Nikos Ibarra Mante, pianist
Recorded on a Yamaha Arius
Recording date: 19 July 2013

Edvard Grieg - Lyric Pieces Book V, Op. 54, no. 4 "Notturno"

Gabriel Fauré: Pavane in F-sharp minor, Op. 50 (Arr. for Piano)

Cellist Péter Somodari and pianist Nicolas Costantinou present Hedra, an album that takes the listener through key repertoire for cello and piano, from sonatas by Beethoven and Debussy and individual pieces by Fauré to a world-premiere recording of the Cello Sonata No. 1 by contemporary Greek Cypriot composer Contantinou Y. Stylianou. 

The word ‘hedra’ (Greek: ἕδρα) refers to any side or face of a three-dimensional geometric shape. Any given face is not only connected to its neighbours, but together they contribute to and are part of the final shape. Similarly, every musical masterpiece is interconnected with those that follow, as it inevitably contributed to their formation, and this is reflected in the relationship between the works gathered together on this release. Beethoven pioneered the modern cello sonata, and from first to last his five cello sonatas chart a huge development in the genre. The Fourth, as recorded on this album, spans dark chromaticism, improvisatory freedom and extrovert exuberance in a manner that paved the way for later composers. 

Fauré’s amiable Sicilienne was composed as part of the incidental music for Molière's play, Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, while his Élégie was originally conceived as the slow movement of an abandoned cello sonata. The Élégie was described by composer Patrick Castillo as honouring “grief as a multifaceted thing”, relating it to this album’s theme. Written late in his life while he struggled with illness and the impact of the First World War, Debussy’s Cello Sonata is founded on principles inherited from Beethoven and his contemporaries; Debussy said that his sonatas were composed “in the old supple forms (without the bombast of modern sonatas)”, and that the Cello Sonata is “almost Classical in the best sense of the word”.  

Stylianou’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in C major is a further continuation of the question of the sonata form and whether it is still relevant today. The work was composed during spring 2020 and in the words of the composer: “I decided to channel all the fear and frustration of the pandemic in creating a work that deals with those aforementioned questions but in a personal way. It would be impossible to avoid feelings of that period seeping into the work, but at the same time, I wanted it to be a creation in pursuit of inner balance, which is after all what the sonata form is meant to be. Whatever the opposition of two musical ideas (or more) might be, in the end, it must find a resolution of some sort.”

Péter Somodari and Nicolas Costantinou have been performing together since their student days. Currently serving as the principal cellist of both the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Péter Somodari has collaborated with such artists as Leonidas Kavakos, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Alexei Lubimov, Truls Mørk, Miklós Perényi, Boris Pergamenschikow, Christian Tetzlaff, Tabea Zimmermann, composer György Kurtág, and the Toyota Orchestra. He is currently a visiting professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna

A regular collaborator with Odradek Records, Steinway Artist Nicolas Costantinou has a doctorate from the Royal College of Music in London and is renowned for impressing audiences with his daring selection of repertoire old and new. Costantinou has previously recorded the music of Constantinos Y. Stylianou on the Odradek releases Metavasis and Past Forward. Stylianou studied and now lives in London, and his music has been performed by the Philharmonia, Bruckner Symphony Orchestra, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra and the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, in prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall in London, the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh, St David's Hall in Cardiff, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, ORF concert hall in Vienna, Megaron Concert Hall in Athens, the UNESCO Headquarters and the Cathédrale Saint-Louis des Invalides in Paris.

Gabriel Faure - Sicilienne, Op. 78

Live recording of the Austin Chamber Music Center - Adult Academy Fall Concert, December 2023 at  First Unitarian Church, Austin, TX.

4. Franz Schubert - Serenade D.957 - No.4 Ständchen

Violin Concerto In D Major, Op. 35, I. Allegro Moderato, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek will return to the Royal Opera House to sing the role of Santuzza in Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana. It's a return she's extremely excited for:

'I think Cavalleria rusticana is one of the most wonderful operas ever written. It's so passionate, real and exciting', she says. 'It has you on the edge of your seat.'

'Santuzza is a woman who's been betrayed by a lover. She then betrays him and it goes horribly wrong. To sing these big duets is just amazing. It's very dramatic.'

2015 is Cavalleria rusticana-filled for Eva-Maria as in the spring she warmed up for her London performances of the opera with a run of a different production in New York:

'I'm really excited to sing Santuzza at the Metropolitan Opera and at Covent Garden. It's really interesting to reinvent yourself with Santuzza in each production. I feel extremely lucky.'

Eva-Maria's last Royal Opera House performances were as Maddalena di Coigny in Andrea Chénier — like Cavalleria rusticana, a verismo opera:

'Verismo is my favourite style of opera. I love it so much because it demands a lot of emotion, trying to stay true and giving a lot of yourself. It's less controlled in a way — I can go wild, which I love!'

Buy Tickets

Eva-Maria Westbroek on Cavalleria rusticana

Shania Twain - From This Moment On - Piano Cover - Slower Ballad Cover

Mondschein Sonata 1.Mov by Nacho Delfin - Steinway Piano

The Gift of Soothing Piano

Johann Sebastian Bach – Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 - Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846

Sultasto. Virtuose Musik aus Barock, Klassik und Romantik. Mit Gerhard Koschel (Akkordeon) und Gerald Meißner (Violine).

Sultasto. Virtuose Musik aus Barock, Klassik und Romantik

Salut d'Amour, Op.12 (Edward Elgar)

Played with the Array Mbira Random Tines Pure preset from Sonic Bloom Array Mbira, which alternates between doubled and tripled notes of the instrument in a random fashion. No effects were added to showcase the lovely medium sustain and tone of the array mbira.

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Sonic Bloom: All Things Ableton Live, Push & Max for Live

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Array Mbira Demo - Johann Sebastian Bach - Cello Suite No. 1 In G Major, BWV 1007 Prelude

Newspaper critics are unanimous in their praise of Vadim's interpretations deeming them as «sensitive and expressive», «intelligent and powerful». With record-breaking 235 million views, his interpretation of the «Nocturne in E-flat Major» by Frederic Chopin is among the most popular classical music recordings on YouTube.

Gabriel Fauré: Pavane in F-sharp minor, Op. 50 (Arr. for Piano)

Vadim Chaimovich

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