Rachmaninoff by Rubinstein: Piano Concerto No.2, Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 - II. Adagio sostenuto (Remastered 2021)

Carmen: Seguidilla

Koum Tara is a meeting of four musical worlds centered around a common project, created and directed by pianist-composer Karim Maurice: traditional chaâbi music, classical string quartet, contemporary music, and jazz. The raw material was extracted from the traditional repertoire of Algerian singer Sid Ahmed Belksier.

These themes were worked, distorted, reharmonized and restructured to create a hybrid, cross-cultural style. As part of the writing process, these musicians brought their own identity and their specific know-how to each piece. This has been a cultural meeting of minds, resulting in a unique musical texture. Chaâbi’s traditional poetry and love songs are blended with the tradition of the Western string quartet, jazz improvisation and electronic music, creating a fusion of styles and genres within each piece.

At a time when humanity, respect for cultures, and tolerance are seen as much-needed values for building a better world, this performance offers a musical universe in which each person brings his or her identity, cultural heritage and originality to sing universal love.
 
Karim Maurice is a French pianist-composer-arranger. His Karim Maurice Project was named “Revelation 2008” at the Jazz Festival of Ramatuelle. In 2013 he won the SACEM Autoproduction Award, and was named Best Composer at the international “Made in New York Jazz Competition” in 2015.
 
Gaël Rassaert is the laureate of several chamber music competitions and enjoys an international career as a chamber musician. He is a regular guest of the Lyon National Orchestra, the Radio-France Orchestra and the Lyon National Opera. He is part of Portugal’s Darcos Ensemble, directed by composer Nuno Côrte-Real (heard on Odradek Records album ‘Mirror of the Soul’, ODRCD336). Today he devotes a large part of his activity to the artistic direction of the conductor-free La Camerata string ensemble, which he founded in March 2004. La Camerata has established itself as an important player in the musical landscape. Comprising 20 musicians from Lyon, La Camerata embraces repertoire ranging from Schoenberg, Bartók, Britten, and Shostakovich, to traditional music (Algeria, Argentina, Chile), jazz, and contemporary music.

05 - Ya Kalek Lechia

01 - Alik Belana

The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi - I. Earth Scroll (Alto Flute Version)

Sonata 46 for violin and classical guitar

Sandra Haniszewska - Violin
Tomasz Kandulski - Classical Guitar

I was attending music school as an undergraduate in 1998 at the University of Texas at Austin. At the time, Matthew Gould (of Duo 46) was attending as a Doctoral student in guitar and living in Austin with his partner, violinist Beth Schneider. They had started Duo 46 maybe a few years before this. I was hanging out with them a lot in those days - just going over to their apartment or whatever. One day, Matt said to me, "Hey man, why don't you write us a piece?", and I said, "Umm.. ok."

At this point, I don't think they expected much. They hadn't had that many pieces written for them yet, and I was just starting as a composer, only in my second year of school. I decided I wanted to write something that would really show off what they could do technically and musically, and that would leave audiences breathless.

Not knowing how to begin, I lifted a line from a piece that I had just written - a solo flute piece titled "The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi". That became the opening line of the piece. Then, inspired by the one movement sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti, I wrote the piece based on that line. The piece is full of things that I was just discovering and becoming influenced by at the time: baroque sonatas, renaissance lute music (hence the "lute" tuning of the guitar), the tangos of Piazzolla as well as the ever-present rock and heavy metal that has always been part of my music. Since Duo 46 premiered the piece in 1999, Sonata 46 has become one of my most frequently and widely performed pieces.

Notes

Sonata 46 (Haniszewska-Kandulski Duo)

A majestic selection of operatic arias interpreted by Maija Kovalevska, who, with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, performs her favourite heroines from operas by Puccini, Mozart, Massenet, Gluck and Tchaikovsky.

From Gluck’s Orfeo & Euridice Maija Kovalevska performs Euridice’s aria, Che fiero momento! (“What a proud moment!”), which anticipates the story’s climax. From Mozart’s Don Giovanni we hear Donna Elvira’s Act II aria Mi tradì quell’alma ingrata (“Cruel heart, you have betrayed me”), which reveals a woman at war with herself, furious at her lover’s betrayal but still longing for him against her own will. There are two of Mimì’s arias from Puccini’s La Bohème, alongside powerful music from Manon Lescaut, Gianni Schicchi and Turandot. From Act II of Massenet’s Thaïs there is the sensuous, passionate Dis-moi que je suis belle (“Tell me I’m beautiful”), known as the “mirror aria”; gazing at her reflection, Thaïs fears old age and longs for her beauty to remain. The album concludes with two of Tchaikovsky’s greatest operatic moments: Iolanta’s Arioso and the pivotal Letter Aria from Eugene Onegin. A gorgeous release, essential both for opera aficionados and for those seeking an introduction to the genre.

04 - Giacomo Puccini - La Boheme Act I Aria 'Si. Mi Chiamano Mimi' (Mimi)

This Offertory chant, with its lush melody, is one of the most exquisite masterpieces of the Gregorian repertoire. It invites the whole world to admire the wonder of love shown by God to the world.

This offertory undoubtedly shows one of the most spectacular of all Gregorian melismas (long-breathed melodies with several notes to each syllable). The Jubilate Deo demands bravery from the singers, but this song of praise communicates joy and enthusiasm. The Jubilate's melisma is like an immense wave of praise and joy, powerful and strong, in continuous crescendo towards its majestic peak. It consists of 55 notes and particularly favours adjacent intervals. This very tight melody rises gradually, in a grand yet steady way, to the sublime summit reached on a high F. One imagines, through this marvelous ascent, the chorus of praise growing as, one after the other, all creatures, from the most humble to the noblest, come before the throne of God and offer him in thanksgiving their immense joy.

Offertorium - Jubilate Deo Universa Terra

Odradek Records is a democratic classical cooperative, non-profit and artist-controlled label and concert association, promoting new artists and fresh repertoire.

Entrance to our roster is through anonymous demo.

Our dream is utopian: to separate music-making from markets and create a just system of pure artistic meritocracy.


Odradek Records is not just a new record label. Odradek Records is the first wedge of a larger project, proposing a new way to produce and enjoy classical music. We think that the current model undermines the true essence and significance of music. We think that a model centered on just a few big names, the great concert halls, a limited repertoire that is necessarily restricted by the bonds of popularity--a model that makes its selection of new young performers from the anti-musical system of competitions, the success of which is often obtained through extravagant histrionics rather than the correctness or subtlety of interpretation--and finally, a model that is subject to the exploitation of the marketplace, and which obliges the majority of musicians to pay enormous sums to record CDs, for which the profits then go largely to the record company, thus depriving many very worthy but not wealthy musicians from the possibility of recording--is not only a model that is far from art, but is a model that even itself is in crisis. 

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