Hiroaki Takenouchi's live performance of Rachmaninov Symphony No .2 at St John's Smith Square, London

Click here to download Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 for Two Pianos from iTunes,
or stream from Apple Music

NIMBUS RELEASES BRAHMS PIANO VARIATIONS DOUBLE ALBUM BY VLADIMIR FELTSMAN - 2023

31/5/2022

Vladimir Feltsman

Vladimir Feltsman, born in 1952, is a Russian-American pianist of Lithuanian Jewish descent, noted for his devotion to the music of J.S. Bach. His father, composer Oscar Feltsman, was known in the Soviet Union for popular songs and musical comedies. Feltsman first performed with the Moscow Philharmonic aged eleven and studied at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky and the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Conservatories. In 1971, he won the Grand Prix at the Marguerite Long International Piano Competition in Paris, followed by tours in the former Soviet Union, Europe and Japan.

In 1979, out of growing discontent with Soviet dictatorship and rigid governmental control of the arts, Feltsman applied for an exit visa from the USSR. He was banned from performing in public immediately. It was only after eight years of struggle and artistic exile that he was granted permission to leave. Arriving in the United States in August 1987, Feltsman was greeted warmly at the White House: one month later, he performed his first concert in North America for President Ronald Reagan. On 11 November 1987, Feltsman's Carnegie Hall début established him as a major pianist in America. During his early years in the West, he was promoted as a Russian Romantic firebrand, yet his début recital consisted of works by Schubert, Schumann and Messiaen. By the mid-1990s, he devoted himself to Bach, offering expressively shaped and thoughtfully ornamented performances on modern piano. Then he returned to the standard repertory, including Haydn, Beethoven, Mussorgsky, in the big-toned, blockbuster-style that many had anticipated when he first arrived in the USA. He is a master of reinventing himself.

'Quite simply an amazing pianist!' The New York Times

'One of the supreme Bach keyboard exponents of our time!' Chicago Tribune

More recording details, download and streaming links will be posted here prior to release.
EPK and private pre-release listening links will be available for press use.

VLADIMIR FELTSMAN ON APPLE MUSIC

FOLLOW VLADIMIR FELTSMAN ON SPOTIFY

Lyrita releases first recordings of Rebecca Clarke's and William Busch's Complete Piano Music - 7 October 2022

20/5/2022

Lyrita releases first recordings of the complete piano music of Rebecca Clarke and William Busch in autumn 2022, performed by Simon Callaghan , on 7 October 2022.

Rebecca Clarke
Theme and Variations for Piano
'He Hath Filled the Hungry'
Cortège (for William Busch)

William Busch
Allegretto quasi Pastorale
Gigue
Theme, Variations and Fugue
Intermezzo
'Nicholas' Variations

Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) and William Busch (1901-1945) were unlikely friends with Busch often visiting Clarke’s house. Busch first mentions Rebecca Clarke in his diaries on 26 October 1927: “Went to a Gordon Byron concert – Brosa, Rebecca Clarke and John Slater, violin, viola and flute respectively – and heard new and old works – nothing particular. Then to CMC at the Court House. The Brosa Quartet played the String Quartets by Bax, Honegger and Hindemith.” There are 22 more references to Clarke until 1937. Busch performed Clarke’s music in August 1932, when he wrote “Broadcast from London Regional – I read Rebecca Clarke’s piece from the Manuscript.” They certainly talked a lot about music, and Busch played through her piano pieces as she composed them. On 30 August 1932 – William gave the first performance of Clarke’s Cortege, then his own ‘Gigue’.

Alongside the album, Nimbus Music Publishing is releasing print editions of all three Rebecca Clarke piano works, and her Rhapsody for 'Cello and Piano (NMP1079), described by John York as 'possibly the greatest work for cello written in the 20th century'.

Rebecca Franks, BBC Music Magazine

Rebecca Clarke

William Busch

Pre-order and streaming links will be posted here. EPK and Soundcloud links available for press use.

Simon Callaghan (c. Kaupo Kikkas)

Lyrita releases Daniel Jones Rediscovered Piano Works album on 1 July 2022

20/5/2022

Throughout his life, Welsh composer Daniel Jones (1912-93) claimed never to have written any solo piano music. Following extensive research at the National Archive, pianist Martin Jones and Nimbus / Lyrita's Music Director Adrian Farmer discovered hundreds of piano compositions spanning Daniel Jones’ entire life.

During the Second World War, Daniel Jones served as a captain in the Intelligence Corps (1940–46): his linguistic skills were required at Bletchley Park as a cryptographer and a decoder of Russian, Romanian and Japanese texts. After the War, Jones won increasing recognition as an innovative composer and enjoyed long friendships with artists including Vernon Watkins, Ceri Richards, Grace Williams and most closely, his lifelong school-friend Dylan Thomas. As well as composing song-settings for Thomas's Under Milk Wood and dedicating his Fourth Symphony to Thomas's memory in 1954, Jones edited collections of Thomas's poetry and prose, and in 1977 published the memoir, My Friend Dylan Thomas. Between 1945 and 1985 he composed his cycle of twelve symphonies, each centred on a different semi-tone of the chromatic scale.

Click image to enlarge

The four-album SRCD.2396 is accompanied by SRCD.410, a one-album compilation available as a mid-price CD, which introduces the scale and breadth this previously unknown music.

Alongside the album release, Nimbus Music Publishing is issuing three Piano Music of Daniel Jones volumes, all from signed, previously unpublished manuscripts.

Stuart Millson, 'Overlooked Orpheans', The Brazen Head, 23 Dec 2022

Martin Jones

Electronic press kit and private Soundcloud listening link avaialble for press use.

Click below to download

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LYRITA RELEASES ALVARS, DUSSEK AND BOCHSA FOUR-HAND PIANO ALBUM WITH SIMON CALLAGHAN AND CLÍODNA SHANAHAN - 3 JUNE 2022

25/4/2022

On 3 June 2022 Lyrita Records will release a new album of four-hand piano music of Elias Parish Alvars (1808-49), hailed by Berlioz as 'the Liszt of the Harp', alongside works by Jan Dussek and Nicholas-Charles Bochsa. Alvars made his reputation as a harpist, but he was also a virtuoso pianist - the legacy celebrated in this recording by Simon Callaghan and Clíodna Shanahan (SRCD.411).

Click above to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

Simon Callaghan

Clíodna Shanahan

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Accompanying the album, Nimbus Publishing is issuing Elias Parish Alvars Overture to the Opera The Legend of Teignmouth, Op. 47 For Piano Duet (NMP1142) and Grand Duo Concertante, Op.65 on motifs from Donizetti’s ‘Linda di Chamounix’ for Two Pianos or Piano & Harp (NMP1143).

THOMAS DE HARTMANN NEW ALBUM FROM NIMBUS RECORDS ON 3 JUNE 2022 - LVIV NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, ELAN SICROFF AND TIAN HUI NG

18/4/2022

On 3 June 2022, Nimbus Records releases a new album of Thomas de Hartmann's orchestral music: Symphonie-Poème No. 3, Piano Concerto and Scherzo fantastique, performed by the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine and pianist Elan Sicroff, conducted by Tian Hui Ng (NI.6429).

Elan Sicroff has been the world's leading performer-advocate of Hartmann's music for almost fourty years. A pupil of Hartmann's widow, Olga, in the late 1970s, Sicroff has recorded many of his works, including the seven-volume Thomas de Hartmann Project, which he initiated in 2006. This now includes a large amout of Hartmann's orchestral, chamber and piano works, and songs.

Click above to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

The Thomas de Hartmann project - Nimbus Records and Elan Sicroff
Gramophone Magazine, April 2021

Remy Franck, Pizzicato Magazine, 31 May 2022 Maureen Buja, Interlude HK, 26 June 2022

'An album recorded by inspired musicians for enthusiastic and adventurous listeners who are looking for depth in music... Beautifully performed, you really have a jewel of a CD in your hands.' Mattie Poels, Music Frames

Phillip Scott, Limelight: 25 August 2022

Stuart Millson, The Quarterly Review, August 2022

Download now:
iTunes
Qobuz
Amazon Music

LYRITA RELEASES BRITISH PIANO CONCERTOS - FIRST RECORDINGS OF ADDISON, ARTHUR BENJAMIN, MACONCHY, SEARLE, RUBBRA, GEOFFREY BUSH - ON 1 APRIL 2022, with Simon Callaghan, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martyn Brabbins

24/3/2022

Lyrita Records releases British Piano Concertos - music by John Addison, Arthur Benjamin, Elizabeth Maconchy, Humphrey Searle, Edmund Rubbra and Geoffrey Bush composed between 1927 and 1959, performed by soloist Simon Callaghan and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Martyn Brabbins, on 1 April 2022 (SRCD.407).

Download with booklet on iTunes: click above

ALBUM DETAILS

John Addison, Wellington Suite: for two horns, piano, timpani, percussion and strings
Tim Thorpe and Meilyr Hughes, horns
Arthur Benjamin, Concertino for Piano and Orchestra
Elizabeth Maconchy, Concertino No. 2 for Piano and Strings
Humphrey Searle, Concertante for Piano, Percussion and Strings, Op. 24
Edmund Rubbra, Nature's Song: Tone Poem for Orchestra, Organ and Piano
Geoffrey Bush, A Little Concerto on Themes of Thomas Arne

Small concertos for piano and chamber orchestra were a feature of British composition in the first half of the 20th century. Often written for a special occasion, many such works dissapeared into oblivion thereafter: Lyrita's new British Piano Concertos album, whose music was researched by piano soloist Simon Callaghan, seeks to re-establish these exciting and vibrant works into the repertoire.

In searching for enticing music to record with reduced orchestral forces during COVID-19 Pandemic restrictions, SimonCallaghan was thrilled to uncover this treasury of music: short concertos written for entertainment, but of a quality deserving their revival, and which will bring joy and intrigue to listeners.

The music includes the innocent pastiche of Geoffrey Bush’s tribute to Thomas Arne, Rubbra’s student essay, the ‘Blues’ of Arthur Benjamin, the serial language of Humphrey Searle, intense drama from Elizabeth Maconchy, and the bold humour of film composer John Addison.

Except for Benjamin's Concertino, recorded once only, in 1959, this is the first recording for all the works on this album.

Download in HD sound on QOBUZ

Review of British Piano Concertos - Nick Boston, Classical Notes - Gscene Magazine, March 2022

EPK and private Soundcloud links are available for press use.

'Simon Callaghan has done us proud in his promotion of this music. Martyn Brabbins and the Welsh orchestra, no strangers to British music of this period, play with style and sensitivity. For any lover of twentieth-century British music, this disc is a must-buy.'
Gary Higginson, MusicWeb International

'An amazing disc, six works which have managed to fall under the radar,
here revived in stylish and brilliant fashion.'
Planet Hugill

NIKITA LUKINOV DEBUT RECORDING RELEASE - DEBUSSY LA CATHÉDRALE ENGLOUTIE ON FRIDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2021

20/9/2021

Russian-born pianist Nikita Lukinov releases Debussy's La Cathédrale engloutie (Préludes Book One), his debut recording, with Ulysses Arts on 24 September 2021. Nikita comments about his recording:

'I have chosen for my debut recording Debussy's impressionistic canvas of a monumental underwater cathedral, revealing a magical story about how it rises above the water and sinks back into a mysterious underwater world with dignity. The amazing Fazioli piano helped me to evoke the stone coldness of the music's imagination and sound palette.'

Download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

Download in high definition sound from Qobuz

CLARA RODRIGUEZ CHOPIN ALBUM RELEASING ON 18 JUNE 2021

12/5/2021

Click above to download on iTunes with digital booklet in English and Spanish, or stream on Apple Music

'The thought has always amazed me: my teacher's teacher was a pupil of a Chopin pupil! George Mathias - Chopin's student - taught Isidor Phillip, who in turn was Phyllis Sellick's teacher in Paris. My connection with Chopin's music is deep: his unique emotional span and his exceptional way of writing for the piano is unavoidable for us pianists. I could live my life playing and teaching his music: in reality, that is what I have done up to now - with the exception of the rest of the repertoire that you can listen to on my other recordings or concerts, of course.

The works I have had the privilege of recording for this Ulysses Arts Chopin album include the Piano Sonata Op. 58 No. 3 in B Minor of 1844, composed during a period that was particularly dramatic in Chopin's life. It included the death of his friend Jan Matusysnsky of tuberculosis, tension in his relationship and eventual separation from George Sand, and the moral and physical decline of his own health.

The pieces on this album represent great challenges in the pianist’s repertoire: all of them are great intellectual and emotional journeys, and the result of a long process of distillation. I would like to thank the unconditional support given to me by Nelly and Bertrand Soux from Caracas, to fulfi l the dream of any pianist respect the performance and recording of these masterpieces by Frederic Chopin.'

CLICK TO FOLLOW CLARA RODRIGUEZ ON SPOTIFY

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WITH ENGLISH/SPANISH DIGITAL BOOKLET

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The playing of Venezuelan pianist Clara Rodriguez stands out for the sheer beauty of her tone
production, high expressiveness and considerable digital clarity combined with stylistic acumen.
She has built an enviable international reputation for her innovative programme planning, juxtaposing standard repertoire with works by South American composers and has premièred over thirty works. At sixteen she took part in a competition judged by Michael Gough Matthews and Barbara Boissard, directors of The Royal College of Music: she was awarded the Teresa Carreño Scholarship which enabled her to study there with Phyllis Sellick, graduating from the Performers’ Course and Postgraduate course. The recipient of many prizes and awards such as the Scarlatti Prize, Mozart Prize and Percy Buck Award, she was also a finalist in the Chappell Prize. With the Royal College of Music orchestras and the Repertoire Philharmonic Orchestra she performed concertos by Mozart, de Falla, Ravel and Gershwin.

In Caracas, at seventeen, she made her debut playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto K.595 with the Simón Bolívar Orchestra conducted by José Antonio Abreu. Pianist Guiomar Narváez (Venezuela) was Clara Rodriguez’s first piano teacher in Caracas. She has also received tuition from Paul Badura-Skoda (Austria), Niel Immelman (U.K.), Irina Zaritskaya (Russia) and Regina Smendzianka (Poland).

Clara Rodriguez’s career as a solo pianist has taken her to perform in Belgium, Denmark, Egypt,
Finland, France, India, Italy, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, the USA, and Venezuela. In London, she is a
popular performer who regularly plays in recitals and as soloist with orchestra, including at the
Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. James’s Piccadilly,
St John’s Smith Square, Leighton House and Bolívar Hall.

In Venezuela she regularly plays concertos with the Simón Bolivar Orchestra, the Filarmónica
Nacional and the Orquesta Municipal de Caracas. As an invitee for the Grandes Virtuosos del
Piano, she played Reynaldo Hahn’s Piano Concerto; other participants included Paul Badura-
Skoda and Chick Corea. Clara Rodriguez has played concerts with British clarinettist Michael Collins, The Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment and with Stephen Bryant, concertmaster of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Clara Rodriguez is often interviewed by the BBC; her recordings feature regularly on BBC radio
and networks worldwide. She has founded and directed three music festivals; has devised words and music programmes and is also a piano music editor. As a teacher she is a professor at the junior department of The Royal College of Music.

As an artist in The Dominic Seligman Agency, Clara Rodriguez has played a series of recitals at
Arundells, home of former British Prime Minister, Sir Edward Heath. In 2015 Clara Rodriguez was awarded the “Classical Music Act” LUKAS Prize. She has been made an honorary member of the Chelsea Arts Club and named “Woman of the Year” by the main newspapers and magazines of Venezuela. Clara Rodriguez’s catalogue of six recording with Nimbus Alliance Records include the Piano Music of Teresa Carreño, Ernesto Lecuona, Moisés Moleiro, Federico Ruiz plus the albums
‘Venezuela’ and ‘Americas Without Frontiers’. Many composers have written music especially for
her, including Federico Ruiz’s Piano Concerto No.2, which she has played in Caracas and London.

'El período en que fueron compuestas las obras de éste CD fue dramático en la vida de Chopin; la pérdida de su amigo Jan Matusysnky por tuberculosis, la tensión y eventual ruptura de su relación con George Sand así como el declive moral que su propia enfermedad le proporcionaba.

Hoy se consideran éstas obras como la cima del repertorio pianístico y aunque Chopin exploró a lo largo de su vida las posibilidades técnicas y expresivas del piano, centrando su genio creativo en ese sólo instrumento, es imposible pensar que sus otras composiciones, inclusive las tempranas, son menos importantes. Creó así un riquísimo universo de incomparable diversidad de sonidos y emociones a través de toda su creación.

¿Por qué grabar Chopin? porque sin ninguna duda, Chopin es el alma del piano y ha sabido meterse en el alma de los pianístas con sus infi nitas difi cultades pero de reultados de elevadísima factura verdaderamente artística.

Con mi mas grande agradecidecimiento a Nelly y Bertrand Soux por haberme brindado el apoyo y el estímulo para que llevase a cabo éste trabajo.'

Clara Rodríguez se ha ganado una reputación internacional envidiable por su innovadora planificación de programas de concierto en donde, yuxtapone el repertorio clásico europeo y norteamericano con obras de compositores sudamericanos. La BBC la ha descrito como “La campeona de la música venezolana en el mundo” y se le considera constantemente como Embajadora de la música de Latinoamérica. Sus interpretaciones destacan por su expresividad, sensibilidad, entusiasmo, visión y por mostrar una considerable claridad digital y perspicacia estilística.

A los dieciséis años estaba en su séptimo año de estudios de piano con la Profesora Guiomar Narváez en el Conservatorio Juan José Landaeta de Caracas cuando participó en un concurso nacional cuyo jurado estaba conformado por los directores del Royal College of Music de Londres, Michael Gough Matthews y Barbara Boissard quienes le otorgaron la “Beca Teresa Carreño” del CONAC la cual le permitió viajar a Londres para estudiar en el Royal College of Music con la pianista Phyllis Sellick graduándose del Curso de Intérpretes y un Postgrado.

Mientras estuvo en el RCM, recibió numerosos premios y reconocimientos tales como el Premio Scarlatti, el Premio Mozart y el Premio Percy Buck, como finalista en el Premio Chappell; Otras distinciones en concursos desembocaron en invitaciones a ser solista con orquestas
del Royal College Of Music en los que interpretó a Mozart, de Falla, Ravel y Gershwin. Clara Rodríguez también ha estudiado con Niel Immelman (Reino Unido) Paul Badura-Skoda (Austria) e Irina Zaritskaya (Russia).

En Caracas, a los diecisiete años debutó interpretando el Concierto para piano K595 No 27 de
Mozart con la Orquesta Simón Bolívar bajo la batuta de José Antonio Abreu; desde entonces,
la carrera de Clara Rodríguez como pianista solista la ha llevado a realizar giras por Bélgica,
Dinamarca, Egipto, Finlandia, Francia, India, Italia, España, Siria, Túnez, Estados Unidos y Venezuela.

En Londres, es una artista muy apreciada que toca con gran éxito en el Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, Saint Martin-in-the-Fields, Leighton House, Bolívar Hall, St. James’s Piccadilly St. John’s Smith Square. Clara Rodriguez toca asiduamente conciertos con la Orquesta Simón Bolívar, la Filarmónica nacional y la orquesta Municipal de Caracas.Como invitada al Festival de Grandes Pianistas de Caracas, tocó el Concierto en Mi mayor de Reynaldo Hahn; Chick Corea y Paul Badura-Skoda también participaron en dicho festival.

Clara Rodríguez se ha presentado junto a la Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment y el
clarinetista Michael Collins, quien también la ha dirigido en Conciertos de Mozart. Clara Rodríguez
ha también tocado conciertos junto a el violinista Stephen Bryant, primer violín de la Orquesta
de la BBC. Clara Rodríguez ha tocado una serie de diez recitales en la casa del ex-primer ministro
británico, Sir Edward Heath, en Salisbury. Ha sido galardonada con el premio LUKAS del Reino
Unido como “Artista Clásico del año” en el 2015. También ha sido nombrada miembro honorario del Chelsea Arts Club de Londres.

La obra de Clara Rodríguez con relación a la música venezolana se extiende al estreno internacional de un número considerable de composiciones de contemporáneos, incluyendo el Segundo Concierto para Piano y Orquesta de Federico Ruiz -dedicado a Clara- así como la grabación de cientos de piezas en CDs así como su publicación y edición en varias casas importantes del Reino Unido.

Sus grabaciones comerciales en sellos como ASV, Meridian y Universal han recibido un gran
reconocimiento de la crítica y son escuchados en las estaciones de radio que van de la BBC, toda
Europa y América. Actualmente trabaja con Nimbus Records en cuyo catálogo se encuentran seis
de sus álbumes cuyos títulos comprenden la música para piano de Teresa Carreño, Ernesto Lecuona, Moisés Moleiro, Federico Ruiz, el álbum “Venezuela” que contiene una colección de danzas de 18 compositores y su más reciente CD “Americas Without Frontiers” el cual presenta música de países como Haití, Cuba, Colombia, Estados Unidos, Venezuela, Argentina y Brasil. Otros CDs grandemente apreciados por el público y la crítica incluyen “El Cuarteto con Clara Rodríguez” y “Chopin, late Works”. Clara Rodríguez es profesora del Departamento Juvenil del Royal College of Music.

Album Details:

Piano Sonata Op. 58 No. 3
Mazurka Op. 63 No. 2
Barcarolle Op. 60
Nocturne Op. 62 No. 1
Mazurka Op. 24 No. 4
Ballade Op. 52 No. 4
Polonaise-Fantaisie Op. 61

Producer: Simon Weir; Engineer: Morgan Roberts
Digital release artwork and booklet design: Hannah Whale - Fruition Creative Concepts

ALEXANDER TCHOBANOV RELEASES PIANO MUSIC BY SCRIABIN AND RACHMANINOV ON 16 APRIL AND 21 MAY 2021

15/4/2021

Click above to download or pre-order on iTunes

Ulysses Arts releases recordings by Bulgarian pianist Alexander Tchobanov on 16 April (Scriabin Études) and 21 May (Rachmaninov, Sonata No. 2 - third movement).

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'Tchobanov's colors and voicing were superb, creating that ineffable aura of Russian sadness we love so much. There is a major virtuoso there'.

The New York Concert Review
Carnegie Weill Recital Hall solo debut recital

Alexander Tchobanov performs as a concert pianist, chamber musician, and music pedagogue. Originally from Plovdiv in Bulgaria, he was a top prize winner and finalist in the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, The American Prize, Sixth Odin International Competition, Kings Peak International Competition and Los Angeles Spotlight Competition.

Alexander's concerts have been broadcast live on radio stations across the United States including WGBH Boston, NPR, and WXEL South Florida. He has also made numerous recordings for Bulgarian National TV and Radio.

Concert venues include New York's Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Steinway Hall, WMP Hall, Paul Hall at the Julliard School, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Los Angeles, Jordan Hall Boston, Harriet Himmel Theatre (West Palm Beach), Kaisersaal and Auesperg Palace (Vienna), Schloss Halbturn Palace, Balabanov House in Bulgaria, Madinat Theatre Dubai and Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. He has received critical acclaim in newspapers including the Yakima Herald, Palm Beach Post, Trud, Gulf News and Al-Bayan.

Alexander Tchobanov completed his Masters Degree at Rutgers University, where he was awarded an assistantship with Susan Starr. In addition, he won a Fellowship at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, studying with Jerome Lowenthal (Juilliard School). He was also a guest artist at the CME Vienna Concerto Fest, Steinway Piano Festival and North American Contemporary Music Festival. Alexander was a recipient of scholarships by the Leni FeBland Foundation in California. Alexander's mentors include Lars Vogt, Robert Levin, Midori, André de Groote, Min Kwon, John Perry and members of the Takacs Quartet. He has earned full-scholarships from the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University, where he trained with Roberta Rust, and the Idyllwild Arts Academy.

He has taught at Rutgers University, Lynn University, and Brighton College. In 2012, he joined the faculty of Seasons Music Festival Academy (Yakima, USA), giving masterclasses, solo concerts and chamber music collaborations. Currently, Alexander is Head of Keyboard Studies at The British School-Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi, where his students have been finalists and winners of numerous national and international competitions.

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Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No. 2, 3rd movement on Apple Music's New in Classical playlist