July 13, 2009

Contemporary classical music is flourishing, despite all media assertions to the contrary. We’d like to prove it by presenting several piano pieces written by five contemporary composers in the span of the last 25 years. We start with the rigorous American Nocturne I, from Pieces of Night, written by George Flynn in 1989 (it’s performed by the composer). The next, and very different, piece is Gary Noland’s playful Bead-Eyed Bellygods, from the 24 Postludes for piano, also played by the composer himself. Following that is Heinz Chur’s “new tonal” Sonata no. 6 (1984), played by Noriko Kitano. Next comes Leanna Primiani’s Variations for Piano Solo (2004), a pointillist theme followed by 19 variations and a coda (Yevgeniy Milyavskiy is playing the piece). We conclude with Joseph Hallman’s Untitled for piano (2003) (an unusual piece – Joe writes mostly instrumental music). It’s played by Cicilia Yuhda.

We hope you’ll appreciate the talent of the composers (each of whom deserves a separate profile), and the tremendous variety of the presented music as much as we did. To listen, click here.

July 6, 2009

American cellist Ken Olsen, a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Principal Cello in 2005. Fortunately, Mr. Olsen also maintains a concert schedule that gives us access to the solo performances of this talented musician. Here are three pieces recorded live: a very lyrical rendition of Rachmaninov’s Vocalise, Debussy’s Cello Sonata and Chopin’s Polonaise Brillante. To listen to Mr. Olsen play, click here.

June 29, 2009

We present two piano sonatas by Sergei Prokofiev. One, no. 3, was written in 1907, when Prokofiev was just 16 years old and on the verge of worldwide fame. The other, his last one, no. 9, was created 40 years and political eons later, in 1947-48. At that time, Prokofiev was sick and under a barrage of criticism from the official Soviet press. It is one of the most reflective pieces written by the composer.

Both performances were made live. The young American pianist Jeffrey Brown gives a lyrical interpretation of sonata no.3. Sonata no. 9 is played by George Vatchnadze. Mr. Vatchnadze has appeared with orchestras and in recital throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and many other countries. In 1999, Mr. Vatchnadze made his New York recital debut at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Critic Faubion Bowers wrote in the American Record Guide: “Vatchnadze is a consummate artist, now at the height of his musical and intellectual powers. He can do absolutely anything he wants at the piano. He commands delicate pianissimi, massive diapasons and everything in between.” Mr. Vatchnadze is currently a piano professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

You can listen to the sonatas here

June 22, 2009

"The souvenir of a concert performance fades away like a transient drawing in the sand. By recording my music, I try to maintain the illusion of duration," says the Viennese-born, French-based composer and violinist Robert Waechter. He learned to play the violin by the age of 8, becoming concertmaster of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra in 1980. Concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Nice/Opera de Nice since 1984, he also plays in the contemporary music ensemble "Apostrophe." His most recent recording is Goedde Concerto, a collaboration between the composer and photographer Steve Goedde. His earlier recordings include Fragments, Stillness, and Broken Guru. Mr. Waechter's influences include Fritz Kreisler, Palestrina, and Steve Reich. We present six of his compositions (you can find more on the site). You can listen to them here.

June 15, 2009

We don't have that much 16^th or early 17^th century music, but here's some, courtesy of Réjean Poirier. Mr. Poirier is an award-wining organist, harpsichordist, teacher, composer and scholar. A man of wide interests, he designed harpsichords, researched the use of graphic symbols in composition as a substitute for traditional notation, and participated in the founding of several performance groups and studios. Dean of the Faculty of Music of the Université de Montréal from 1998 to 2006, Mr. Poirier teaches harpsichord and organ and continues an international career on both instruments.

In this selection, Mr. Poirier plays an organ piece by the 16th century Dutch composer Sweelinck, two compositions by the French Baroque composer Nicolas Lebegue, and several harpsichord pieces: three by the early Baroque Italian, Giovanni Picchi, and the late-16^th – early-17^th century Englishmen John Bull and William Byrd. Don't miss the fascinating notes Poirier wrote to several of the compositions, especially Bull and Byrd.

June 8, 2009

"Dmitri Berlinsky's concert revealed an exceptional musician… polished and thoughtful, he is a violinist fully in control of his instrument and the music," wrote The Los Angeles Times.

Mr. Berlinsky arrived on the international scene as the youngest winner in the history of the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy. Subsequent triumphs at the Montreal International Violin Competition (Grand Prize), the International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels, led to appearances with major orchestras in Europe, Russia, the Far East, North and South America.

Mr. Berlinsky has performed in major venues such as Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls in New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, among others.

This season, he performs with Russian National Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony, Orchestra de Chambre Français in New York, Russian Chamber Philharmonic. He gives recitals in the United States, Korea, Italy, Mexico, and Russia.

The playlist of Mr. Berlinky's performance contains violin concertos by Bruch and Glazunov, Prokofiev's sonata No.2, Tchaikovsky's Scherzo and a sonata by Ysaÿe. You may listen to it here.