Stories » Watch new video for Max Richter's 'Vladimir's Blues' / udiscovermusic.

Stories for February 18, 2020

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    Benjamin Grosvenor visits 'Between the Keys' on New Jersey's Classical Network
     
    Posted At : February 18, 2020 12:00 AM

    27-year-old Benjamin Grosvenor is considered to be one of the greatest pianists of his generation, or any other generation, for that matter. Ever since emerging in his teens as a prodigy mature beyond his years, Grosvenor continues to evolve artistically, as he builds a legacy of recordings that often achieve reference status, such as his Chopin Scherzos and Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit, and a new release encompassing both Chopin Concertos. This week, Grosvenor will be the featured guest on Episode 243 of the ASCAP Deems Taylor Virgil Thomson Award winning program Between the Keys, hosted by The Classical Network's Artist-in-Residence, composer/pianist Jed Distler. "Benjamin was an absolute delight to interview," says Distler. "He's warm, affable, unassuming, yet completely comfortable with his high place in the pianistic firmament, and passionate about a wide range of music. Long after our official conversation ended, we kept on talking shop and sharing repertoire ideas. No wonder all of my pianist friends adore Benjamin, personally and artistically." Grosvenor's new recording of two concerto favorites: Chopin's Piano Concertos Nos.1 and 2, released on Decca Classics, was recorded with Elim Chan and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO). The album marks Benjamin's fifth on Decca Classics, following the hugely successful Homages in 2016, and is his first orchestral album since 2012. Tune in to Between the Keys this Tuesday February 18th at 10:00 PM with special guest Benjamin Grosvenor, including musical selections by Ravel, Mendelssohn, Bach, Chopin and Brett Dean, only here on The Classical Network and WWFM.org New Jersey.

  • Ted Poor album release show set for Columbia City Theatre / The Stranger
     
    Posted At : February 18, 2020 12:00 AM

    Ted Poor, who the NY Times wrote; "a trustworthy engine in countless modern-jazz settings," isn't your typical jazz drummer, and either is his New Deal/Impulse! debut recording 'You Already Know.' If you're at all familiar with the Seattle-based Poor's explorative career-or the wide-ranging work of his principal collaborators here, the deeply influential guitarist-producer Blake Mills and the saxophonist Andrew D'Angelo-this should come as no surprise. Poor's album release show is set for the Columbia City Theatre on March 7,8 SEE The Stranger PAGE

  • Robin McKelle chooses to fuse on 'Alterations' / MAKING A SCENE
     
    Posted At : February 17, 2020 12:00 AM

    Alterations is jazz vocalist/composer Robin McKelle's follow-up to her 2018 Melodic Canvas which we covered on these pages. While that was mostly an album of originals, McKelle chooses here to, as she says, "fuse jazz, soul, r&b, blues and rock while keeping continuity in the music." These are mostly familiar songs from some of the most celebrated women in song interpreted through a jazz lens. They include Dolly Parton, Sade, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Janis Joplin, Carole king, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, and Land Del Ray. For good measure, McKelle adds just one of her own, in tribute to female artistry. READ THE FULL MAKING A SCENE REVIEW

  • Dave Soldier's 'Zajal' covers the origins of the song / keysandchords
     
    Posted At : February 17, 2020 12:00 AM

    Flamenco guitarist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Dave Soldier has been exploring cultural boundaries throughout his life. He founded a string quartet that fused punk, classical and R&B, but also played punk Delta Blues and started the Thai Elephant Orchestra. Now he explores the roots of pop songs, and found them about a thousand years ago at the crossroads of Muslim, Jewish and Christian cultures in southern Spain, more specifically in Andalusia at the time of the Moors. The song titles of these compositions are therefore in English, Arabic and Hebrew. The lyrics were always sung, are based on muwashshaha & zajal, and were taken over by singers in Provence. And that is what our Western pop music would be based on, from Schubert, The Beatles, Hank Williams, to opera. These old texts have now been given a flamenco, jazz and world music twist and are usually sung by Ana Nimouz. They sometimes sound cheerful, sometimes mysterious, and sometimes as fusion. A special release for those who are interested in the origin of our music, and who are not averse to world music. - Patrick Van de Wiele SEE THE keysandchords PAGE

  • Steeped in polyrhythmic drumming, 'Haiti Song Summit Vol. 1' tells stories of powerful spirits and ancient traditions / MUSIC Monthly
     
    Posted At : February 17, 2020 12:00 AM

    Let the Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit Vol. 1 is a meeting of musical styles and traditions that brings together the world views of songwriters Paul Beaubrun, Jackson Browne, Habib Koité, Jenny Lewis, Raúl Rodríguez, Jonathan Russell and Jonathan Wilson alongside members of Haitian roots band Lakou Mizik at the Artists Institute of Jacmel. Steeped in polyrhythmic drumming of Haitian Vodou, complex notes of Spanish Tres, Flamenco and Malian Guitar, interwoven with North American folk and rock, Let the Rhythm Lead is a musical odyssey, employing an array of diverse songwriting traditions and genres to tell stories of new friendships and collaborations, powerful spirits and ancient traditions, all the while honoring humanity, love, understanding, awakening and rejuvenation. Six languages narrate the journey with singing in English, French, Creole, Khassonké, Manding and Spanish. READ THE FULL MUSIC Monthly REVIEW

  • 'So What' by Juno nominee Ron Davis makes CBC's 'songs you need to hear this week'
     
    Posted At : February 17, 2020 12:00 AM

    Nominated for instrumental album of the year, Upfront is the third release from pianist Ron Davis's SymphRONica project, an outlet for the jazz crossover that springs from his fertile imagination. Abetted by a string quartet, Davis covers a wide range of styles, from the genteel neo-baroque of "Drew Bourrée" to the intoxicating tango-meets-klezmer sounds of "Chance." Of the album's 12 tracks, his take on Miles Davis's iconic "So What" stays closest to the jazz idiom, and benefits from some nicely detailed drumming and expressive guitar and electric piano solos. Stay until the end and hear how the pizzicato strings ingeniously escort the song out of the room. SEE THE FULL CBC PAGE

  • Robin McKelle follows in a long tradition of female song interpreters on 'Alterations'
     
    Posted At : February 17, 2020 12:00 AM

    Vocalist Robin McKelle delves into the catalogue of some of the most celebrated women of song, interpreting these masterworks through the lens of the jazz idiom on her new album Alterations. McKelle follows in a long tradition of female song interpreters, lending her sultry vocal stylings to classics by a diverse list of female innovators including Dolly Parton, Sade, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Janis Joplin, Carol King, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, and Lana Del Ray. McKelle is joined on this release by a group of consummate musicians including co-producer, pianist and arranger Shedrick Mitchell, acoustic and electric bassist Richie Goods, drummer Charles Haynes, guitarist Nir Felder. In addition, esteemed saxophonist Keith Loftis is featured on McKelle's sole original composition on this release, "Head High"; and renowned trumpeter Marquis Hill is featured on Lana Del Rey's "Born to Die". READ THE FULL BroadwayWorld REVIEW

Top 10 for Feb

Watch new video for Max Richter's 'Vladimir's Blues' / udiscovermusic.

Posted: February 11, 2020 12:00 AM | By: Admin
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BAFTA-winning film-maker Yulia Mahr revealed her new video for ‘Vladimir's Blues', from Max Richter's album The Blue Notebooks. The global premiere was preceded by a 30-minute live chat between Yulia Mahr and Max Richter. The film is an artistic response to escalating global tension.

‘Vladimir's Blues' is about fragile beauty and the power of small things to elevate our everyday experience. Yulia Mahr's short film unlocks the positive power of a technology originally developed for surveillance and military purposes. She essentially subverts that purpose, using thermal imaging cameras – which transform infrared radiation (heat) into visible images – in a creative context to shape a narrative about a composition and the inspiration behind it.

‘Vladimir's Blues' has so far received over 105 million streams and is Max Richter's No.1 streaming track. The Blue Notebooks was not only a protest album, but meditation on violence in general, and particularly the violence that Richter experienced around him as a child. Max Richter would escape his unhappy childhood through music, literature and a love and fascination for beautiful things – especially butterflies. Mahr poignantly highlights Richter's story of a lost child escaping into music in ‘Vladimir's Blues' and also leans on her own difficult childhood.

READ THE FULL udiscovermusic. ARTICLE & WATCH THE VIDEO

Crossover Media Projects with Max Richter

  • Max Richter

    Never Look Away OST

    Max Richter's score for the 2018 drama Never Look Away is released on DG. The latest from director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarch (Lives of Others), Never Look Away is inspired by the life of artist Gerhard Richter through the story of an art student in post-war East Germany. The film was selected as the German entry for Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards and stars Tom Schiling, Sebastian Koch and Paula Beer.

  • Max Richter

    Mary Queen of Scots OMPS

    Composer Max Richter has written a compelling and dramatic score for the upcoming historical drama, Mary Queen of Scots.  Directed by Josie Rourke and starring Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan, the movie explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart and her attempt to overthrow her cousin, Elizabeth I, Queen of England. The lavish orchestral score features a full orchestra and eclectic vocal pieces.

  • Max Richter

    White Boy Rick OST

    Max Richter wrote the score for White Boy Rick, the story of teenager Richard Wershe Jr., who became an undercover informant for the FBI during the 1980s and was ultimately arrested for drug-trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.  Directed by Yann Demange and starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Jason Leigh, the film arrives in theaters September 14.

  • Max Richter

    The Blue Notebooks

    DG releases a new, deluxe edition of Max Richter's The Blue Notebooks to celebrate its 15th anniversary with brand new artwork as well as new arrangements, remixes and a previously unreleased new track. Written in 2003, The Blue Notebooks was originally composed in protest to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and features readings by Tilda Swinton of selections from Kafka's The Blue Octavo Notebooks and Czesław Miłosz's Hymn of the Pearl and Unattainable Earth.

  • Max Richter

    Hostiles

    The latest film from director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart), Hostiles stars Christian Bale as a legendary Army captain in 1892 who reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief (Wes Studi) and his family through dangerous territory. The Hostiles soundtrack features music by composer Max Richter (The Leftovers, Sleep). Richter has received both Grammy and Emmy nominations for his work in film and television. Recent awards include The European Film Academy Award for Waltz with Bashir, the International Film Music Critics Award for The Leftovers, and a German Film Award and Australian Film Critics Award for Lore. 

  • Max Richter

    Three Worlds - Music from Woolf Works

    Following the success of SLEEP, Max Richter reveals his latest recording project – a new album entitled - Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works. It's drawn from his music to Wayne McGregor's award-winning Royal Ballet production Woolf Works – inspired by the works of Virginia Woolf – and will be released on Deutsche Grammophon on January 27, 2017. Woolf Works returns to the Royal Opera House in London, with performances beginning on January 21 and continuing on February 2,4,8,11,13 & 14. There will also be a worldwide cinema broadcast on February 8 with subsequent screenings. 

    9 NEW  61 TOTAL
    SYND:     Classical 24, Hearts of Space, CBC
    Direct: SiriusXM, MOOD, AccuRadio
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Berkeley CA, Albuquerque, Louisville, Hartford CT, ME(Statewide), MN(Statewide), Barcelona
    INTER: Canada, UK, Spain, Romania
    Online: Musicas Imaginadas, popmatters, Second Inversion, soundblab, Reviewsnewage, Russell Trunk's Exclusive, Troonradio.com, Journeyscapes, Radio Cluj, Lost Frontier, Radio Despi               

  • Max Richter

    Sleep

    Max Richter's SLEEP will receive its world premiere this September in Berlin, in a concert performance lasting from 12 midnight to 8am at which the audience will be given beds instead of seats and programmes. The eight-hour version will be available as a digital album, and for those who prefer it, a one-hour adaptation of the work – from SLEEP – will be released on CD, vinyl, download, and streaming formats, all through Deutsche Grammophon, on 4 September.

    24 NEW -  80 Total
    SYND:     Classical 24, CBC
    Direct: SiriusXM/Spa, MOOD
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, St. Louis, Seattle, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Portland, Detroit, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Austin, New Orleans, Memphis, Louisville, Honolulu, Canada, UK
    Online: Taintradio, Stuff.co.nz, theartsdesk.com, Passion Musique, The Quietus, MoneyTalksNews NewsonNews, The 405, Classical Music, Jackson, Daily Democrat