CD · 1 disc
Society currently finds itself at an intersection of technology and humanity: as physical forms embedded with Artificial Intelligence systems may one day reach a level of sophistication that approaches human level artificial general intelligence, human engineering of the ‘inanimate’ may produce previously unimaginable companions. It is precisely this concept of an inanimate-human companionship that pioneer surgeon Dr Susan Lim, together with her project Co-Creative Director, Dr Christina Teenz Tan explore in the Fantasy of Companionship for Piano & Orchestra, composed by Manu Martin. Recorded at Abbey Rd Studios, the Fantasy draws inspiration from ‘ALAN the Musical, and follows the story of Alan the inanimate – his journey to inanimate form, through companionship with a human and his ultimate transition to a higher form through quantum entanglement – brought to life through performances from acclaimed pianist, Tedd Joselson alongside the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Arthur Fagen, together with solo voices and choral ensemble, London Voices. The iconic Belgian-American pianist Tedd Joselson describes the work as “a truly magnificent addition to the realm of piano concerto repertoire … a masterstroke of creative ingenuity, which I am truly delighted and honoured to lead as solo pianist.”
Vinyl · 2 discs
Maybe this is “Jazz according to Laurent Cugny.” Here he chooses some classic material — standards from Duke Ellington, Joe Zawinul, The Beatles, Michel Jonasz – and then introduces a few of his own compositions. The result is Zeitgeist, an album written in a universal language whose music traverses different periods and transcends melodies. Pianist, arranger, composer (and music lecturer), bandleader Laurent Cugny here conducts the best musicians France can offer, in a ten-piece orchestra whose instruments are played with precision and brilliance. Zeitgeist is masterfully electric, taking its colours from Cugny’s taste for the avant-garde at the dawn of the Seventies: it makes you think, and it gives you a kick. A jubilant record where Cugny shows a unique sense of melody, and his vision of jazz history… with a boundless joy in sharing his own definition of jazz. Augustin BONDOUX / Patrick FRÉMEAUX
SACD · 1 disc
Vinyl · 1 disc
Although the American composer David Maslanka (1943–2017) wrote in a wide range of genres, it is for his generous output of music for wind band that he is best known. Three of the works heard here are in effect symphonic poems, all three infused with that big-hearted sense of space found in the best of American music and the quiet dignity of those endless open landscapes, but also energized by a powerful sense of freewheeling drama. The fourth piece is a charming and hugely engaging presentation of the instruments of the symphonic wind ensemble, a latter-day Peter and the Wolf – likewise intended for children and similarly bubbling with good tunes. The composer himself was closely involved in the preparation for these recordings – the last major project involving his music before his death – which now stand as a testament to a man much-loved in American musical circles.
There are two themes to this recording: the time-honored genre of the folia, and an instrument made for and played by the greatest guitarist of the 20th century, Andres Segovia. With his determination to expand the repertoire of guitar music and extend the instrument beyond its associations with his native Spain, Segovia commissioned three works played here by Javier Somoza: the Variations à travers les siècles by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Variaciones y Fuga sobre la Folia de España by Ponce and a set of Four Short Pieces by Frank Martin. Segovia eventually decided that Martin’s idiom was too dissonant for his taste and so never played them, but the pieces have since become classics of the mid-20th-century repertoire alongside works by Britten and Henze. As their titles suggest, however, the other two works have a conscious relationship with the history of the guitar and its repertoire, developed from the lute and vihuela of previous centuries. Ponce only partially fulfilled Segovia’s request for ‘a series of brilliant variations on the Folias de España theme […] in the Classical Italian style of the 18th century.’ What resulted was a monumental, thoroughly eclectic work definitely not in 18th-century style. Segovia, again, decided to adapt the piece for his own ends but Somoza has returned to the original. Meanwhile Castelnuovo-Tedesco, in his first work for the guitar, also consciously embraced eclecticism in a series of different idioms: a stylized chaconne reminiscent of early music; a free variation, a waltz, and a foxtrot. There is one more modern work on the album – the dazzling Tiento by Maurice Ohana that also looks back to 18th-century Spanish idiom – which functions as a pivot between the ages. Two examples of the folia theme-and-variation form by Santiago de Murcia date from roughly 1730; and to open, Somoza travels back in time to the tientos of 16th-century Spain with three brief works by Alonso Mudarra. ‘A Guitar for Segovia’ is both an absorbing journey through the history of guitar music and an important record of a Segovia instrument: a significant addition to the expansive library of guitar music on Brilliant Classics.
After the first two volumes dedicated to the greatest Spanish guitarists, the series Master of Guitar presents in this third volume a collection of five great Cuban guitarists. Famous names like Osé Rey de la Torre and Leo Brouwer join other less known performers like Elias Barreiro, Hector Garcia and Juan Mercadal. The recorded repertoire ranges from classical works from the seventeenth Century like Gaspar Sanz to the traditional transcription of J.S.Bach, from Carulli to the most famous Spanish works, and finally we arrive in the end to the most modern and new repertoire represented by Leo Brower, Elogio della Danza. All of the tracks are taken by sources which are now unavailable and are presented here on this release that must become a staple in the collections of all guitar lovers.
