Choose artist...
Home   >   Projects   >   DONNA VOCE VOLUME II WOMEN OF LEGEND
Anna Shelest

DONNA VOCE VOLUME II WOMEN OF LEGEND

Press Release

Read press

Artist Details

Read bio

Website

Visit
Donna Voce volume 2 Women of Legende by Anna Shelest, piano
Anna Shelest - 12 Years Old - Rachmaninoff Concerto No.1
1 Fanny Mendelssohn: January - A Dream. Adagio, quasi una Fantasia 2:48  
2 February: Scherzo. Presto  
3 March. Agitato 2:48  
4 April: Capriccioso. Allegretto 3:19 15. Desdémona, Op. 101. Andantino 2:17  
5 May: Spring Song. Allegro vivace e gioioso 2:56 16. Ophélie, Op. 165. Très lent. 4:02  
6 June: Serenade. Largo 4:50 17. Viviane, Op. 80. Assez vite 2:25  
7 July: Serenade. Larghetto 2:52 18. Phœbé, Op. 30. Poco Andante 2:59  
8 August. Allegro 3:49 19. Salomé, Op. 100. Assez vif 3:39  
9 September: At the River. Andante con moto 3:39 20. Omphale, Op. 86. Modéré 4:14  
10 October. Allegro con spirituo 3:28  
11 November. Mesto 5:0 Olena Ilnytska (b. 1977)  
12 December. Allegro molto  
13 Postlude: Nachspiel. Chorale 4:47  
14 Mel Bonis: Femmes de Légende / Mélisande  
15 Desdémona, Op. 101. Andantino 2:17  
16 Ophélie, Op. 165. Très lent. 4:02  
17 Viviane, Op. 80. Assez vite 2:25  
18 Phœbé, Op. 30. Poco Andante 2:59  
19 Salomé, Op. 100. Assez vif 3:39  
20 Omphale, Op. 86. Modéré 4:14  
21 Olena Ilnytska: Nocturne 1. Lento 6:18  
Show all tracks
Hide

DONNA VOCE VOLUME II WOMEN OF LEGEND - ANNA SHELEST, PIANO
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847) Das Jahr (The Year)

As surprising as it may seem to many listeners, the most ambitious piece of piano writing coming from a Mendelssohn’s pen turns out to be a work of Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847), Felix’s older sister, who until recently had
been a footnote in the biography of her more famous sibling.

Just under an hour long, Das Jahr (The Year) (1841) is a feat of imagination and virtuosity. This 13-movement musical calendar is one of the earliest examples of a Romantic piano cycle, and its imposing proportions are hard to square with the image of Fanny as a mere accomplished amateur.

Her musical talent and skills as a pianist were acknowledged by many who knew her yet were never taken seriously by musical experts. “Excellent dilettante, intellectually and naturally related to the composer” and “most accomplished lady” were the conclusions of the Berlin newspapers after Fanny’s public debut with her brother’s Piano Concerto in G minor at the Berlin Schauspielhaus. She was 32 years old, and as an upper-class woman playing at a public charity concert, her privacy needed to be protected. Hence, Robert Schumann’s Neue Zeitschrift für Music describes her as a “sister” and “blood and intellectual relative” of the composer. Notwithstanding the societal limitations placed on Fanny in the sphere of public performance, her artistic and intellectual life was a rich one.

The comprehensive education she received as a child alongside her three siblings went far beyond what was expected of women of her

  • Anna Shelest is looking forward to bringing the music of Ukraine to Ventura County / THOUSAND OAKS Acorn
    Posted At: February 10, 2023 12:00 AM
    Hailed by The New York Times as a pianist of “a fiery sensibility and warm touch”, Anna Shelest is an international award-winning pianist who has thrilled the audiences throughout the world. Champion of esoteric repertoire, Anna is collaborating with the legendary conductor Neeme Järvi on a project of recording complete works for piano and orchestra by Anton Rubinstein. The first CD in the set featurin...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest discusses 'Donna Voce' with WWFM: The Classical Network
    Posted At: August 22, 2019 12:00 AM

    Anna Shelest's first release featuring virtuosic repertoire by women composers from the last three centuries. The program sheds light on the under-explored territory of piano repertoire and makes the case that the music of female composers, many of whom were virtuoso pianists, is as relevant today as the music of their male counterparts. Works by Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, Cecile Chaminade, A...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest's 'Donna Voce' shows the power of music and women composers / Classical101
    Posted At: August 14, 2019 12:00 AM

    Pianist Anna Shelest's most recent recording, 'Donna Voce,' features solo piano music exclusively by women composers. There was a time when a woman composer was a relatively rare phenomenon. There was also a time when music critics drew a clear line between "masculine" (read: strong, powerful, large) music and "feminine" (read: gentle, sweet, small) music. If the Ukranian-born pianist Ann...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest honors women composers in 'Donna Voce' / New Classical Tracks
    Posted At: July 30, 2019 12:00 AM

    "I actually find great freedom as a performer playing new music that's actually not new, but it is new to the listeners today." Pianist Anna Shelest expresses that newfound freedom on her new recording, Donna Voce. In Italian, it means 'woman's voice.' "It's quite shocking when I think about it, because I played piano for over 30 years now, and I've never played a serious work by ...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest discusses 'Donna Voce' with KPR
    Posted At: July 16, 2019 12:00 AM

    Donna Voce is Anna Shelest's first release featuring virtuosic repertoire by women composers from the last three centuries. The program sheds light on the under-explored territory of piano repertoire and makes the case that the music of female composers, many of whom were virtuoso pianists, is as relevant today as the music of their male counterparts. Works contained on the recording are by; Clara Sc...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest Interviews with 90.3KEDT
    Posted At: July 16, 2019 12:00 AM

    Anna Shelest's first release featuring virtuosic repertoire by women composers from the last three centuries. The program sheds light on the under-explored territory of piano repertoire and makes the case that the music of female composers, many of whom were virtuoso pianists, is as relevant today as the music of their male counterparts. Works by Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, Cecile Chaminade, A...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest discusses 'Donna Voce' with classical radio
    Posted At: July 11, 2019 12:00 AM

    Anna Shelest's first release featuring virtuosic repertoire by women composers from the last three centuries. The program sheds light on the under-explored territory of piano repertoire and makes the case that the music of female composers, many of whom were virtuoso pianists, is as relevant today as the music of their male counterparts. Works by Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, Cecile Chaminade, A...
    Bookmark and Share

  • CapRadio's classical hosts are loving Higdon, Pavarotti, and Shelest this July
    Posted At: July 2, 2019 12:00 AM

    Our classical music hosts serve as your tastemakers on the air, but what they're listening to in their free time can give an even clearer vision of the people behind the voices. So to give you a window into the personal libraries of our classical hosts, CapRadio is curating a monthly playlist featuring pieces our hosts have had in heavy rotation in their homes, cars and headphones. With heart-wrenching c...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest 'Donna Voce' is the KDFC: Album Of the Week
    Posted At: June 17, 2019 12:00 AM

    Anna Shelest's first release featuring virtuosic repertoire by women composers from the last three centuries is called 'Donna Voce.'  The program sheds light on the under-explored territory of piano repertoire and makes the case that the music of female composers, many of whom were virtuoso pianists, is as relevant today as the music of their male counterparts. The Ukrainian-born, N...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest 'Donna Voce' is the KUSC: Album Of the Week
    Posted At: June 17, 2019 12:00 AM

    Anna Shelest's first release featuring virtuosic repertoire by women composers from the last three centuries is called 'Donna Voce.'  The program sheds light on the under-explored territory of piano repertoire and makes the case that the music of female composers, many of whom were virtuoso pianists, is as relevant today as the music of their male counterparts. The Ukrainian-born, New Yo...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest - Donna Voce is the WFMT 'Featured New Release'
    Posted At: June 14, 2019 12:00 AM

    This new release features works for solo piano by female composers from the 19th to the 21st centuries, performed by Anna Shelest. Opening with the sonata by Fanny Mendelssohn, the album includes works by Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Cécile Chaminade, Lili Boulanger, and Chia-Yu Hsu. Hailed by The New York Times as a pianist of a fiery sensibility and warm touch, Shelest is an award-winning pianist ...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest exposes all of the finer details, expressive beauty and technical demands of 'Donna Voce' / Classical Music Sentinel
    Posted At: June 5, 2019 12:00 AM

    If you were to do a blindfold test and listen to this recording without prior knowledge as to its content, you would instantly start assuming that you are listening to hitherto unheard or newly discovered works by Robert Schumann, Schubert, Chopin, Scriabin, Prokofiev, and even Nikolai Kapustin.  International award-winning pianist Anna Shelest who records exclusively on Sorel Classics, certainl...
    Bookmark and Share

  • On 'Donna Voce,' Anna Shelest has won me over with her astoundingly dexterous and emotive pianism / STAGEANDCINEMA
    Posted At: May 31, 2019 12:00 AM

    Anna Shelest, a New Yorker born in the Ukraine, has not only won me over with her astoundingly dexterous and emotive pianism, but has truly proved herself a whiz at programming her albums. Even if her newest CD, Donna Voce, was not a collection of piano solos by female composers who deserve as much attention as their male contemporaries, I would have been impressed. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Syndicated 'New Classical Tracks' features Anna Shelest's - Prokofiev
    Posted At: August 10, 2016 12:00 AM

    New Classical Tracks is a Syndicated Feature airing Nationally on Classical 24 & Statewide on Minnesota Public Radio. Listen to Julie Amacher's Feature with Anna Shelest. READ THE TRANSCRIPT - Anna Shelest was born in Ukraine. She moved to the United States when she was just 15 to study at the Juilliard School of music. She and her husband, Dmitri, are U.S. citizens now, and they li...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest - Prokofiev: Piano Concertos 1&2 / KDFC: Download of the Week
    Posted At: August 3, 2016 12:00 AM

    Each week KDFC: San Francisco members can download a free mp3 from some of the biggest releases in the world of Classical music. This week's pick is a Sorel Classics release and new recording of Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No.1, in D flat, Op.10 and Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16 (SC CD006), performed by the Ukrainian-born, Julliard-trained pianist Anna Shelest, with the Janac...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest - Prokofiev: Piano Concertos 1&2 / WFMT: Chicago - New Release
    Posted At: June 30, 2016 12:00 AM

    Pianist Anna Shelest was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine. A multi-award winning artist, she won her first competition when she was only eleven. She has since gone on to win many more. Recorded in the Czech Republic in 2014, this release features Prokofiev's Piano Concertos Nos 1 and 2. These works were written early in his career, and feature the virtuosic and wildly dissonant style which caused his first leap ...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest - Spirit and Romance / WFMT: New Release Of the Week
    Posted At: March 22, 2015 12:00 AM

    Sorel Classics is a new non-profit label devoted to highlighting the talent and achievements of singers, instrumentalists and composers. For its inaugural album, Sorel introduces Anna Shelest, a native of Ukraine who now resides in New York. She has been described as an artist of "fiery sensibility and warm touch" by the New York Times. Shelest came to the attention of Sorel after a Carnegie Hall perform...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Anna Shelest - Spirit and Romance / KDFC: Download Of the Week
    Posted At: March 11, 2015 12:00 AM

    Each week, KDFC: San Francisco members can download a free mp3 from some of the biggest releases in the world of Classical music. The Sorel Charitable Organization celebrates the launch of Ukrainian-born pianist Anna Shelest's (rhymes wtih Celeste) and her latest CD, Spirit and Romance. Presenting a selection of works by Bach, Liszt, Schubert, Wagner, Busoni and Schumann, the missi...
    Bookmark and Share
Go to artist details