Stories for January 23, 2021
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Jeni Slotchiver - American Heritage takes you to a different world of patience and space / Jazz Weekly
Posted At : January 23, 2021 6:24 AM
Following the success of the Busoni The Visionary series, Jeni Slotchiver is humbled to introduce something so intimately close to home. With Southern roots of her own, Ms. Slotchiver's debut ZOHO CD release American Heritage is her homage to the legendary composers preserving American folk music and creating anew. What was once familiar, is reborn. Spanning 125 years, from Louis Moreau Gottschalk's The Banjo (ca. 1854-5) to Frederic Rzewski's Down by the riverside (1979), American Heritage presents piano compositions by composers of concert music, inspired by the melodies, dance rhythms, harmonic inventions and various stylistic elements evocative of the American experience. Of the eight composers represented, six are of African descent and two of these are women. There are quotes from spirituals, use of the African American pentatonic scale, the African call and response structure popularized in southern church tradition, polyphonic rhythms of jazz, and the rich, sultry harmonies of blues. With the exception of the rich musical heritage of Indigenous people, the largest and most important American folkloric body of work arrived on American shores with the first enslaved African people. Jazz Weekly's George W. Harris writes....Pianist Jeni Slotchiver gives solo interpretations of music from early to late 20th Century, taking you to a different world of patience and space. While classically trained, Slotchiver has a rich blues touch and a bona fide feel for gospel and folk material. Material ranges from a homespun read of "Swanee River" to the spiritual "Down By The Riverside" as well as the folk classic "Shenandoah" but with an arrangement by Keith Jarret. Parlor moods are presented in a collection of pieces from Harry Thacker Burleigh and the genteel pen of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, on "Union" and "The Banjo" while traditional pieces like "Deep River" and even 1967's "Troubled Water" feel like they've both been drawn from the same well. A journey to another world and world view. SEE THE Jazz Weekly PAGEJane Ira Bloom and Mark Helias improvise together over zoom / NPR: Fresh Air
Posted At : January 21, 2021 12:00 AM
Soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and bassist Mark Helias come together to create duets discovered in the moment in a way that is rarely heard today with Some Kind of Tomorrow. The long time bandmates, separated by space and time find a way to play in real time with one another and the results are magical. Two master improvisers and composers bring listeners up-close and personal to the first spark of their imaginations at work, recording eleven duet improvisations over the spring, summer, and fall of 2020. The music is raw, authentic, intimate, alive, and unapologetic in its passion. Their sound is deep wood and polished brass recorded with a depth that is hard to describe. They played the music, recorded it, mastered it firsthand and are now making it available to listeners for the first time as a digital download on Bandcamp. Don't miss these fearless jazz explorers as they face the future. Heard on Fresh Air, here's Kevin Whitehead's piece. LISTEN & READ THE TRANSCRIPTShunia delivers heart-lifting chants for these troubled times / American songwriter
Posted At : January 20, 2021 12:00 AM
Shunia is a duo that combines addictive melodies, ancient chants and polycultural rhythms into a sound that feels both new and timeless. Their music captures and conveys deep energies and spirit. The state of "shunia" means stillness, receptivity. Shunia's members, Lisa Reagan and Suzanne Jackson both performed with the Washington National Opera for 20 years before finding continued success in their solo careers. Coming together as Shunia, they combined their influences, inspirations and experiences to create genre-defying music with the power to transform and to connect you to the energy within and around you. It can put you in touch with something as simple as your five senses or as mysterious as the infinite. American Songwriter's NADIA NEOPHYTOU writes......To press play on Shunia's new album of chants is to allow a wave of calm and relaxation to wash over one's whole self. For Lisa Reagan and Suzanne Jackson, who've known each other for 30 years, sharing the gift that's been a major part of their lives with others is the reason they began recording together as the duo Shunia in the first place. "Music in and of itself is such a powerful medium," Reagan tells American Songwriter. "It is the language of our humanity and our souls. We know these mantras are tried and true, and we have personally been chanting them for years." READ THE FULL American songwriter ARTICLEEd O'Keefe is the CBS news white house correspondent who came to play / 98.7WFMT Q&A
Posted At : January 20, 2021 12:00 AM
WFMT: Chicago 's Candice Agree writes....From the age of 3, CBS News political correspondent Ed O'Keefe toiled at a keyboard-not in typing, as unintended preparation for his 13 years at the Washington Post, but in studying classical piano in Delmar, a suburb of Albany, NY. Although he loved playing, his interest in current events and politics pulled him into a journalism career. No stranger to Chicago, in 2008, O'Keefe was in Grant Park the night that Barack Obama was elected president. O'Keefe, 37, is about to become a fixture in the White House press room, as he will cover the Biden administration for the TV network he joined in 2018. But he has never left his first passion far behind. He shared some musical memories with us before taking on his new assignment at CBS News as Senior White House & Political Correspondent. Photo courtesy CBS News) READ Candice Agree's Q&A with Ed O'Keefe.Jane Ira Bloom, Mark Helias 'Some Kind Of Tomorrow' is raw, intimate, and fearless / JAZZ VIEWS
Posted At : January 20, 2021 12:00 AM
Jane Ira Bloom, Mark Helias 'Some Kind Of Tomorrow' was Reviewed by JAZZ VIEWS Sammy Stein, who wrote........
Saxophone player Jane Ira Bloom and bass player Mark Helias are long-time collaborators. This album was born out of the need to create music in such a unique time where live audiences and in-person studio recordings were impossible. Recorded remotely from their homes, the music stands as a departure from any kind of release they have done together as all tracks are completely improvised. The resulting sound is raw, intimate, and fearless. I asked Jane Ira Bloom about the recording, and she explained, " Given how we had to make this made Mark and I rely on the most basic aspect of our collaborative impulse – our two sets of ears. Mark and I have known one another for over 40 years. We first met in New Haven CT in the 1970s, and when you think about it, you build up so much shared vocabulary when you've played with someone over such a long time. We really didn't plan this recording. It happened because we needed to improvise with one another and so the music emerged from a different place than normal when you plan a recording project." READ THE FULL JAZZ VIEWS REVIEWSignum Saxophone Quartet - Echoes is the WFMT: Featured New Release
Posted At : January 19, 2021 12:00 AM
An ensemble that attracts rave reviews and sell-out crowds at prestigious venues everywhere from Vienna to New York, the sensational Signum Saxophone Quartet presents their first Deutsche Grammophon album. Featuring inventive arrangements of music by composers from Dowland to Peter Gregson, as well as Guillermo Lago's Sarajevo, a saxophone quartet original, Echoes showcases the full potential of the saxophone – a modern instrument more than capable of capturing the echoes of the past. For January 19, 2021, the Signum Saxophone Quartet: Echoes is the WFMT: Chicago 'Featured New Release.'Sa Re Sa Sa is a healing mantra which rings true for Shunia / Yogi Times
Posted At : January 19, 2021 12:00 AM
Yogi Times - Windy Campbell writes....Sa Re Sa Sa is a famous mantra in the Kundalini Yoga community, which embraces ancient mantras and modern affirmations as a critical aspect of everyday yoga and meditation. The Sa Re Sa Sa chant is believed to remove adversity and negativity from within, awakening one's Infinite Creative energy and removing obstacles to higher consciousness. Sa Re Sa Sa chant is often a starting point in one's yogic journey, which rings true for the duo Shunia, whose members, Suzanne Jackson and Lisa Reagan, share a love of yoga, meditation, and singing; both have followed a path from opera's world stage to immersion in a chant. The duo's mission is to merge music, mantra, and movement with healing and connection. The pronunciation of the Sa Re Sa Sa mantra is relatively straightforward. TAKE A LOOKTop 10 for Jan
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SIGNUM saxophone quartet :
Echoes
An ensemble that attracts rave reviews and sell-out crowds at prestigious venues everywhere from Vienna to New York, the sensational SIGNUM saxophone quartet are now set to present their first Deutsche Grammophon album. -
The Album Leaf :
SYNCHRONIC - OMPS
Milan Records announces the release of SYNCHRONIC (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) with music by The Album Leaf. -
Poor Clare Sisters of Arundel :
Light for the World
More than 800 years since they were founded, the Poor Clare Sisters of Arundel – a community of 23 nuns living in the south of England – have found themselves unexpected recording stars. -
Ilan Eshkeri :
A Perfect Planet
Sony Music today announces the January 8, 2021 release of A PERFECT PLANET (SOUNDTRACK FROM THE BBC SERIES) with music by composer ILAN ESHKERI (Stardust, The Young Victoria). -
Jane Ira Bloom, Mark Helias :
Some Kind of Tomorrow
Soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and bassist Mark Helias come together to create duets discovered in the moment in a way that is rarely heard today with Some Kind of Tomorrow. -
Catalyst Quartet :
Uncovered Vol. 1 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
On Friday, February 5, 2021, GRAMMY Award-winning Catalyst Quartet releases UNCOVERED Volume 1 on Azica Records. -
Laila Biali :
A Case of You - LIVE
SOCAN Music and JUNO Award winner Laila Biali shares an intimate acoustic cover of Joni Mitchell's classic love song, A Case of You, captured live off the floor at Revolution Recording Studios. -
Max Richter :
Beethoven - Opus 2020
Max Richter and Deutsche Grammophon are set to release a brand-new orchestral composition to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birthday. -
Yo-Yo Ma | Kathryn Stott :
Comfort and Hope
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott come together again, this time for Songs of Comfort and Hope, set for release on December 11, 2020 on Sony Classical. -
Benjamin Grosvenor :
Liszt
Hot on the heels of his 2020 Diapason d'Or and Gramophone Award triumphs, British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor presents his first album in a renewed exclusive partnership with Decca Classics.
Performance Santa Fe sponsors Daniil Trifonov in an intriguing program of 10 works covering each decade of the 20th century / Santa Fe New Mexican
Posted: April 29, 2018 12:00 AM | By: AdminThe Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov gained attention by winning the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, and quickly gained a spot among the A-list of the world's keyboard virtuosos. Performance Santa Fe sponsors him in an intriguing program of 10 works - one from each decade of the 20th century, beginning with Berg's Piano Sonata (composed in 1907-1908) and concluding with Thomas Adès' Traced Overhead (from 1996). Along the way, he visits pieces by Prokofiev, Bartók, Copland, Messiaen, Ligeti, Stockhausen, John Adams, and John Corigliano. The concert takes place on Tuesday, May 1, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center.
SEE THE Santa Fe New Mexican PAGE
Crossover Media Projects with Daniil Trifonov
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Daniil Trifonov
Silver Age
Daniil Trifonov's latest album for Deutsche Grammophon, recorded with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, recalls a time when Russia's composers, poets, artists, dramatists and star performers were among the most original anywhere in the world. Internationally released today, November 2020, Silver Age illustrates the artistic audacity and brilliance of a turbulent era in the country's history with works by three of its most pioneering composers.
The Russian pianist's new album, which will be available in double disc and e-album formats, includes Scriabin's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in F sharp minor Op.20, Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No.2 in G minor Op.16 and Stravinsky's Three Movements from Petrushka. The tracklist also comprises Stravinsky's Serenade and excerpts from The Firebird (arranged for piano by Agosti), together with Prokofiev's Sarcasmes Op.17, Piano Sonata No.8 in B flat major Op.84 and the "Gavotte" from 3 Pieces from "Cinderella" Op.95 No.2.
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Daniil Trifonov
Destination Rachmaninov - Arrival
After the highly acclaimed album "Destination Rachmaninov – Departure" Daniil Trifonov concludes his Rachmaninov project on 11 October 2019 with his new album "Destination Rachmaninov – Arrival". For this occasion, DG will release a 4 LP Gatefold set exclusively as D2C product, which will include all 4 Piano Concertos by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov.
In addition to the Piano Concertos, this album features a selection of Daniil Trifonov's own Rachmaninov transcriptions including Rachmaninov's famous "Vocalise" and virtuosic "The Silver Sleigh Bells". Finally, the product features an unreleased track of the heart-rending "Vocalise" in an exclusively long version.
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Daniil Trifonov
Destination Rachmaninov - Departure
As a teenager, Daniil Trifonov absorbed lessons from the recordings of Sergei Rachmaninov, lessons that fed the creative process of his latest Deutsche Grammophon project, Destination Rachmaninov – Departure, the first of two albums comprising Trifonov's cycle of the great Russian composer's piano concertos. Destination Rachmaninov – Departure, set for release on October 12, 2018, features Concertos Nos. 2 and 4, along with Rachmaninov's solo piano transcriptions of three movements from Bach's Violin Partita in E major. Together with its upcoming October 2019 sequel Destination Rachmaninov – Arrival, which contains Concertos Nos. 1 and 3, Trifonov's new album documents a journey of artistic exploration made in company with the Philadelphia Orchestra and its music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who have a special, historical connection to Rachmaninov. Rachmaninov first performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and its then Music Director Leopold Stokowski in 1913 as a soloist in his own Third Piano Concerto and returned many times as pianist and conductor before his death thirty years later.
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Daniil Trifonov
Chopin Evocations
Pianist Daniil Trifonov's latest Deutsche Grammophon album captures the magic of Chopin's music and traces its influence through the works of five other composers. Chopin Evocations is set for release on October 6, and Trifonov will perform in the United States throughout October and November. On this double-disc set, Trifonov performs Chopin's two piano concertos and a selection of some of his earliest and latest solo works as well as tributes to Chopin by Grieg, Mompou, Schumann, Tchaikovsky and Barber. This recording features world premiere recordings of new orchestrations of the Piano Concertos by Trifonov's fellow pianist-composer Mikhail Pletnev, who conducts the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in these renditions.
27 NEW 83 TOTAL
SYND: NPR, C24, TRH, CBC
Direct: SiriusXM
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Dallas, Seattle, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Portland, Cincinnati, Detroit, NJ(Statewide), MN(Statewide), IA(Statewide), AL(Statewide), NE(Statewide), Canada
Online: The Rehearsal Studio -
Daniil Trifonov
Transcendental
Daniil Trifonov is one of the few pianists to have recorded Liszt's concert Études in one concentrated period and the first to record them in full for Deutsche Grammophon. He set down his visionary interpretations within the space of five days, a feat in keeping with the tireless energy and superhuman spirit of Liszt himself. Trifonov's approach to Liszt is informed by the legacy of the Russian school of piano playing in which he was raised and by his profound understanding of the composer's musical language. "Liszt's technical virtuosity is just a means to evoke extremes of emotion," observes Trifonov. "His daring harmonic and structural innovations revealed new horizons for emotional and psychological expression in music. His compositions can be described as dynamic depictions of the spiritual experiences of a Romantic soul."
11 NEW 51 TOTAL
SYND: Classical 24, CBC
Direct: SiriusXM, MOOD, AccuRadio
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Portland, Cincinnati, Houston, Detroit, Santa Fe, Hartford CT, Honolulu, KS(Network), NE(Network), IN (Network), SC (Network), Canada
Online: WSJ -
Daniil Trifonov
Rachmaninov Variations
Daniil Trifonov's latest recording for Deutsche Grammophon, released on August 28, 2015, pays homage to his musical idol, Sergei Rachmaninov, as the 24-year-old Russian artist connects with the soul and spirit of his fellow countryman's art. Rachmaninov Variations, his first studio album, unlocks the romance, energy and sheer virtuosity of the fiendishly difficult Variations on a Theme of Chopin and Variations on a Theme of Corelli, both ideal showpieces for this young pianist's talents. By way of a perfect interlude between these two classics of the solo piano repertoire comes the world premiere recording of Trifonov's own Rachmaniana, created as a tribute to the legendary pianist-composer.
29 NEW 90 Total
SYND: Classical 24, Exploring Music, CBC
Direct: SiriusXM, Music Choice, MOOD
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Dallas, Atlanta, St. Louis, Seattle, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Portland, Detroit, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Pittsburgh, Austin, New Orleans, Memphis, Columbus OH, Madison WI, Honolulu, Canada
Online: Taintradio, Sinfini -
Daniil Trifonov
The Carnegie Recital
For Daniil Trifonov, January 28 marks the U.S. release of Trifonov: The Carnegie Recital, his debut album as an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon recording artist. Last February – the day before his sold-out main-stage Carnegie Hall recital debut –the young Russian pianist signed with the illustrious label, and the first release of their new partnership is a live recording of that performance. Capturing his accounts of Liszt's formidable B-minor Sonata, Scriabin's "Sonata-Fantasy" in G-sharp minor, Chopin's 24 Preludes, and, as an encore, the second of Medtner's Four Fairy Tales, the new disc has already scored a multitude of rave reviews in Europe; Germany's Bayerischer Rundfunk spoke for many in observing: "At 21, Daniil Trifonov has already cultivated a pianistic freedom that…will probably remain out of most pianists' reach all their lives." The U.S. release is timed to coincide with Trifonov's return to Carnegie Hall on February 6, when he will play Schumann's Symphonic Etudes alongside works by Ravel, Debussy, and Stravinsky. The same program serves as the vehicle for his Symphony Center recital debut, presented by the Chicago Symphony, three days later (Feb 9).
49 New 'ON' this week: 85 TOTAL
SYND: PRI/Classical 24, The Romantic Hours
Direct: SiriusXM, Music Choice, MOOD
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Dallas, Atlanta, Seattle, Cleveland, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Denver, Portland, Baltimore, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, Albuquerque, Buffalo, Honolulu
Online: RadioIO, Taintradio, WGOE, MusiClassical