Introductio
POSTSCRIPT
Aysha Wills, traverso
David Westcombe, traverso
Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde, cello
Artem Belogurov, harpsichord
This is an album of music from the Galant era, a term that covers a whole world of sins and rather than try to describe it, we’ve found some of our favourite examples and decided to present them to you here. This is our introduction of both Postscript and the music of the Galant period, and with Telemann as the central theme, we’ve chosen composers who complement, match or contrast with his style. You’ll hear his work throughout the programme, from the dark, ominous Largo of the Quartet that starts the performance to the more dance-like or lyrical pieces that follow.
Reviews:
The Fiery Angel
Maya Fridman, Artem Belogurov
Sergei Prokofiev
From Maya Fridman's notes on the CD:
"[...] The idea of this work came to me in December 2014. A few months before that, I started to play with Artem Belogurov. His genius and charisma prompted me look for a piece which could develop into an exciting and mystic adventure. I knew what I wanted to find: the depth embracing the light and the dark, a story that could transcend time and language, music itself. Going back to December I was sharing my ideas with my mother, when she spontaneously suggested to arrange Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel. The prospective of working on this piece thrilled me and at the same time seemed impossible.
While working on the first movement, it still felt as an impossible task. Like watching life forming in smoke with its own laws and rules to which I had to obey. I felt prisoned in Renata’s delirium and lacked clarity. Just as her idea of an Angel was crystallizing in her mind, the music became tangible by itself. It triggered me and I could not stop working until the chapters were finished. Often, I had the impression that as in Renata’s case, the radiant image of the Angel was fleeting from my hands. Just like her story this music is a paradox, the essence of which is the union of ecstasy and suffering. Her burning was an act of symbolic death in which she united with the Angel, through the ecstatic destruction of self. This music requires dissolution to exist and faith to surrender. It is the celebration of the Symbolists idea that the material reality is nothing but a distorted echo of another realm."
Reviews:
American Romantics
THE BOSTON SCENE
A unique collection of American romantic piano music, written largely in the last third of the 19th century, by Foote, Whiting, Paine, Chadwick and Nevin. In a period where in Europe piano music was in the hands of towering virtuosos like Liszt, Anton Rubinstein and later Rachmaninoff, the American scene was notably less tormented, focusing on tone painting idyllic landscapes, rural scenes and charming dance forms. These genre pieces share the same delightful characteristics as their European pendants by Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Grieg, Gade, Sinding and others.
The booklet contains extensive liner notes on the music and composers, an artist biography and information and photos of the instrument.
Reviews and awards:
CD of the week on Austria's Stephansdom Radio Station