Out Friday: world premiere recordings by Lee Kesselman

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Music by Lee Kesselman out November 15

Would that Loving Were Enough includes world premiere recordings of works written for HAVEN: Soprano Lindsay Kesselman, clarinetist Kimberly Cole Luevano and pianist Midori Koga

The first album devoted to music by Lee Kesselman, Would That Loving Were Enough is released November 15, 2024 on Blue Griffin Records (BGR675). The collection of world premiere recordings is performed by HAVEN (Soprano Lindsay Kesselman, clarinetist Kimberly Cole Luevano and pianist Midori Koga).

A prolific composer renowned for his choral works and operas, Kesselman turns his attention to the intimacy of chamber music. The stylistically diverse collection includes original works “Make me a Willow Cabin” set to words from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, “Would That Loving Were Enough” with music and poetry by Kesselman himself, a musical re-thinking of a Handel aria and “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise,” by George Gershwin. All of the works on the album were written for these performers. The trio HAVEN performs most of the selections; and cellist Allison Rich replaces the clarinet in the trio for "Piangerò" and "How I Hate This Room."

One of Kesselman's inspirations is Japanese music and poetry. The album opens with his arrangement of the popular Japanese folksong "Sakura," which is followed by his original composition "Ashes & Dreams." That work alternates texts of Japanese poetry forms haiku (traditionally written by men) and waka (traditionally written by women); Kesselman's musical styles emphasize the difference in the poetic content.

"It's been gratifying to compose so many of these works for my daughter Lindsay and her colleagues Kimberly and Midori in HAVEN," says Kesselman. "What a pleasure to hear my music come alive through the recording process. It's an album I am extremely proud of."

Lee Kesselman, composer
Would That Loving Were Enough

Release date: November 15, 2024 | Blue Griffin Records (BGR675)

Performed by HAVEN
Lindsay Kesselman, soprano
Kimberly Cole Luevano, clarinet
Midori Koga, piano

with cellist Allison Rich on tracks #10 and #12

TRACK LISTING

[01] Sakura (8:45)
Japanese folksong arr. Lee R. Kesselman (2018)

Ashes and Dreams
Music by Lee R. Kesselman (2016)
[02] 1. Prelude (2:48)
[03] 2. Wakaishu Ya (1:23)
[04] 3. Omoitsusu (2:16)
[05] 4. Te No Ue Ni (0:54)
[06] 5. Kagiri Naki (1:46)
[07] 6. No O Yaku To (1:56)
[08] 7. Yume Ni Dani (4:16)
[09] 8. Nishi No Sora E (2:50)

[10] Piangerò (8:45)*
Music by Lee R. Kesselman (2012)
A musical re-imagining of George Frederic Handel's aria of the same name and lyrics by Nicola Francesco Haym from the opera Giulio Cesare

[11] Make Me a Willow Cabin (9:39)
Music by Lee R. Kesselman (2014)
Lyrics by William Shakespeare from Twelfth Night

[12] How I Hate This Room (10:39)*
Music by Lee R. Kesselman (2007)
Lyrics by James Tucker after Charlotte Perkins Gilman from The Yellow Wallpaper

Would That Loving Were Enough
Music and Lyrics by Lee R. Kesselman (2021)
[13] I. I Prefer a Wine of Some Complexity (2:59)
[14] II. You Lie A-Bed (4:43)
[15] III. I Wish That Loving Were Enough (3:57)
[16] IV. That's A Wrap (2:22)

[17] I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise (2:40)
Music by George Gershwin arr. Lee R. Kesselman (2018) Lyrics by B.G. De Sylva and Ira Gershwin

*with cellist Allison Rich

Artist Biography

Composer Lee R. Kesselman is best known as a composer of vocal works, including opera, music for chorus, chamber music and solo songs. Kesselman was Director of Choral Activities at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, a suburb of Chicago, from 1981 until 2022. He was Founder and Music Director of the New Classic Singers, a professional choral ensemble. He performs regularly as a conductor and as a collaborative pianist. Kesselman is also Past-President of the Illinois Choral Directors Association. His works include over 100 choral works, 2 chamber operas, more than 30 art-songs and chamber works for solo voice, in addition to chamber music and works for large ensembles and for dance. His choral compositions and arrangements stretch across all kinds of choirs, with and without accompaniment. Many of his choral works are published by Boosey & Hawkes, G. Schirmer, Carl Fischer Music, Hal Leonard Music. Other works are available through Kesselman Press or through MusicSpoke.com. Kesselman is known for his diverse musical styles, unique approach to vocal texts, and compositional craft. Many of Kesselman’s works can be found on Soundcloud.com/lee-kesselman and a complete catalog on kesselmanpress.com. For more information, contact the composer at LRKmus@sbcglobal.net. 

Cleveland Chamber Music Society featured in The Land.

The Cleveland Orchestra isn’t the only organization in Northeast Ohio that’s been making great music for decades.  

Just a few miles east of Severance Music Center, a much smaller but no less determined organization has also been serenading citizens for a long, long time, and attracting committed followers. 

That group? The Cleveland Chamber Music Society (CCMS). 

Once an occasional performance presented by a small band of friends, the series has grown into a pillar of classical music in Cleveland. Indeed, the season now starting marks the group’s 75th anniversary, making it one of the region’s longest enduring musical organizations. 

Read the full article in The Land. here.

Nov. 13 at Baruch PAC: Krakauer & Tagg's "Breath & Hammer"

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Baruch Performing Arts Center presents
KRAKAUER & TAGG: BREATH & HAMMER

Klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer and pianist Kathleen Tagg bring a program of world music, improvisation, and classical music to the Silberman Recital Series

On Wednesday, November 13 at 7 pm, Baruch Performing Arts Center presents Grammy-nominated classical and world music clarinetist David Krakauer with acclaimed South African-raised pianist/composer/producer Kathleen Tagg in their program Breath & Hammer.

Krakauer has been praised internationally as a key innovator in modern klezmer as well as a major voice in classical music. Tagg is an award-winning pianist, composer and producer who has crafted a distinctive style that mixes together acoustic and electronic sounds, loops, samples and extended techniques. 

Their program Breath & Hammer brings together world music, classical music and improvisation. It is a unique opportunity to see the pair’s unorthodox playing styles in a chamber music setting. Krakauer & Tagg's acrobatic and highly virtuosic arrangements of tunes by a host of performer-composers from around the globe are placed alongside original compositions and complete reimaginings of traditional tunes and standards close to their hearts. Selections include the jazz standard "Body and Soul," music by Claude Debussy, John Zorn, Kinan Azmeh and more.

Krakauer & Tagg began working together in 2012, and each year have pushed further against the boundaries of standard concert programming by creating programs that completely redefine the sounds and roles of their instruments: Krakauer’s use of extended techniques, improvisation, and circular breathing on the clarinet, along with Tagg’s prowess inside the piano to remake it as a harp, a zither, a drum, and a cello creates a collective sound that completely transforms these two acoustic instruments. Their work together includes large-scale dialogue works; creating works for soloists and orchestra or symphonic wind band; multimedia immersive works with spatialized audio and live video art; film scores; works for genre-crossing band, alongside their acoustic and electric duo performance programs. 

Tickets to Krakauer & Tagg: Breath & Hammer on November 13 at 7 pm are $35 general admission ($20 for students), available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu. Baruch Performing Arts Center is at 55 Lexington Avenue (enter on 25th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues, on the south side of the street). This concert is part of the Silberman Concert Series.

Calendar Listing

Silberman Concert Series

Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 7 pm

Baruch Performing Arts Center presents:
KRAKAUER & TAGG: Breath & Hammer

Baruch PAC (55 Lexington Ave., New York, NY) (enter on 25th St. between 3rd and Lexington Aves)

Tickets are $35 general admission ($20 students), available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu

PROGRAM

November 22 by Kinan Azmeh, arr. Kathleen Tagg
Première Rhapsodie by Claude Debussy
Parzial by John Zorn, arr. Krakauer, Tagg
Der Gasn Nign, Trad., arr. Krakauer, Tagg
Berimbau by Kathleen Tagg
Body and Soul by Green, Heyman, Sour, and Eyton, arr. Krakauer, Tagg
Chassidic Dance by Abraham Ellstein
Moldavian Voyage by Emil Kroitor, arr. Tagg, Krakauer
Synagogue Wail by David Krakauer
Der Heyser Bulgar, Trad. arr. Krakauer and Tagg

Baruch PAC 2024-25 Season:

• November 13: Krakauer & Tagg

• January 8 – February 9: Dead as a Dodo from Wakka Wakka (part of the Under The Radar Festival)

• January 27: Michael Yeung, percussionist

• March 6: Chelsea Guo, pianist and vocalist

• May 13-25: Faust from Heartbeat Opera

• May 19: Hanzhi Wang, classical accordionist 

Baruch Performing Arts Center

Baruch Performing Arts Center is at 55 Lexington Avenue (enter on 25th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues, on the south side of the street) in the heart of Manhattan. Praised for its superb acoustics, the Rosalyn and Irwin Engelman Recital Hall has been called "a perfect hall for chamber music" by Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times. 

Out Friday: New arrangements of Balkan folk songs for piano

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Croatian American pianist Vedrana Subotić releases "Chiaroscuro" on Blue Griffin Records

October 18 release features world premiere recordings of five arrangements of folk songs from former Yugoslavia for solo piano

Album also includes B minor Sonata by Franz Liszt

Croatian American pianist Vedrana Subotić (pronounced VEH-dran-ah SOO·buh·tihch) has commissioned and recorded five new arrangements of folk songs from former Yugoslavia. On October 18, 2024 Blue Griffin Records releases "Chiaroscuro" (BGR673), which features these arrangements of traditional Romani, Bosnian, Macedonian, and Montenegrin songs by Igor Iachimciuc and Christopher O'Riley paired with Liszt's Sonata in B Minor.

Subotić chose five of her favorite traditional folk songs which she learned to play on the piano as a child as her mother sung her the melodies. "They were sung in times of turmoil and peace, sadness and joy, life and death. They speak of love and longing, of hope, beauty, and loss," says the pianist. "By recording these five commissioned arrangements for solo piano, I hope to share their unique beauty with both the uninitiated and with those who already know and love them as much as I do."

The album is rounded out with Franz Liszt's B minor piano sonata. The scope of the work is reminiscent of the epic poetry from the composer's native Hungary, and melodies throughout are based on regional modal scales, paired with a Hungarian Czardas (fast, wild traditional dance).

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

VEDRANA SUBOTIĆ, piano
Chiaroscuro

Release date: October 18, 2024
Blue Griffin Records (BGR673)

TRACK LISTING

[01]"Djelem, Djelem" (I went, I went) 06:07
Romani traditional
Arranged by Igor Iachimciuc

[02] "Kad Ja Podjoh Na Bembašu" (When I went to Bambaša) 06:55
Bosnian Traditional
Arranged by Christopher O'Riley

[03] "Makedonsko Dvoječe" (Macedonian Girl) 04:31
Macedonian traditional, Jonče Hristovski
Arranged by Christopher O'Riley

[04] "Još Ne Sviće Rujna Zora" (Crimson Dawn Has Not Yet Broken) 07:22
Montenegrin traditional
Arranged by Igor Iachimciuc

[05] "Mujo Kuje Konja Po Mjesecu" (Mujo Shoes His Horse Under the Moonlight) 05:58
Bosnian traditional
Arranged by Christopher O'Riley

[06] Sonata in B minor, s.178 30:14
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Total Time = 61:10

Artist Biography
Croatian American pianist Vedrana Subotić (pronounced VEH-dran-ah SOO·buh·tihch) has earned critical praise for her “superb, intuitive, and astute” performances. She has performed concertos and recitals across North and South Americas, Europe, and Asia. In addition to standard repertoire, Subotić frequently commissions and performs new works, and has recorded for the Sony and Centaur and Blue Griffin labels.  

Subotić is a professor of piano and music entrepreneurship at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where she directs the Liszt Festival and Competition. She is also a visiting professor at the University of Chile and Artistic Director of the Intermezzo Concert Series.  

Born in Kotor, Montenegro to a nuclear physicist and an art historian, Subotić attended the University of Belgrade at age 15 and won the former Yugoslavia’s national piano competition at age 19. She studied with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University where she earned an Artist Diploma and a Doctorate, and studied with Ralph Votapek at Michigan State University where she earned a Master’s degree. 

Oct 13: Chou Wen-chung live online watch party

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October 13 at 2 pm EDT: Celebrate composer Chou Wen-chung's 101th birthday with a special virtual concert and watch party

Chou Wen-chung's (1923-2019) music performed by Continuum new music ensemble hosted by conductor Joel Sachs and Chou's son Luyen

Colleagues, students, and friends of the late composer, including Chen Yi, Zhou Long, and Roger Reynolds join for a live post-concert panel

Watch the concert and conversation beginning at 2 pm EDT/11 am PDT on October 13. Details and viewing link here

On October 13 at 2 pm EDT (11 am PDT), enjoy a live online watch party of a very special concert celebrating the music of Chou Wen-chung (1923–2019) and his 101st birthday.

A composer of music that draws on both Euro-American modernism and Chinese tradition, Chou Wen-chung has left behind a legacy of cultural exchange across international borders. The Chinese-born composer had an enormous influence on concert music in America and was responsible for bringing over the next generation of musicians from China. His former students, including Tan Dun, Zhou Long, and Bright Sheng, have won Grammy awards, Pulitzer Prizes, and Guggenheim fellowships.

The virtual watch party on October 13 centers around a video recording of a live concert performed at Columbia University earlier this year with new music ensemble Continuum under the direction of Joel Sachs. The concert represents the first public US performance of Chou’s recently rediscovered orchestral work In the Mode of Shang, as well as four other pieces composed throughout his career. The program displays Chou’s special ability to blend Eastern and Western styles, techniques and tropes in his compositions.

Exclusive to the October 13 event, each work will be introduced by Sachs in dialogue with the composer’s older son Luyen Chou. Following the program, registered listeners can gain exclusive access to participate in a live online panel discussion. and a panel that includes some of Chou Wen-chung’s most eminent friends, students and protégés—Lei Liang, Zhou Long, Roger Reynolds, Chinary Ung, Delong Wang and Chen Yi—moderated by Kathryn Knight. Both the concert and panel discussion are free of charge.

More about the concert and conversation and how to watch at this link.

The event is part of an ongoing endeavor to maintain and extend Chou Wen-chung’s legacy. Other components include commissioned works in Chou's name in China and the United States, a lecture series at the 21st Century China Center at UCSD, the Center for US-China Arts Exchange at Columbia University, and more.

October 13, 2024 at 2 pm EDT

Virtual Watch Party
Concert Celebrating Chou Wen-chung’s Centennial and his Legacy

Performed by CONTINUUM
Joel Sachs, conductor and piano

Details here

PROGRAM

All selections by Chou Wen-chung (1923 – 2019) 

The Willows are New (1957)
Yu Ko (Fisherman’s Song) (1965)
Twilight Colors (2007)
Ode to Eternal Pine (2009)
In the Mode of Shang (1956) (US Premiere) 

Watch party followed by a live post-concert discussion with Luyen Chou, Joel Sachs, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Roger Reynolds, and other special guests.

CONTINUUM chamber orchestra features long-time Continuum players Renée Jolles, violin; Stephanie Griffin, viola; Kristina Reiko Cooper, cello; Emily Duncan, flute (Continuum debut); and Moran Katz, clarinet with additional instrumentalists

Insider Interview with pianist Yukine Kuroki

On October 29, Japanese pianist Yukine Kuroki makes her Carnegie Hall debut with a recital presented by the Dublin International Competition. The program features music by Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Kapustin, Tokuyama, Schumann, Saint-Saëns and Debussy. We spoke to her about the upcoming recital, coming to NYC for the first time, winning the Dublin International Piano Competition and more.

How and when did you first become interested in music? What prompted you to begin playing piano, and when did you know you wanted to pursue a career as a concert pianist? 

I started to play piano when I was 3 years old. Because my mother was a piano teacher, there was a piano in my house. I started so naturally, because this piano was like my friend.

When I was 12 years old, I met my professor, Fumiko Eguchi. I was so thrilled that she really respects music and people. She is passionate and supports me so kindly.

I started to participate in junior international competitions all over the world. I met many amazing young pianists and professors, and I realized how beautiful music is. I wanted to learn more and more, so I practiced so hard every day and now it’s my job. I don’t think of it as “working” when I play the piano. I think I’m so lucky because for me, music is my life and my constant companion. So I’m really enjoying to have many concerts all over the world.

What did winning the Dublin International Piano Competition mean for you and your career? 

I was so thrilled to receive 1st prize in Dublin – it was my dream to win such a famous competition. After that, I won several other competitions but for me, Dublin was my first big win. It’s a really important prize and it has given me more confidence.  

After Dublin, my life has changed. I had many interviews in newspapers, articles and television, and have had many concert requests in Japan and Europe. This season I have several concerts in US and Canada. Thanks to the Dublin competition, I’m having a career as a pianist. 

The Carnegie Hall recital on October 29, 2024 is your first concert recital in the United States. What are you most looking forward to about performing in New York? 

It’ll be my first time to visit New York, so I’m curious how audiences will react there.

I remember performing in Fort Worth, Texas many years ago [as semi-finalist at the Cliburn Junior Competition]. I was thrilled that audiences had so much passion and they shouted ‘bravo’ so much. So I believe that in New York audiences will also be good. And of course I want to go sightseeing!

Tell us about your recital program. What brings these pieces together? 

I love all pieces that I’ll perform. First, Liszt is a special composer for me - when I was 10 years old, I played Liszt for the first time, and immediately fell in love with his music because it encompasses everything. Some people think his music is mainly technical. But I think he has passion, love, respect, a deep story and it’s very lyrical.  

Stravinsky’s Firebird is originally for orchestra, and in Agosti’s arrangement for piano you can hear all the orchestra sounds and colors which tell the story.

About Rachmaninov and Kapustin, it was my dream to play Rachmaninov Sonata No.2 and Kapustin Variations, I especially like its jazz rhythms. I chose Minako Tokuyama’s “Musica Nara” especially because the piece is really beautiful; it incorporates traditional Japanese melodies, evoking a smiling Budda, Japanese temple bells and jazz! How amazing that she mixed Japan and Jazz. I hope everyone will love this piece!

What is the next milestone in your career you’d like to achieve? 

 I’m happy now, so I want to keep my job as a concert pianist. I really love to perform in front of audiences, and I am most happy when I have a lot of concerts to play. I don’t even want to take a rest! 

I want to play some other big repertoire, and I like chamber music, concertos and solo piano music. I also would like to record a CD! I have so many options in front of me, so I want to keep trying everything!!

Dublin Intl Piano Competition winner Yukine Kuroki

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Winner of Dublin International Piano Competition Yukine Kuroki makes Carnegie debut

October 29 recital features works by Debussy, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, and more

"Kuroki made the grand piano sound like a symphony orchestra, so many colors and volumes. Breathtaking."  — Eindhovens Dagblad

For over 30 years, the Dublin International Piano Competition (DIPC) has brought the world’s top young pianists to Ireland to compete. In addition to a generous cash prize, winners are presented at Carnegie Hall for their debut recital. On October 29, 2024 at 7:30 pm, the 2022 winner of the DIPC Yukine Kuroki performs her U.S. debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Kuroki's recital features Romantic era favorites including Rachmaninov's Second Piano Sonata, Stravinsky/Agosti's Firebird Suite, and Debussy's l'Isle Joyeuse, plus works by Kapustin, Saint-Saens, Schumann, and Tokuyama.

In addition to her First Prize award from DIPC, Yukine Kuroki is the winner of the Liszt Utrecht Competition and a prize winner of the Rubenstein Competition. Since then she has performed all over the world, including sold-out debuts with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw, the Tokyo New City Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Lithuanian National Symphony, among others. She recently finished her master’s program of Showa Graduate School of Music under Fumiko Eguchi.

Pianist Yukine Kuroki performs at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th Street) on October 29, 2024 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $35, and are available at CarnegieHall.org | CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh. The concert is presented by Dublin International Piano Competition.

Calendar Listing

Tuesday, October 29, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Pianist Yukine Kuroki
presented by Dublin International Piano Competition

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
(154 West 57th Street, New York, NY)

Tickets are $35, and are available at CarnegieHall.org | CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh.

PROGRAM
Schumann/Liszt: Widmung
Saint-Saens / Liszt: Danse Macabre, S. 555
Debussy:  L'Isle Joyeuse
Stravinsky/Agosti: Firebird Suite
Minako Tokuyama:  Musica Nara
Rachmaninov:  Lilacs Op. 21 No. 5
Rachmaninov: Sonata No. 2
Kapustin: Variations, Op.41

Cassatt in the Basin!: More than just concerts

For over 20 years, the world-renowned Cassatt String Quartet has made bi-annual trips from New York City to West Texas for their “Cassatt in the Basin!” residency program. In Midland, Odessa, and surrounding areas they visit schools and community centers to perform and teach life lessons via chamber music and orchestral playing such as teamwork, verbal and non-verbal communication, and respect for one another. It is the only program of its kind.

In October 2023 the quartet performed at the Aphasia Center in Midland, TX. Aphasia is a language disorder that impacts how people are able to communicate through conversations as well as the ability to read and write. The Executive Director of the center, Kitty Binek, was effusive about the positive effect of Cassatt Quartet’s visit, “The unique experience of being seated among professional and engaging musicians allowed our members access to an immensely enriching event they might not have otherwise experienced. It was a joyful and memorable event, and we look forward to future collaborations to enhance the wellbeing of our members.” 

On October 17, 2024 the Cassatts will perform a “Seeing Sound” at a fundraiser for the Bynum School which provides year-round educational and vocational activities for people with special needs. During the concert Bynum students will create artwork inspired by how the music makes them feel. Their art will then be auctioned off, with proceeds benefiting the school. 

“It is such a gift to have this relationship with the community I grew up in. To perform in these spaces and work with students who might not otherwise have access to live performances really means a lot,” says violinist and Executive Director of Cassatt in the Basin Jennifer Leshnower. 

Cassatt Quartet’s fall 2024 residency is October 11-17, and features another “Seeing Sound” concert at the  Museum of the Southwest Fredda Turner Children’s Museum in Midland, chamber music coachings at schools throughout the region, including the West Texas Music Conservatory and their youth orchestra, and a Yom Kippur service at Temple Beth El in Odessa. Details about these and other events are below. For more information and full program details, visit https://www.cassattinthebasin.net.

CASSATT IN THE BASIN OCTOBER 2024 SCHEDULE

Friday 10/11
6pm
Private Yom Kippur Service, Kol Nidre at Temple Beth El
(1501 N. Grandview, Odessa)

Saturday 10/12
Time TBD
Community Concert at TBD

Sunday 10/13
2pm & 3pm
Seeing Sound Concerts
Draw to the Music at Museum of the Southwest Fredda Turner Children's Museum
(1705 W Missouri Ave, Midland)

Monday 10/14
Time TBD
Coaching
Midland High School 
(906 W. Illinois Ave, Midland)

5-6pm
Chamber Music Coaching at Texas Tech University
(18th and Boston Avenue, Lubbock)

Tuesday 10/15
Time TBD
Coaching at Permian High School
(1800 E 42nd St, Odessa)

4:30 - 7pm
Coaching at West Texas Music Conservatory
(1602 Tarleton St, Midland)

Wednesday 10/16
Time TBD
Coaching at Legacy High School
(3500 Neely Ave, Midland)

Thursday 10/17
Time TBD
Coaching at Odessa High School
(1301 Dotsy Ave, Odessa)

6pm 
Bynam School Fundraising Concert at Midland Polo Club
(5401 Polo Club Rd, Midland)

Pianist Orli Shaham on Tonebase

Pianist Orli Shaham is featured on Tonebase, the popular online piano platform for pianists and students.

Beginning July 22, 2024, Tonebase subscribers can participate in a "Community Challenge" to learn new music through tutorials and performances created by Tonebase artist Orli Shaham. The pianists will learn selections from Karen Tanaka's recently published The Adventures of Anya and share their performances with fellow Tonebase members. At the end of the challenge, participants can attend a special live VIP Zoom event with pianist Orli Shaham and composer Karen Tanaka on August 24th, at 11am PT. Visit Tonebase online for more details.

The Adventures of Anya was written for Shaham, and is a 22-movement work for solo piano that accompanies a children's story with beautiful illustrations by Tiphanie Beek. In a video series highlighting the work, Shaham narrates the story, performs the works, and gives a tutorial on how to play each movement.

Previously on Tonebase, Shaham presented a series of masterclasses on Mozart's piano sonatas (her recordings of all 18 sonatas by Mozart are available now), and a lecture-performance about Clara Schumann.

Watch "Macrons" from The Adventures of Anya by Karen Tanaka performed by Orli Shaham

Orli Shaham with composer Karen Tanaka. Read an interview with Tanaka about Adventures of Anya.

A consummate musician recognized for her grace, subtlety, and brilliance, the pianist Orli Shaham has performed with many of the major orchestras around the world, and has appeared in recital internationally, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House.

In 2024, Orli Shaham released the final volumes of the complete piano sonatas by Mozart to high critical acclaim. Her discography includes over a dozen titles on Deutsche Gramophone, Sony, Canary Classics and other labels.

Orli Shaham is on the piano and chamber music faculty at The Juilliard School. She is Artistic Director of Pacific Symphony’s chamber series Café Ludwig in California, and is a Co-Host and Creative for the national radio program From the Top.

Insider Interview with guitarist David Leisner

Guitarist David Leisner's new album Charms to Soothe (Azica Records) features rarely heard 19th century gems by Johann Kasper Mertz, Leonard Schulz, Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani, and Giulio Regondi. We spoke with Leisner about the new album, what makes this repertoire special, and his 40+ year career as a composer and guitarist.

Why did you start playing classical guitar? What drew you to it initially, and what made you stick with it? 

My mother was dying for me to play the violin when I was 9 years old. I tried, but just didn’t take to the instrument, sawing away at “Mary had a little Lamb” and sounding awful. So we next gravitated to the guitar, partly because I liked the sound and partly because it was possible to rent one on the way to buying one, so it was economically attractive. I took up folk guitar and played and sang folk songs in many different languages until I started classical lessons at 13, and then I was hooked, though I didn’t give up folk and pop singing until several years later..   

In the liner notes for Charms to Soothe, you write that you created a sonata out of the four pieces by Mauro Giuliani. Why was it important to you to do that?

Those pieces were all from the Op. 148 collection, called Giulianate, which I consider to be among the very best pieces by Giuliani.  I always thought that the first piece in the set, “La Risoluzione” was a little lonely, being in a kind of early Sonata allegro form, but without more Sonata movements to follow it.  When I was assembling repertoire for this album, it occurred to me that the Scherzo, La Melanconia and Il Sentimentale pieces in the same collection, would not only function perfectly as a typical Scherzo movement, slow movement and finale, but were also in compatible keys and shared similar musical material as well. When I played them together, voilà!, it felt just like a Sonata! 

Many listeners think of nearly the entire body of classical guitar music as soothing. What is it especially about the selections on the album that make them “Charms to Soothe”?

Well, that’s a good point, although a lot of early 19th-century guitar music consists of virtuosic showpieces that get the blood boiling. While most of the music on the album is really quite virtuosic, that’s beside the point. This music emphasizes lyricism and soulfulness.

Assuming you've lived with this music for many years, how is your approach and interpretation of them now, vs when you first learned them?

That’s a deep question. Yes, all but the Leonard Schulz pieces are pieces I have lived with for many years. I would like to think that, over the years, I have learned to be more singing in my approach to them and find an ever-greater balance between a sense of structural coherence and beautiful, colorful moments. Also, I have always taken my interpretive cues with this music from the great pianists’ interpretations of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, Mendelsohn and Schumann, and I believe that over time, this connection has deepened and become more natural. Schulz was a more recent discovery for me, but we became fast friends. 

Johann Kaspar Mertz wasn’t well known when you began to play his music 40+ years ago. Since that time, you have helped bring his music to the fore. How did you initially learn about Mertz and his compositions, and why do you feel he is an important figure in 19th century music?

I came across Mertz’s music for the first time in the mid-1970s, in the back of a book of late 19th-century music. I had been looking for music of the Victorian era, and that music in this book was OK, but the pieces at the end of the book by this Romantic-era guy that I’d never heard of were a knockout. I realized then and there that finally I had found a 19th-century guitar composer whose music was of a level of compositional sophistication and emotional depth that was on par, or close to it, with the great composers of his era.

You are also a composer. How does your experience writing music influence your skills as a guitarist? 

I have always felt that being a composer enriches your abilities as an instrumentalist, and the same vice-versa. Having familiarity with creating a piece of music from scratch gives you a sense of why one musical event might follow another and makes the whole process of developing an interpretation more organic. It sensitizes you to the emotional weight and meaning of harmony and the essential importance of character and tempo markings, not to mention the significance of nuance and fine detail in shaping an interpretation. Overall, I’d say that being a composer reminds you of the importance of Balance, so that physical/technical limitations or possibilities take a back seat to the more essential matters of the music’s meaning. On the other hand, to take it a step further, being an instrumentalist can help a composer treat seriously the importance of communicating to an audience, as well as the physical requirements and enjoyment of playing an instrument. I love pursuing both disciplines and wouldn’t have it any other way!     

Cleveland CMS Announces 75th Anniversary Season

View full press release here

The Cleveland Chamber Music Society Celebrates 75th Anniversary

2024-25 season highlights include the complete Shostakovich string quartets played by Jerusalem Quartet - a rare performance of the entire cycle

Season also includes Grammy winners Imani Winds, Chanticleer, guitarist Jason Vieaux with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and flutist Emmanuel Pahud

In 1949, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine wanted to be able to experience the kind of first rate chamber ensembles he was used to hearing back home in New York. He, along with some of his medical school colleagues, persuaded the venerable Budapest Quartet to perform three concerts in Cleveland. The wildly enthusiastic audience response set the stage for the founding of the Cleveland Chamber Music Society the following year. 

The 2024-25 season marks Cleveland Chamber Music Society's 75th anniversary. "As one of the most established concert presenters in Cleveland we're so proud to be able to bring these world renowned artists from across the globe to our city. For three quarters of a century our audiences have enjoyed performances by artists like Chanticleer, guitarist Jason Vieux, and the Jerusalem Quartet," says CCMS board chair Fern Jennings. "I'm so thrilled for this upcoming season."

A rare performance of all 15 Shostakovich string quartets by the Jerusalem Quartet is the highlight of the season. It is likely the first time the complete cycle has been performed in Cleveland. Praised by BBC Magazine as "an absolute triumph," the world-renowned Jerusalem Quartet performs Shostakovich's string quartets at the Cleveland Museum of Art in five concerts April 21-30, 2025.

Cleveland CMS season also includes performances by Chanticleer (September 24), Imani Winds with Michelle Cann (October 14) Cuarteto Casals (November 12), flutist Emmanuel Pahud (January 21), and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center with guitarist Jason Vieaux (February 11). Complete programs and details are below.

Tickets are available online at ClevelandChamberMusic.org or by phone at (216) 291-2777. Subscriptions from $120, single tickets* are $40 for adults ($35 seniors, $5 students/anyone under 19 years old).

About Cleveland Chamber Music Society

The Cleveland Chamber Music Society brings the top performers from around the world to intimate venues in Cleveland since 1949. CCMS highlights its 75th anniversary in the 2024-2025 season with the internationally renowned Jerusalem Quartet’s complete cycle of Dmitri Shostakovich’s string quartets. Other highlights in this special season include the Grammy-award winning Imani Winds, vocal ensemble Chanticleer and guitarist Jason Vieaux with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Beyond the concert stage, the CCMS’s guest artists give master classes at conservatories in Northeast Ohio that are open to the public.

Insider Interview with pianist Sahan Arzruni

Armenian-American pianist Sahan Azruni is in the midst of recording a complete history of piano music from his homeland. The latest edition, “By Women,” (rel. July 26, 2024 by Armenian General Benevolent Union) features music by 8 different women, including 2024 Pulitzer Prize finalist Mary Kouyoumdjian, and nearly all works are world premiere recordings. We spoke to him about the forthcoming album, his early inspirations, working as a sidekick to Victor Borge, and more.  

What was it about the piano that first attracted you to play it, and what made you want to pursue a career in piano?  

I started playing the piano at the age of four at the encouragement of my maternal aunt who was a pianist and a composer.  When she discovered a superior gift in my “doodling,” she took me, at the age of six, to her Austrian teacher at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory. He agreed to work with me as long as my aunt supervised my practicing. I made my first public appearance before I was five years old. 

It was not practical to make a living playing or teaching the piano in Istanbul. Thus, I entered Robert College to study chemistry. Unfortunately, I failed in English (all classes were taught in English) and I was let go. I then applied to Juilliard School, was accepted and came to New York in 1964. 

What inspired you to create this album?  

I am in the midst of recording the history of Armenian piano music. This is the fourth album. The sponsors asked me to devote this album to the music of Armenian women composers. Feminism is in, I hear! 

What elements – if any – might a listener identify as sounding like it was written by a woman; or sounding like it was written by someone of Armenian heritage?  

There is nothing special about women composers in general. The music is either good or bad. Whether they are composed by men or women, it’s irrelevant. The idea of women creating music was nothing new for me. My aunt was my first piano teacher. Also, I was a close friend of another Armenian woman composer in Istanbul, Koharik Gazarossian. In the States, I became friends with Louise Talma and Miriam Gideon and recorded many of their works. And now this collection. I have found 38 Armenian women composers so far! 

If you had to pick two pieces or composers to highlight for readers, which would you choose and why?  

Alicia Terzian from Argentina is probably one of the most challenging Armenian woman composer. I have recorded almost all her piano compositions. Her works are mostly multi-media. Another woman composer would be Gayane Chebotaryan -- there is a polished finish to her compositions. They are highly pianistic and effective. 

You worked with Victor Borge for many years. How did you first meet him?

In the sixties when I was attending The Juilliard School of Music, to help students to find jobs there was an office named Placement Bureau. In April 1968, through PB I found out that pianist Leonid Hambro was looking for a student to replace him for a week as a musical sidekick to pianist and comedian Victor Borge. Although several students has applied for the position, I was chosen by Victor Borge to work with. There were only 10 days before a week-long concerts in Hamilton, Ontario. 

 What role did you play on stage? 

The half-hour portion I would be involved in not only included new music for two-pianos but also comedic antics with Borge. Borge and I hit it off right away, not only musically and comedically, but personally as well. Without Hambro’s knowledge Borge kept offering me additional dates. (Borge was paying me only 1/5 of what Hambro was charging.) Eventually, I replaced him as Borge’s stage partner. I was associated with Borge on and off until 1986.

 What did you enjoy about this type of work? 

In many ways, my association with Borge was a positive experience for I was exposed to huge audiences. Furthermore, playing some one hundred concerts a year was an immense exposure. And finally, expanding the idea of traditional recital – presenting just music – into music and talking was a unique approach.

 How did working with Borge for so many years inform your career as a recitalist? 

Working with Borge evolved my musical understanding, developed my relationship with audiences, and freed my artistic abstraction.  

Violist Emily Brandenburg joins Cassatt String Quartet

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Cassatt String Quartet announces violist Emily Brandenburg to join in Fall 2024

Cassatt String Quartet celebrates 40th anniversary in 2024-25 season

"an extraordinary quartet" – The New York Times

The violist Emily Brandenburg joins the Cassatt String Quartet beginning in Fall 2024.

"Muneko, Jennifer, and I are overjoyed to welcome Emily Brandenburg to the Cassatt Quartet as our new violist, and to look forward to the years of shared adventures and music-making ahead! Emily brings to the CSQ her extraordinary experience as a lifelong chamber musician and an especially devoted quartet player; she balances a brilliant analytical mind with a rich, compelling, unusual voice that is deeply layered and beautiful," says CSQ cellist Gwen Krosnick.

Emily Brandenburg says “I am thrilled to be joining the Cassatt String Quartet as their new violist. I have admired the quartet for their artistry, and for their long standing commitment to new music, working hand-in-hand with a diverse array of composers. I look forward to beginning this chapter with them as they enter their 40th season and to all the years of memories and music making to come." 

Ms. Brandenburg holds degrees from Yale, New England Conservatory, and McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University. She was previously artist-in-residence at the University of Evansville in Indiana where she was principal viola of Evansville Philharmonic and a member of the Eykamp String Quartet. 

The announcement follows the departure of violist Rosemary Nelis, who joined the group in 2022, and is leaving to focus on other projects.

The Cassatt String Quartet celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2024-2025 with premieres by Joan Tower, Victoria Bond, Mari Kimura and Shirish Korde, all written for the group. The season includes a tour of Italy with guitarist Eliot Fisk, concerts across the United States, teaching residencies at major universities and conservatories, the CSQ's bi-annual Cassatt in the Basin residency in West Texas, and the Seal Bay Festival in Maine.

Cassatt String Quartet Biography

Hailed for its “mighty rapport and relentless commitment,” the New York City-based Cassatt String Quartet has performed throughout the world since 1985, with appearances at Alice Tully Hall and Weill Recital Hall; Tanglewood Music Center; the Kennedy Center; Théâtre des Champs-Élysées; Centro National de las Artes; Maeda Hall; and Beijing’s Central Conservatory. The Quartet’s prolific discography – featured three times in Alex Ross’s “10 Best Classical Recordings” column in The New Yorker – includes over forty recordings, for the Koch, Naxos, New World, Point, CRI, Tzadik, and Albany labels. The CSQ is named for the American Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt.

Insider Interview with composer Karen Tanaka

Orli Shaham is pianist, narrator, and instructor in a new video series. The Adventures of Anya is a musical fairy tale with music and original story written for Shaham by Karen Tanaka, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke. Originally published in the Japanese magazine Musica Nova, the series features 22 episodes with Shaham narrating the story, performing the music, and giving lessons on how to perform each of the corresponding compositions. (Full series available on Youtube)

In this interview with Tanaka, the composer talks about taking inspiration for her backyard, collaborating with Shaham and Beeke, and more.

What inspired you to write this story and its music? How did you come up with the idea for the story about Anya and her adventures?

The animals featured in this piano collection - the rabbit, small bird, and squirrel - visit the backyard of my home in Southern California, and they were the inspiration for this collection.  

In March 2021, the Tokyo-based music publisher Ongaku no Tomo commissioned me to compose a series of piano pieces for their magazine Musica Nova. With the series set to begin in June, I had to decide on the subject matter quickly. 

In my previous piano collection, I collaborated with the British picture book illustrator Tiphanie Beeke. When I received the new commission from Ongaku no Tomo, I emailed her again to request illustrations for this collection. After writing a rough story overnight, I sent it to her, and she agreed. Her picture books, filled with charming and adorable illustrations of animals, perfectly matched my ideas. Naturally, the main characters in "The Adventures of Anya" were animals, and I wanted to create an adventurous story infused with fantasy, love, and thrills. Each month, Tiphanie sent me a new illustration, which inspired and influenced my composing. Also, the story developed when I was working with her.

After completing the monthly series with Musica Nova, Schott Music in New York decided to publish "The Adventures of Anya" in two volumes with fully colored illustrations. Project Schott New York has published my recent chamber, orchestral, and choral works.

Tell me about your process collaborating with Orli? How did you adapt the music, knowing that you were writing specifically for her? How did she influence your composition and story?

In May 2021, the Juilliard Pre-College commissioned me a solo piano piece to be premiered by Orli Shaham. During our Zoom meeting that month, I mentioned that I was working on a new piano collection featuring animals and asked if she would be interested. Orli shared that she had a dog named Milo and sent me a picture. After our meeting, the idea of "Orli the Witch" came to mind. I shared a picture of Orli and Milo with Tiphanie Beeke, and she created an adorable illustration. 

Working with Orli Shaham was a delightful and joyful experience. She demonstrated deep insight and wonderfully expressed the composer's intentions through her piano performance. She is a natural storyteller, and her piano playing effortlessly evokes emotions beautifully, which I believe is a rare talent among pianists. Her narration was also incredible.  

 What age level is the music for players? For listeners?

I hope people of all ages will enjoy playing and listening to The Adventures of Anya.

Chou Wen-chung at 100 - concert review

On March 21, 2024 professor Frank J. Oteri brought students from his class “Analyzing and Placing Music in Historical Context” at The New School College of Performing Arts to the Chou Wen-chung Centennial Concert at Miller Theatre in NYC. The students reviewed the concert for an assignment, this is one of those reviews.

Chou Wen-chung Centennial Concert Review

By Jaden Lewis-King
”Analyzing and Placing Music in Historical Context” Spring 2024
Professor Frank J. Oteri | The New School College of Performing Arts

The Chou Wen-Chung Centennial Concert “A Retrospective” on March 21, 2024 at Columbia University's Miller Theatre was a celebration of life, music and legacy. Chou’s music was performed by the Continuum group, Joel Sachs, conductor, which is an ensemble dedicated to the performance of works by live composers. Five different and distinct musical selections and a panel discussion held by his closest friends, historians and family members helped to put his life and legacy into perspective and humanize his music and point of view through firsthand accounts and stories. The panel was a lens which allowed the audience to see Chou’s impact on Chinese and Western music. 

The concert had five musical selections: In the Mode of Shang (1956), Yu Ko (1965), Twilight Colors (2007), The Willows are New (1957), and Ode to Eternal Pine (2009), followed by a repeat performance of In the Mode of Shang to close the concert. These selections highlighted pillar points in Chou Wen-Chung’s music and acted as a timeline for his life and compositional career.

Joel Sachs, an intimate friend and collaborator of Wen-Chung was perfect at leading from a place of tenderness and care and it showed in the response from the musicians right from the opening of In the Mode of Shang. Rightfully so, as In the Mode of Shang and The Willows are New were the foundations of the night. Luyen Chou, one of the composer’s two sons, described them as love songs.  The story however is overshadowed by grief, given that Chou dedicated In the Mode of Shang to his first wife, Katherine “Poyu” Chou, who died within months of their wedding. The work remained unpublished until after Chou’s death and the world premiere of the piece as Chou originally envisioned was given by the Xinghai Conservatory Orchestra conducted by Bing Chen in November 2023. The performance heard at the New York concert was only its second time being heard in its original orchestration (three times total, if you were to count the replay).

One of the main things touched upon on the panel was love being the impetus behind most of his works, and particularly In the Mode of Shang as the depiction of a man in love. For me this also showed the intricacies of Chou and his homogenization of traditional Chinese music and traditional Western contemporary music. What was so effective about most of his orchestration was the small size of the wind section (one player per instrument) which added a layer of transparency to the music. 

The Willows Are New, Chou’s sole piece for solo piano, had no dedication, but during the panel discussion, his son Luyen Chou mentioned it was inspired by his father’s chance meeting with pianist Chang Yi-An, whom Chou wen-Chung would ultimately marry. This composition is inspired by text about bonds and parting ways. It's safe to say that the emotions and symbolisms of this piece to his life and family history are prolific, and it has a nostalgic feel which Sachs enacted well with a lot of pace and emotion. There was a care to his notes and silence wasn't a fear but an ally in his performance. 

Highlights of the concert were some of Chou’s other works: Twilight Colors and Ode to Eternal Pine.  In Twilight Colors, Chou sought to capture the changing skies over the Hudson River, which has been a source of inspiration for many artists. Interestingly enough it brought him back to his past life as an architect where he was able to take artistic inspiration in a visual medium and turn it into the ambient, beautiful soundscape he created in this work. The piece was scored for double trio, and solos by the violin, English horn and cello were stand-outs. Ode to Eternal Pine was composed in the spirit and style of traditional Korean chong ak (upper class/higher class) music and is the only piece Chou composed with an Asian, but non-Chinese, inspiration. The ancient form of chamber music sought to express the range of human emotion inspired by natural phenomena which have inspired East Asian minds for centuries. The emphasis is on the fluidity of the concurrent flow of instrumental voices, characteristic of chong ak, rather than exploitation of novel instrumental colors. This piece was different than all the others in that the percussion (bells, cymbals, chimes, gong, drums) dominated. Although it wasn't my favorite piece its contrast was stark and needed.

The other piece on the program, Yü Ko, showed more of Chou’s interest in ancient Chinese traditions. Translated to “fisherman’s song”, it is a pure example of the tablature notation from the thirteenth century. The notation is similar to that used for lute and modern guitar music which indicates the actual placement of the fingers instead of showing the physical notes. Ending the night with a second performance of “In the Mode of Shang” felt redundant at first but as it went, the lyricism and beauty carried through and was a great way to end all that had been heard leaving nothing more to be desired.

Pianist Şahan Arzruni records works by Armenian Women

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Pianist Şahan Arzruni’s new album celebrates Armenian women composers spanning 150 years

Album on AGBU/Positively Armenian released July 26, 2024

Includes world premiere recordings by eight composers, including Pulitzer Prize finalist Mary Kouyoumdjian

Two of the earliest women composers in the world were Armenian: Sahakdukht and Khosrovidukht in the 8th century. The Armenian pianist Şahan Arzruni has recorded an album celebrating women composers from the region. “By Women: piano works by Armenian women composers” is released on July 26, 2024 on AGBU/Positively Armenian. The album -– almost entirely world premiere recordings – continues Arzruni's exploration of music from his home country, including his 2021 recording of solo piano works by Alan Hovhaness. 

From Lucy (Lusine) Hazarabedian – the first Armenian woman to write specifically for the piano – to 2024 Pulitzer Prize finalist Mary Kouyoumdjian, the music on "By Women" spans 150 years. Hazarabedian composed “The Nightingale of Armenia” when she was 16 years old, and died tragically young six years later. Kouyoumdjian wrote “I Haven’t the Words” in 2020 during the racial reckoning of George Floyd's murder and subsequent protests. The composer describes the composition as a ‘sonic journal entry’.

The album includes music by Koharik Gazarossian, a Constantinople-born student of Paul Dukas. Gazarossian lived across from the founder of the Armenian National School of Music, Komitas. After Komitas’ exile in the Armenian genocide, Gazarossian copied many of his manuscripts of folk songs and used them as the basis of her own works, including the two preludes on this album. 

Alicia Terzian's “Ode to Vahan” was written for Arzruni on a commission by Mr. & Mrs. Vahakn Hovnanian. The work is based on a liturgical chant created by Khosrovidukht in the 8th century, which continues to be sung in the Armenian Church today.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

Pianist Şahan Arzruni

BY WOMEN
piano works by Armenian women composers

Release date: July 26, 2024 | AGBU/Positively Armenian

TRACK LISTING
World premiere recordings (except as noted)

GEGHUNI CHITCHYAN (b. 1929)
Sonatina
[01] Allegro (2:10)
[02] Moderato cantabile (3:54)
[03] Presto (1:56)
[04] Prelude (4:04)

KOHARIK GAZAROSSIAN (1907-1967)
[05] Prelude: "My Child, Your Mother is Dead" * (3:19)
[06] Prelude: "Your Name is Shushan" (2:40)

MARY KOUYOUMDJIAN (b. 1983)
[07] "I Haven't the Words" (3:26)

SIRVART KARAMANUK (1912-2008)
[08] "Dance-Song" (3:43)

SIRVART KAZANDJIAN (1944-2020)
[09] “The Bells of Ani” (5:40)

GAYANE CHEBOTARYAN (1918-1998)
[10] Prelude in E-flat minor (3:56)
[11] Prelude in G minor (1:52)
[12] Prelude in B-flat minor * (2:35)
[13] Prelude in E-flat minor (1:48)
[14] Prelude in B-flat minor (4:18)
[15] Prelude in F-sharp minor (2:48)

ALICIA TERZIAN (b. 1934)
[16] “Ode to Vahan” (9:58)

LUCY HAZARABEDIAN (1863-1882)
[17] “The Nightingale of Armenia” (2:57)

* Previously recorded by Şahan Arzruni in the 1980s

Suggested tracks for classical radio
[1] - [3] Chitchyan: Sonatina
[6] Gazarossian: Prelude
[8] Karamanuk: Dance-Song
[12] [13] [15] Cheboaryan: Preludes
[17] Hazarabedian: The Nightingale of Armenia

Out today: Guitarist David Leisner's "Charms to Soothe"

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Guitarist David Leisner's "Charms to Soothe" is released on Azica Records on May 24, 2024

Album includes rare 19th century gems by Mertz, Sor, Guiliani, Schulz and Regondi

Over 45 years, the guitarist David Leisner has recorded 20 albums, from The Viennese Guitar in 1979 to Charms to Soothe, released on May 24, 2024 on Azica Records. This latest album includes early 19th century music by Mertz, Sor, Guiliani, Schulz and Regondi.

"Some of these gems are not played often, and I hope that this recording might call attention to them. In addition, it is my hope that these lovely compositions may offer some solace during a very challenging period in history – 'charms to soothe the savage breast'," writes Leisner in the liner notes.

One of the composers represented on the album is the Vienna-born Leonard Schulz, who spent most of his career in London. Only a few of his compositions were published in his lifetime. Leisner speculates the reason may have been due to "a lessening of interest in guitar music in England in his generation. Or perhaps because, as reported by his contemporary, Makaroff, he was reputed to be 'the worst drunkard in 'London'." Among the extant compositions are the 12 Studies, L’indispensable, op. 40, a beautifully inventive and harmonically rich collection, three of which are included on this album.

Mauro Giuliani’s Giulianate, op. 148, is a collection of some of his finest pieces. First in the set is La Risoluzione, a stand-alone sonata allegro movement. "I always felt it was a shame that Giuliani didn’t follow through with writing more movements to form a Sonata. So, to appease that personal desire of mine, I chose three other pieces from the same opus to go with it, to make an unofficial Sonata – a scherzo, a slow movement and a rondo."

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

TRACK LISTING

Johann Kasper Mertz
Nocturne, op. 4, no. 2
[01] Andantino - Allegro con brio (4:24)

Leonard Schulz
Three Etudes (from op. 40)
[02] No. 6, in G major (3:22)
[03] No. 8, in D major (1:54)
[04] No. 9, in A major (1:38)

Fernando Sor
Two Etudes
[05] op. 31, no. 23, in E major (2:13)
[06] op. 6, no. 11, in e minor (3:58)

Mauro Giuliani
Four Pieces (from op. 148) [in the form of a Sonata]
[07] La Risoluzione, no. 1 (6:54)
[08] Scherzo, no. 4 (4:30)
[09] La Melanconia, no. 7 (4:12)
[10] Il Sentimentale, no. 6 (3:48)

Giulio Regondi
Two Etudes
[11] No. 6, in d minor (6:04)
[12] No. 8, in G major (5:40)

Johann Kaspar Mertz
Two Pieces (from Bardenklänge, op. 13)
[13] Lied ohne Worte, vol. 11, no. 1 (4:17)
[14] Mazurka, vol. 11, no. 2 (3:15)

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

David Leisner is an extraordinarily versatile musician with a multi-faceted career as performing artist, composer and teacher. “Among the finest guitarists of all time” according to American Record Guide, he has an extensive discography on the Azica, Naxos, Telarc, Bright Shiny Things, Koch and Mel Bay labels. David Leisner has performed as a soloist throughout North America, Australasia and Europe. He is also a frequent guest at important chamber music festivals around the country.

Celebrated for expanding the guitar repertoire, David Leisner has premiered works by David Del Tredici, Virgil Thomson, Ned Rorem, Philip Glass, Richard Rodney Bennett, Peter Sculthorpe, Osvaldo Golijov and others. He was a pioneer in the rediscovery of 19th-century guitar composers, Johann Kaspar Mertz and Wenzeslaus Matiegka.

Mr. Leisner is a highly respected composer, whose music Fanfare magazine described as “rich in invention and melody, emotionally direct and beautiful”. His works are performed, recorded and published worldwide. In 2023, the legendary guitarist Pepe Romero premiered Wayfaring, a concerto for guitar and orchestra, at the Hamptons Festival in New York. The work was commissioned by Brian Hays. 

A distinguished teacher, Leisner has served on the faculty of the New England Conservatory, is on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, teaches master classes around the world, and is a frequent adjudicator of international guitar competitions. His popular book, Playing with Ease, is published by Oxford University Press.

Aug 3-6: Seal Bay Festival across Maine

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The Cassatt String Quartet gives performances across Maine at the Seal Bay Festival of American Chamber Music August 3-6

Programs in Vinalhaven, Portland, and Belfast

Works by Wang Jie, Shirish Korde, Vineet Shende, Daniel Strong Godfrey, and more

"an extraordinary quartet" – The New York Times

The world-renowned Cassatt String Quartet (Muneko Otani & Jennifer Leshnower, violins; Anna Griffis, guest viola; Gwen Krosnick, cello) performs in Maine as the longtime ensemble of the Seal Bay Festival of American Chamber Music. From the island of Vinalhaven to Portland, the quartet's itinerary includes public performances August 3-6, as well as numerous concerts in retirement homes and community centers across the state September 25-29. Details are in the calendar listing below.

The 2024 festival brings composers Wang Jie, Daniel Strong Godfrey, Shirish Korde, and Vineet Shende to Maine for concerts in Vinalhaven, Belfast, and Portland. Along with guest vocalist Dominique Eade and bassist Peter Weitzner, the Cassatts perform works by these composers throughout the festival.

Founded in 1994, the Seal Bay Festival fosters the relationship between American composers, performers, and audiences. At SBF’s annual Composer Institute, composers Wang Jie, Shirish Korde, and Daniel Strong Godfrey are mentors to composers who are at the beginning of their careers. Music by these Fellows is premiered by the Cassatts on August 5, after several days of workshop rehearsals.

Complete program and venue information is below.

Seal Bay Festival Calendar Listing and Program Details

August 3, 1 pm: Open Rehearsal with the Cassatt String Quartet
Vinalhaven Public Library (6 Carver St, Vinalhaven)
Free admission
Zexuan Ding: String Quartet++
Zhang Chuqiao: String Quartet++

August 3, 7 pm: Partners in Island Education Fundraising Concert
with the Cassatt String Quartet, Dominique Eade, voice, Peter Weitzner, Bass & Wang Jie, piano
Smith Hokanson Memorial Auditorium at Vinalhaven School, 22 Arcola Ln, Vinalhaven
Suggested donation of $25, children attend free

Daniel Strong Godfrey: Amazing Grace (2020)
Wang Jie: Songs for Mahler in the Absence of Words+
Duke Ellington/Shirish Korde: Moods of Ellington (rev. 2024)++

August 4, 7 pm: Concert
with the Cassatt String Quartet, Dominique Eade, voice, Peter Weitzner, Bass & Wang Jie, piano
Smith Hokanson Memorial Auditorium at Vinalhaven School, 22 Arcola Ln, Vinalhaven
Free admission, donations are welcome

Daniel Strong Godfrey: Amazing Grace+
Vineet Shende: Solo for viola++
Wang Jie: Songs for Mahler in the Absence of Words+
Shirish Korde: God Bless the Child for voice and cello
after Billie Holiday and Eric Dolphy (2024)+
Duke Ellington/Shirish Korde: Moods of Ellington (rev. 2024)++

August 5, 7 pm: Emerging Composers Concert, presented by Composers Institute at Seal Bay Festival
with the Cassatt String Quartet
The Colonial Theatre, Dreamland, 163 High St, Belfast
Tickets are $10, available at door

Zexuan Ding: String Quartet++
Zhang Chuqiao: String Quartet++
Daniel Strong Godfrey: Amazing Grace+
Vineet Shende: Solo for viola++
Florence Price: String Quartet No. 1

August 6, 7:30 pm: Concert
with the Cassatt String Quartet, Dominique Eade, voice, Peter Weitzner, Bass & Wang Jie, piano
Portland Conservatory of Music, 28 Neal St, Portland
Tickets are $12-29, available at door and online (link coming soon)

Daniel Strong Godfrey: Amazing Grace+
Vineet Shende: Solo for viola++
Wang Jie: Songs for Mahler in the Absence of Words+
Shirish Korde: God Bless the Child for voice and cello
after Billie Holiday and Eric Dolphy (2024)+
Duke Ellington/Shirish Korde: Moods of Ellington (rev. 2024)++

+denotes Maine premiere
++denotes world premiere

Community Outreach Events September 25-29, 2024
Programs TBA

September 25

• 1 pm: 75 State Street (Portland)

• 3 pm: Atrium at the Cedars (Portland)

September 26

• 11 am: House concert (Brunswick)

• 1:30 pm: Thornton Oaks (Brunswick)

• 3:15 pm: The Highlands (Topsham)

September 27

• 11 am: Avita (Brunswick)

September 28

• 11 am: Village Square (Kennebunkport)

• 6 pm: House concert (Kennebunkport)

September 29

• 3 pm: Wells Reserve at Laudhol (Wells)

Cassatt String Quartet Biography

Hailed for its “mighty rapport and relentless commitment,” the Cassatt String Quartet has performed to critical acclaim across the world since its founding in 1985, with appearances at Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Tanglewood Music Center, the Kennedy Center, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Centro National de las Artes, Maeda Hall, and Beijing’s Central Conservatory. The group’s discography includes over forty recordings, including three discs that were named “10 Best Classical Recordings” in The New Yorker. The CSQ is named for the American Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. 

Seal Bay Festival is supported by The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, The Aaron Copland Music Fund, Alice M. Ditson Fund, Davis Family Foundation, Maine Arts Commission, and Amphion Foundation