The UA Blog - Press Centre - Ulysses Arts

VALENTINA CIARDELLI LAUNCHES SOLO DOUBLE BASS RECORDINGS ON ULYSSES ARTS: BEETHOVEN PATHÉTIQUE SONATA ANDANTE CANTABILE, 16 DEC 2020; QUESTI CAZZI DI BICORDO: 28 JAN 2021; PUCCINI VISSI D'ARTE: 19 MAR; MASCAGNI, CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA INTERMEZZO: 2 APR

18/11/2020

Ulysses Arts launches double bass player Valentina Ciardelli's recording of the Andante Cantabile from Beethoven's Pathétique Sonata in celebration of the great composer's birthday on 16 December 2020. This is the first of a series of singles Ulysses Arts is releasing, recording during the Pandemic, including Valentina's arrangements and her own original compositions, with Questi cazzi di bicordo - a vituoso double-stopping extravaganza for double bass - released on 28 January 2021, Vissi d'arte from Puccini's Tosca on 19 March and the Intermezzo from Mascagni's Cavalleria rustivana on 2 April.

Coming soon: Igor, Valentina's tribute to Stravinsky, on 11 June, and A Bunch of ... on 2 July.

Click above to download on iTunes

Releasing on 11 June: click above to pre-order in high definition sound from Qobuz

Releasing on 2 July: click above to pre-order in high definition sound from Qobuz

Questi cazzi di bicordo on Apple Music's Contemporay Classical playlist

Vissi d'arte on Apple Music's New in Classical playlist

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

OTHER STREAMING LINKS

BEETHOVEN
ANDANTE CANTABILE

DEEZER

YOUTUBE

QOBUZ

AMAZON MUSIC

CIARDELLI
QUESTI CAZZI DI BICORDO

DEEZER

YOUTUBE

QOBUZ

AMAZON MUSIC

PUCCINI
VISSI D'ARTE

QOBUZ

APPLE MUSIC

DEEZER

YOUTUBE

AMAZON MUSIC

MASCAGNI CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA INTERMEZZO

DEEZER

YOUTUBE

QOBUZ

AMAZON MUSIC

https://www.valentinaciardelli.com

ANNEKE SCOTT AND BENEDICT PREECE: J.S. BACH CHORALE PRELUDES FOR CORNO DA TIRARSI AND ORGAN RELEASING ON 11 DECEMBER 2020

18/11/2020

Click above to download on iTunes

Ulysses Arts is delighted to release a new recording of J.S.Bach's music re-imagined for corno da tirarsi and organ performed by Anneke Scott (corno da tirarsi) and Benedict Preece (organ).

The 2020 Pandemic saw Anneke Scott work her way through all of Bach’s chorales on her corno da tirarsi as part of a project she entitled “Corno Not Corona”. Out of this was sparked the idea of a collaboration with organist Benedict Preece in which the pair would re-configure a number of Bach Chorale Preludes incorporating the corno da tirarsi on the chorale melodies.

The recording is a testament to the many ways in which musicians have had to be resourceful and resilient in this most testing of years for the arts. The two musicians recorded their contributions in isolation, with Benedict performing the organ part using Hauptwerk, a state-of-the-art virtual instrument. Hauptwerk contains high quality samples of some of the finest organs in the world and each stop is relayed through the software to enable organists to play the chosen organ from any location. For this recording Benedict selected the Muller organ of St. Bavo Church, Haarlem.

Matching a “virtual” instrument is Anneke’s “hypothetical” corno da tirarsi (made by Egger in Switzerland). The corno da tirarsi has been a conundrum for many years. Bach wrote for the instrument but no instrument appears to survive. Normally Bach writes for the corno da tirarsi doubling soprano chorale melodies in his cantata, hence it feeling like an appropriate instrument to incorporate in his chorale preludes.

TRACK LISTING

Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein, BWV 734
“Jesus bleibet meine Freude" (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring) from Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben BWV 147
Wo soll ich fliehen hin, BWV 646
Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn, BWV Anh.55
Wir Christenleut hab'n jetzund Freud, BWV 710
Fantasia super “Christ lag in Todes Banden”, BWV 695
Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, BWV 648
‘ Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645
Fantasia super 'Valet will ich dir geben', BWV 735

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ON ITUNES

OTHER STREAMING LINKS

APPLE MUSIC

DEEZER

YOUTUBE

QOBUZ

AMAZON MUSIC

Featured on Spotify Classical New Releases and Apple Music Bach and the Baroque playlists

https://www.annekescott.com/bach-chorale-preludes

Total playing time 27 minutes; UPC 5054526239067

LOUTH CONTEMPORARY MUSIC SOCIETY LAUNCHES '...OUT OF SILENCE' WITH MEADOW, BY LINDA CATLIN SMITH, RELEASED ON 11 DECEMBER 2020

31/10/2020

Click above to stream on Spotify

…out of silence

Louth Contemporary Music Society proudly announces a bold initiative for these uncertain times: a series of recordings put together under the exceptional conditions of the pandemic, …out of silence lets listeners eavesdrop on music-making of extraordinary care and intimacy.

The recordings feature world-renowned composers attuned to the intricacies of silence as much as sound. Performances are by musicians of equal sensitivity and expertise.

The first ...out of silence release is Meadow, by Linda Catlin Smith, born in New York but long resident in Canada. Perhaps her music required a move away, a quieter environment, a different pace, another view.

It is not city music. Rather, in its tuning and atmosphere, it suggests natural landscapes.

“A meadow”, the composer has said, “is a simple place, with elements that are there quite naturally; it’s not a spectacular garden, but if you look closely there are many different types of plants and tiny flowers. It is a place of infinite variation.”

This is how the music goes, weaving a meadow, weaving through a meadow, in stray fragments of tune that will be repeated until they dissolve or give way to something else, through chord sequences that move slowly but inexorably.

Listeners are drawn into this gentle but alert music by three outstanding Irish string players: Mia Cooper, violin, Joachim Roewer, viola and Bill Butt, 'cello.

There is no hurry, no need to hurry. To quote Linda Catlin Smith again, “I like to sit with things for a while, to dwell in the material, to have a chance to listen.” This is the experience she provides in Meadow.

On the cover of the album is a striking image by the Irish artist Alice Maher.

Release date: 11 December 2020 (5 February 2021: North America)

Future releases will present music by Valentin Silvestrov and Raymond Deane on 5 March 2021, and Swiss master of unexpected simplicity Jürg Frey, with whom Louth Contemporary Music Society has over several years developed a close relationship.

...out of silence is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland and supported financially by Create Louth.

Notable Performances and Recordings of 2020, Alex Ross, The New Yorker

'Smith draws an exquisite range of colours from her three musicians, from dense chords to deliciously airy textures, soft violin harmonics soaring over the top. ... Magical stuff.'
Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk

'A captivating meditation upon being outside, whatever your ‘outside’ is.'
Richard Hanlon, MusicWeb International

'Deeply meditative', Michael Dervan,The Irish Times

'A timely gift of easeful beauty', Steve Smith, Night after Night - For The Record

'Performed with passionate grace ... a lost melancholy stillness, the imperfect yet uncorrupted order of an idealized bucolic scenery.' Esoteros

'An atmosphere of melody and polyphony without constraint, but also of contemplation and extraordinary warmth.' Tim Rutherford Johnson, The Rambler

'Music which wants the listener to become absorbed, to notice the small details and the telling way that things change ... a meadow that you can feel as well as hear. 'Planet Hugill

Meet The Artist: Interview with Linda Catlin Smith

BBC RADIO 3 RECORD REVIEW - at 1'54"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000qy2z

Featured on Spotify New Classical Releases playlist

OTHER STREAMING LINKS

Apple Music

Qobuz

Deezer

Linda Catlin Smith page:

FOLLOW LINDA CATLIN SMITH

SPOTIFY

DEEZER

BÜYÜKADA ENSEMBLE İSTANBUL CONCERT: WARLOCK - DEBUSSY - SAYGUN - SCHOENBERG: SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2020

9/9/2020

LIVE BROADCAST ON YOUTUBE
https://youtu.be/mWMkZRSVvko

After last year's sold-out Büyükada Ensemble concert for Istanbul Biennial, its musicians, from the Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra / Türkiye Gençlik Filarmoni Orkestrası, London's Royal College of Music and Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, returned to perform a live-streamed concert from San Pacifico Church, Büyükada, Istanbul, conducted by James Ross, and recorded for broadcast by TRT3:

Warlock, Capriol Suite
Debussy, Danse sacrée et danse profane
(Yonca Atar, harp)
Saygun, Allegretto: Partita for Solo 'Cello
(Lale Efendiev 'cello)
Schoenberg, Verklärte Nacht

LIVE STREAMING LINK:
https://youtu.be/mWMkZRSVvko

The concert took place during European Mobility Week, and is supported by Delegation of the European Union in Turkey, Adalar Belediyesii and İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi, in partnership with Ulysses Arts.

The performance lasted 75 minutes including pre-recorded messages from the EU Ambassador to Turkey and Adalar Municipality Mayor, and was watched one more than 20,000 separate devices worldwide. The performances are being released digitally by Ulysses Arts, starting with Warlock Capriol Suite on 18 December 2020 and Debussy, Danse sacrée et danse profane on 12 March 2021, on all main streaming services.

Download Warlock Capriol Suite on iTunes

Releasing on 12 March 2021. Click above to pre-order on iTunes, with digital booklet in English and Turkish

Stream Warlock Capriol Suite and Debussy, Danse sacrée et danse profane on Spotify

Claraliz Mora sings 'Je dis' from Bizet's Carmen - live from Xalapa, Mexico

20/8/2020

Mexican soprano Claraliz Mora's performance of Bizet's aria 'Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante' from Act Three of Carmen is released digitally by Ulysses Arts on 14 August 2020.

This live recording comes from a staged performance with the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lanfranco Marcelletti, in November 2019.

Claraliz Mora describes her experience performing Micaela:

'Performing the role of Micaela, debuting it, was a team experience. It was thanks to the effort and hard work of many, many, people, that this wonderful opera Carmen could be made and performed. Especially thanks to Armando Mora, the leader of this project, the University of Xalapa, and conductor Lanfranco Marcelletti, that this beautiful creative project was accomplished. For me, it was just AN HONOUR to be part of this team. As an artist, when you get to do what you love, it's not work - it's a connection to something higher than yourself, and you cannot help but be grateful.

This aria is about a young woman who goes to a dangerous place to seek out and "save" the person she loves. Love is what drives her - what drives her past her fears - past her fear even of death. And this is exactly what art teaches us in this moment that we are living: it can be a fearful time, not knowing what to expect, what will happen, BUT you never should lose faith, and never should lose hope. Love is always there. It is a beacon.'

Release Details

Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa conducted by Lanfranco Marcelletti Jr.
Download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music::
https://music.apple.com/album/carmen-act-3-no-22-je-dis-que-rien-ne-m%C3%A9pouvante-live/1525680774
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/6jWFEHYaWCU5Yg03UxBYIp
YouTube: https://youtu.be/wbp9qBBs0JU
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/track/1037154782
Qobuz:https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/carmen-act-3-no-22-je-dis-que-rien-ne-mepouvante-claraliz-mora/cja4kpzzr0eac
Post-production: John Croft / Chiaro Audio (http://chiaro-audio.uk)
Cover design: Christian Bubenheim
UPC: 5054526850842 / https://www.facebook.com/events/2888369068062467

Anton Rosputko releases debut recording of Chopin, Piano Sonata No. 3, on 28 August

10/8/2020

Latvian pianist and Vienna resident Anton Rosputko releases his debut recording, of Chopin, Piano Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58, on 28 August 2020.

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. Performance 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, the 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.

Release Details

Download:
iTunes: https://music.apple.com/album/chopin-piano-sonata-no-3-in-b-minor-op-58-ep/1525608771
Amazon Music: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chopin-Piano-Sonata-No-minor/dp/B08DX55S8Y

Stream:
Spotify:
http://open.spotify.com/album/4GuBmUalvuWpUreNQYvmZk

Deezer:
https://deezer.page.link/PLaZodrDaSTZbB9G6

Qobuz:
https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/chopin-piano-sonata-no-3-in-b-minor-op-58-anton-rosputko/ydx2ojolfbqta

Recording Engineer: Sascha Tekale
Apple Digital Masters Certification: John Croft
- Chiaro Audio
UPC 5054526851603

YouTube:
1st movement - https://youtu.be/T0JOWEXxq4c
2nd movement - https://youtu.be/yMAA93OrKds
3rd movement - https://youtu.be/UYoZY9_-gY0
4th movement - https://youtu.be/b2xUK-0Hc1c

Featured on Spotify's Classical New Releases playlist

Thomas Kelly Debut Releases - Liszt, Chopin and Schumann on Ulysses Arts

31/7/2020

Ulysses Arts is delighted to release pianist Thomas Kelly's debut recordings, starting with Liszt, Rhapsodie espagnole, on 21 August 2020. Chopin Nocturne in D-flat Op. 27 No. 2 follows on 4 September, and Schumann's Toccata Op. 7 on 25 September.

James Ross, director of Ulysses Arts, comments:

'It is a great pleasure to be launching Thomas Kelly's debut recording with Ulysses Arts on Friday 21 August, of Liszt's Rhapsodie espagnole. I first met Thomas when judging the The Purcell School's Senior Concerto Competition a few years back. He played Brahms' Second Piano Concerto. Beforehand I was sceptical about the likelihood of a 17-year old pianist being ready musically to interpret this work, however technically impressive or promising they were. I was wrong: Thomas' performance was utterly convincing and he won the first prize amongst a field of excellent finalists crowded with talent.

Since then I have had the pleasure of performing Rachmaninov PIano Concerto No. 1 with Thomas, and of hearing him continue to develop as a musician - it is therefore hugely exciting now to be releasing his work.'

Thomas is currently studying at the Royal College of Music in London with Andrew Ball. His three single releases will be followed by a full album in 2021, including music by Sibelius, Prokofiev, Reubke and Tippett.

Release Information:
Liszt, Rhapsodie espagnole
https://www.facebook.com/events/945394305932960
https://music.apple.com/album/rhapsodie-espagnole-s-254-ep/1525770489
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/7pDQ4wb98i1lx8EwXKkDNr
YouTube: https://youtu.be/KAcESj3VjcQ
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/album/164225212
Qobuz: https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/rhapsodie-espagnole-s-254-thomas-kelly/lqra86btae4cc
UPC 5054526852310

Chopin, Nocturne in D-flat Op. 27 No. 2
Apple Music and iTunes: https://music.apple.com/album/nocturnes-op-27-ii-lento-sostenuto-in-d-flat-major-single/1525771498
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1oidvTusUJTkVoz9Q3Pg9M
Deezer: https://deezer.page.link/JvqjX4bTefmFFWNE6
YouTube: https://youtu.be/O22MWZlMFRE
Qobuz: https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/nocturnes-op-27-ii-lento-sostenuto-in-d-flat-major-thomas-kelly/inren9m2aifgb
UPC 5054526852679

Schumann, Toccata Op. 27
Apple Music and iTunes: https://music.apple.com/album/toccata-op-7-single/1525771268
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/7dUsPPgXmrDGMMZVcZV4HG
Deezer: https://deezer.page.link/M6Dg17iyvUPB3t9S8
YouTube: https://youtu.be/6v5ARQFyxr4
Qobuz: https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/toccata-op-7-thomas-kelly/b60joy8dbdhza
UPC 5054526852686

SIGFRID'S UNBEATEN TRACKS - DISCOVERING THE WORLD OF KARG-ELERT, PERFORMED BY GRAHAM BARBER - DIGITAL ALBUM LAUNCH ON 7 AUGUST 2020

9/7/2020

Ulysses Arts, in partnership with Fugue State Films, launches the digital version of Sigfrid's Unbeaten Tracks - music for Kunstharmonium by Karg-Elert, played on the Link-Gaida Organ of the Paulskirche, Ulm, by Graham Barber - on Friday 7 August.

From 33 Portraits, Op.101
Quasi Concertino per Clarinetto solo - alla Weber (No. 12)
Impromptu interrompu - alla Chopin (No. 14)
Vorspiel zu einem Drama - alla Wagner (No. 18)
Frauengunst - alla Johann Strauss (No. 20)
Duetto d’amore - alla Verdi (No. 19)
Am Hardanger Fjord - alla Grieg (No. 25)

Sonata No. 2, Op. 46
(first recording for organ)
I. Enharmonic Fantasie and Double Fugue (B-A-C-H)
II. Canzona
III. Toccata

Andrew Benson-Wilson writes: ‘This is a remarkable recording project in so many ways. This is music that ... [is] impressive and deserves being heard on a full-sized pipe organ. And Graham Barber’s transcription is well-conceived, notably in his writing for the pedal line, missing entirely in the harmonium version. His amendments to the musical text are appropriate, and the performance is masterly, notably in his choice of registrations.’

Musicweb International acclaimed Graham Barker's release as 'all superb performances, technically stunning and gloriously fluid in their coloristic properties' (Marc Rochester).

Download Sigfrid's Unbeaten Tracks now, on iTunes and Amazon Music, with extensive digital book. Live streaming links are below and at www.facebook.com/events/227200648260128

DEEZER
https://www.deezer.com/en/album/159971092

QOBUZ
https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/sigfrids-unbeaten-tracks-harmonium-music-transcribed-and-played-on-the-link-gaida-organ-of-st-pauluskirche-ulm-graham-barber/ghsqadxpjz86a

YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k-F1fS6qun67okZpy_-G2uzR8b9C_fvT4

UPC 5054526946538
Catalogue Number FSRCD016
Tonmeister: Christian Starke
Art-work revision for digital version: Hannah Whale / Fruition Creative Concepts

DILLON JEFFARES ALBUM LAUNCHES - TARTINI'S DEVIL'S TRILL ON 3 JULY, BRAHMS VIOLIN SONATA NO. 3 ON 10 JULY; DEBUSSY, SZYMANOWSKY, FRANCK AND FALLA ON 24 JULY 2020

12/6/2020

Dillon Jeffares launches Tartini's Sonata in G Minor, The Devil's Trill, on 3 July and Brahms, Sonata No.3, with pianist Kumi Matsuo, on 10 July on Apple, Spotify and all main streaming services.

Pre-order now on iTunes: CLICK ABOVE

Pre-order now on iTunes: CLICK ABOVE

Dillon comments:

'Tartini - lawyer, dueller, musician - was a larger-than-life artist and person. This maverick genius claimed he had 'made a pact with the devil', hearing in his dreams a 'Sonata so wonderful and beautiful as I have never conceived in my boldest flights of fantasy.' I was inspired by Henryk Szeryng's playing: mesmerised by his tone, rhythmic drive and probing musical intellect, I wanted to make this great music my own. In contrast, Brahms Sonata No.3 is one of the greatest duo works for violin and piano ever written, introvered yet deeply emotional.'

The Tartini and Brahms releases are followed on 24 July 2020 by a full album including Franck, Violin Sonata, Debussy, Beau Soir and Clair de Lune, Szymanowski, Nocturne and Tarantella and de Falla, Three Pieces from Seven Spanish Popular Songs. Dillon Jeffares plays with pianists Thomas Kelly (Szymanowsky), Damir Durmanovic (Franck and Debussy), and Kumi Matsuo (Falla).

Dillon Jeffares studies at The Royal College of Music in London with Lutsia Ibragimova. Previously he attended Harrow School, then The Yehudi Menuhin School. He is a laureate of the 2018 Leonid Kogan Violin Competition in Brussels; in 2019 he was awarded the first prize in The London and Paris Grand Prize Virtuoso International Competition, receiving also the ‘Best British Musician’ Prize. In 2020 he was selected as a finalist in the Anton Rubinstein Competition in Germany. He is supported by British charity Talent Unlimited.

He has participated in Riga’s Alion Baltic Music Festival and The Holland Music Sessions, working with Dr Felix Andrievsky, Pierre Amoyal and Takashi Shimizu. He has played for Maxim Vengerov and studied in masterclasses with Alina Ibragimova, Vadim Gluzman and Isabelle van Keulen. In 2016, Dillon was the recipient of a generous award from the Humphrey Richardson Taylor Trust and in 2015 he attended the USA Summit Music Festival for master-classes and concerts with Aaron Rosand.

Dillon has performed in the United Kingdom, France, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey and Japan in venues such as the Amphitheatre of the Philharmonie de Paris, Brussels’ Royal Conservatory Concert Hall and Bozar, the Konzerthaus Berlin, London’s Wigmore Hall, Milton Court and King’s Place, the Banstead Arts Festival, Thaxted Festival, Gstaad Festival and Bergen Music Festival in The Netherlands. He is supported by UK music charity Talent Unlimited.

http://talent-unlimited.org.uk/dillon-jeffares.html

Kumi Matsuo, piano, has an international career as a solo pianist, chamber musician and accompanist. She studied at the Toho Gakuen College of Music, Tokyo, then at the Royal College of Music, London with John Blakely and Ashley Wass, winning its prestigious Artist Diploma with Distinction. In 2012 she won First Prize in the 6th Isidor Bajic Memorial Piano Competition in Serbia, and in 2013, First Prize in the 5th Louisiana International Piano Competition, USA. She is now on the staff at RCM as Duo Coach to the String Faculty, as well as accompanying other instruments.

Kumi made her London concerto debut in 2008 playing Ravel’s Piano Concerto for Left Hand in Cadogan Hall with the RCM Sinfonietta conducted by Peter Stark. The following year she played Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso No.1 with the RCM Chamber Orchestra in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, with Vladimir Jurowski, and in 2012 she played Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto with Martin André at the Royal College of Music. She has also performed with the Symphony Orchestras of Tokyo, Galicia, Banatul and Constanta in Romania, and in the USA, the Rapides in Louisiana, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

As soloist and chamber musician Kumi has played extensively in the UK, USA, France, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, India and Japan. She made her New York debut at Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall in 2014 and an extensive recital tour in Louisiana in 2015.

Thomas Kelly was born in 1998. He passed Grade 8 with Distinction in 2006, and performed Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24 in Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre two years later. After moving to Cheshire, he regularly played in festivals, winning prizes including in the Birmingham Festival, 3rd prize in Young Pianist of The North 2012, and 1st prize in the 2014 Warrington Competition for Young Musicians. Since 2015, Thomas has studied with Andrew Ball, initially at the Purcell School for Young Musicians and now at Royal College of Music, where he is a third-year undergraduate.

Thomas has won first prizes including Pianale International Piano Competition 2017, Kharkiv Assemblies 2018, Lucca Virtuoso e Bel Canto festival 2018, RCM Joan Chissell Schumann competition 2019, Kendall Taylor Beethoven Competition 2019 and BPSE Intercollegiate Beethoven Competition 2019. He has also performed in venues including the Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Holy Trinity Sloane Square, St James' Piccadilly, Oxford Town Hall, St Mary's Perivale, St Paul's Bedford, Poole Lighthouse Arts Centre, Stoller Hall, Paris Conservatoire, the StreingreaberHaus in Bayreuth, the Teatro del Sale in Florence, in Vilnius and Palanga. Thomas' studies at RCM are generously supported by Pat Kendall-Taylor, Ms Daunt and Ms Stevenson and C. Bechstein pianos.

Damir Durmanovic began his studies at age of eight with Maja Azabagic, then at the Yehudi Menuhin School where he studied with Marcel Baudet. He is currently an ABRSM scholar at the Royal College of Music London, studying with Dmitri Alexeev.

Damir has performed in venues and festivals including the Wigmore Hall, Champs Hill Studios, YPF Festival Amsterdam, Wimbledon Music Festival, Renia Sofia Audotorium Madrid, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Derby Multifaith Center, Flusserei Flums, 'Ballenlager' Vaduz. He has won prizes in numerous international competitions including The Beethoven Intercollegiate Junior Competition in London, Adilia Alieva International Piano Competition in Geneva and Isidor Bajic International Piano Competition in Novi Sad. He has performed in masterclasses with Claudio Martinez-Mehner,
Dmitri Bashkirov, Pascal Devoyon, Jacques Rouvier, Robert Levin, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Tatyana Sarkisova, and chamber ensembles such as the Emerson Quartet. Damir is also a scholar at the ''Musikakademie Liechtestein'' and regularly participates and performs at the events organised by the Academy there.

-
DOWNLOAD LINKS

TARTINI, THE DEVIL'S TRILL
- iTunes
- Qobuz
- Amazon Music

BRAHMS, VIOLIN SONATA NO. 3
- iTunes
- Qobuz
- Amazon Music

DEBUSSY, SZYMANOWSKI, FRANCK AND FALLA
- iTunes
- Qobuz

STREAM ON SPOTIFY

Album Details

Tartini, Sonata in D Minor: The Devil's Trill (Kumi Matsuo, piano)
UPC 5054526848429

Brahms, Violin Sonata No.3 (Kumi Matsuo, piano)
UPC 5054526848399

Debussy, Beau Soir, arr. Jascha Heifetz (Damir Dumanovic, piano)
Szymanowski, Nocturne and Tarantella (Thomas Kelly, piano)
Franck, Violin Sonata (Damir Dumanovic, piano)
Falla: Nana, Polo and Asturiana from Suite popular espagnole, arr. Paul Kochanski (Kumi Matsuo, piano)
Debussy, Clair de lune, arr. Alexandre Roelens

UPC 5053526807990

ANTOINE PRÉAT PLAYS BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATA NO. 31 OP.110 - EP RELEASING ON 19 JUNE

10/6/2020

Ulysses Arts introduces Franco-Belgian pianist Antoine Préat's debut recording of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.31 in A-flat Major, Op.110 on Friday 19 June on ITunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Qobuz, and all other major streaming services.

The Beethoven release precedes Antoine Préat's full album 'Polyphony', also including works by J.S. Bach, Chopin and Scriabin, to be launched on 15 January 2021. 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 intruiged by polyphonic music, with deep emotion contained within a perfectly assembled puzzle. I decided to dedicate my debut album to this theme, with the Beethoven as a preview. A deaf Beethoven produced this gem of virtuous wisdom, tragedy and vulnerability, culminating in an amazing fugue. It is a testament to an incredible craftsman, an honest poet and a philosopher in music.'

Described as 'one of the most gifted artists of the younger generation' and 'a young artist with a distinctive voice', Antoine Préat made his orchestral debut aged 17 playing Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto. He has performed at the Salle Cortot, Salle Gaveau and Beaux Arts Museum in Paris, Thayer Hall in Los Angeles, Freydrick Chopin Institute, Warsaw and the Wigmore Hall, London. His performances have been broadcasted by the BBC and France Musique.

Antoine studied at the Ecole Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris and at the Royal Academy of Music, London, with Tatiana Sarkissova, winning the Colin Murray Award, Vivian Langrish Award and Bache Fund Award, where he is now a postgraduate student with Christopher Elton.

Décrit comme "un jeune artiste doté d'une voix particulière", Antoine Préat se distingue par des débuts très prometteurs en tant que soliste et chambriste.

Né en août 1997, ce pianiste franco-belge débute l'apprentissage du piano à l'âge de 9 ans à Paris. Un an plus tard, il joue en public pour la première fois Salle Gaveau.

Antoine fait ses débuts avec orchestre à 17ans, jouant le deuxième concerto de Rachmaninov avec l'Orchestre d'Alicante, et se produit régulièrement en tant que soliste avec des orchestres tels que le London Student Orchestra, le Tonerl Chamber Orchestra, les Sainsbury Soloists, l'orchestre de l'Académie Royale et le Resonate Chamber Ensemble. Il est invité à se produire dans différents festivals tels que le Festival Chopin à Nohant, Chopin à Bagatelle, les Concerts d'Esther, Marathon Chopin (pour son bicentenaire), les Nuits du piano à Paris, Jeunes talents, et l'Encuentro de Santander. Il se produit régulièrement en tant que soliste et en musique de chambre à travers la France ainsi qu'en Europe et aux Etats Unis, dans des salles telles que le Wigmore Hall, la Salle Cortot, la Salle Gaveau, l'Equinoxe, Schloss Glienicke, l'Institut Frederyk Chopin et le Petit Palais.

Formé au CNR de Paris puis à l'École Normale Alfred Cortot, d'où il sortira diplômé à l'unanimité à 17 ans, il a notamment été élève de deux héritiers de l'Ecole Russe : Guigla Katsarava, élève de Lev Naumov, et Ludmila Berlinskaia, "protégée" de Sviatoslav Richter.

Marqué par cet enseignement russe, Antoine a choisi de poursuivre sa formation à la Royal Academy of Music de Londres, dans la classe de Tatiana Sarkissova où il a reçu le Colin Murray Award et le Vivian Langrish Award après avoir obtenu les plus hauts résultats de l’institution, et termine actuellement son Master auprès de Christopher Elton.

STREAM ON SPOTIFY

DOWNLOAD ON ITUNES or
STREAM ON APPLE MUSIC

Featured on Apple Music Songs Without Words playlist

Qobuz:https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/polyphony-beethoven-piano-sonata-no31-op110-antoine-preat/qp3w9ta6h0lpc

Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/album/151467932

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLabrcmXLYzTJeb1Tf2TSH8VdE2kVBmPQn

Release Details:
Record Number: UA000019
UPC: 5054526748620

VIOLINIST CRISTIAN GRAJNER DE SA PLAYS KREISLER AND SARASATE – ALBUM LAUNCH -12 JUNE 2020

2/6/2020

Ulysses Arts introduces Cristian Grajner de Sa's debut recording of music by Kreisler and Sarasate on Friday 12 June, on ITunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Qobuz and all major digital service providers.

Cristian Grajner de Sa plays Fritz Kreisler's nostalgic Liebesleid and Marche Miniature Viennoise, with Marina Nadiradze, piano, and Pable de Saraste's virtuoso masterpiece Zigeunerweisen, accompanied by Mark Kinkaid. Cristian comments:

'Zigeunerweisen is a violin sensation: spectacular virtuoso music with heartfelt Romantic melodies and astonishing technical fireworks. These qualities first inspired me at a young age; after playing it many times, I am fascinated by its musical freedom that allows the violinist's interpretation to evolve spontaneously with every performance. It is hugely exciting for me to present Zigeunerweisen on my first album, alongside the suave nostalgia of Fritz Kreisler's Liedesleid and Marche Miniature Viennoise.'

Cristian Grajner de Sa was born in 1994 to Italian and Portugese parents: attendıng The Purcell School for Young Musicians: he was awarded the Royal Academy of Music's Leverhulme Scholarship aged 13: he studied with Maurice Hasson and Tasmin Little, then at the Salzburg Mozarteum with Pierre Amoyal.

A recipient of the Gold Meda with High Distinction at the 2019 International Vienna Music Competition, where his performances were praised for 'huge musicality, a depth of understanding and technical virtuosity,', Cristian previously received the First Prize at the inaugural 'Global' International Violin Competition and was a string finalist at the BBC Young Musician. In 2017 he was honored and humbled to receive the distinguished J. and A. Beare Prize from the Royal Academy of Music, its most renowned award, gifted to the most outstanding violin graduate. In the same year. the Academy also invited him to perform chamber music alongside his mentor, Maxim Vengarov, in Vengerov's final performance as Menuhin professor.

He has performed at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Salzburg Mozarteum, Bucharest Atheneum, the Wigmore Hall in London, Cheltenham Festival, Salle Paderewski Lausanne and Ateneo de Madrid, playing violin concertos by Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Glazunov, Mendelssohn, Bruch and Lalo. He has been broadcast on BBC Television, BBC Radio 3 and TVR Romanian National Television.

Cristian plays a Camillo Camilli violin from 1740, on generous loan from The Benslow Trust, and is supported by UK music charity Talent Unlimited.

http://www/cristiangrajnerdesa.com

Marina Nadiradze, piano, was born in Georgia and studied at Tiblisis Stat eConservatoire and Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She won the first of her international awards aged nine in Vilnus, Lithuania, and subsequently Second Prize at the inaugural Tblisis International Piano Competition, LASMO Saffa Award First Prize in 2000, and Scottish Interntional Piano Competition Second Prize and Lawrence Glover Silver Medal in 2001. Supported by the Myra Hess Trust and Craxton Memorial Trust, Marina has performed in Argentina, Austrian, France, Georgia, Iceland, Russia, South Korea and Switzerland; Uk venues include Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and the Wigmore Hall in London. Marina has a substantial concerto repertoire, and has worked with conductors including Vakhtang Kakhidze, Takuo Yuasa, Alexander Lazarev, Min Kim and Tadaaki Otaka. She is also the pianist for Ken Loach's film 'Ae Fond Kiss'.

Mark Kinkaid, piano, was born in 1965 and started piano aged six He both performs with orchestra and as an accompanist at the Royal College and Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and BBC Symphony Orchestra. Mark has broadcast a duet recital with ClassicFM with Lisa Friend, and has performed with flautist James Dutton at London's Purcell Room as part of the Park Lane Group Recitals. Previous recordings include for Hyperion, 'Luminance' with Lisa Friend and Anna Stokes (Champs Hill Records, 2014) and 'Serenity' with violinists Nicole Crespo O'Donoghue (2019).

DOWNLAND NOW

ITUNES: https://music.apple.com/album/cristian-grajner-de-sa-plays-kreisler-and-sarasate-single/1513313481

QOBUZ: https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/cristian-grajner-de-sa-plays-kreisler-and-sarasate-cristian-grajner-de-sa/goxyj0iky9hpa

Catalogue Number: UA000018
UPC 5054536078536

Veronika Shoot - Journey through Childhood - launched on 10 May 2019

6/4/2019

RUSSIAN-BORN PIANIST VERONIKA SHOOT PRESENTS DEBUT ALBUM ‘JOURNEY THROUGH CHILDHOOD’ – SCHUMANN, DEBUSSY, SHOSTAKOVICH, KORNGOLD, VLADISLAV SHOOT, TAKEMITSU AND LYADOV

Ulysses Arts is delighted to launch Journey through Childhood by Russian-born pianist Veronika Shoot on 10 May 2019. The album is a unique exploration of children’s music, and compositions inspired by childhood.

Veronika Shoot

Veronika Shoot’s sonic picture of childhood features a vast array of musical styles, interweaving well-known masterpieces including Debussy’s Children’s Corner and Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood, alongside rarely played classics by Korngold, Takemitsu and Shostakovich, and the first ever recording of Children’s Album by composer Vladislav Shoot, the artist’s father. Journey through Childhood aims to capture and inspire the imagination of both adults and children.

Veronika Shoot comments: ‘I was inspired to create Journey Through Childhood by my father Vladislav Shoot’s Children’s Album. I have played these pieces since my earliest days as a pianist and find myself returning time and again to the beauty, playfulness and intricate visual narratives of each composition. I intended the album to illustrate a varied landscape of the earliest years of human experience and its imaginative power. It is my vision to create a fresh perspective into the vast world of great children’s music, much still little known. As Saint-Exupéry wrote in The Little Prince, “… All grown-ups were children once although few of them remember it…” I would like to dedicate Journey Through Childhood to the inner child in every one of us, in the hope that it provides a door to explore that world and all its creative possibilities.’

Described by Yehudi Menuhin as ‘destined to become a great pianist’, Veronika Shoot was born in Moscow and moved to the UK when Vladislav Shoot was invited to become Artist in Residence at Dartington Hall in 1993. She studied at the Menhuin and Purcell Schools, the Royal Academy of Music and Royal Scottish Conservatoire, and performed at the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square and Purcell Room, BOZAR Fine Arts Centre in Brussels, Istanbul International Mozart Festival, Moscow’s Rachmaninov Hall, and the Château de Versailles.

Integral to Journey through Childhood is the aspiration to inspire and engage a new generation of musicians. Veronika Shoot has devised a series of workshops for schools in London and Moscow; Journey through Childhood’s next stage will be the creation of an animation film and interactive digital experience.

Download the complete album with extensive digital brochure at:
https://itunes.apple.com/album/journey-through-childhood/1458868476

BBC's Ten Pieces Extended into UK Secondary Schools

20/5/2015

Works by Verdi, Wagner and Bach to be played in UK secondary schools.

The BBC today announced it is extending its successful 'Ten Pieces' music programme into UK secondary schools. The original project aimed to expose more primary schools students to classical music, and after a successful pilot engaging over half of UK primary schools, it is rolling out the programme into UK secondaries.

Here's (almost all of) the playlist on Spotify. One exception is Gabriel Prokofiev's Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra which isn't on the streaming service but can be found here at https://nonclassical.bandcamp.com/album/gabriel-prokofiev-concerto-for-turntables-and-orchestra.

Watch out for our curated list of recommended recordings of all the secondary school 'Ten Pieces' on YouTube to follow.

Spotify
BBC Ten Pieces (Secondary) playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/user/joe_kenyon123/playlist/69WuRL4mYck3j4BgnQtNT6

YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3vaJLcZtmPgtPEGHlg1Nx9zAwoqh61IU

Our Services

Label Services
Digital Distribution
Press and PR
Digital Marketing
Due Diligence
Artistic Programming
Venue Strategy

Sitemap

Home
About
What We Do
Clients
Contact
Blog

Contact Us

Email Ulysses Arts
Registered Office: 170, Finchley Road
London NW3 6BP

Copyright 2023 Ulysses Arts Ltd.
Website by Kenyon Arts