The Americas and a new Melodram: Edition Ruhr Piano Festival, Vol. 36 Sergio Tiempo & others

• Alberto Ginastera (1916 - 1983): Tres Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2:
• 1 I. Danza del viejio boyero (Live) 01:31
• 2 II. Danza de la moza donosa (Live) 03:12
• 3 III. Danza del gaucho matrero (Live) 02:49
• Moisés Moleiro (1904 - 1979): Jaropo:
• 4 Jaropo (Live) 02:53
• Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992): Fuga y Misterio:
• 5 Fuga y Misterio (Live) 04:23
• Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887 - 1959): A prole do bebé No. 1, W. 140:
• 6 I. Branquinha (Live) 02:33
• 7 II. Moreninha (Live) 01:30
• 8 VI. A Pobrezinha (Live) 01:24
• 9 VII. O Polichinelo (Live) 01:47
• Alberto Ginastera: Malambo, Op. 7:
• 10 Malambo, Op. 7 (Live) 02:18
• Astor Piazzolla: La Muerte de Ángel:
• 11 La Muerte de Ángel (Live) 02:37
• Almeira Prado (1943 - 2010): La Muerte de Ángel:
• 12 Noturno No. 4 (Live) 03:44
• José Vieira Brandão (1911 - 2002): Estudo No. 1:
• 13 Estudo No. 1 (Live) 03:06
• Francisco Mignone (1897 - 1966): Valsa de Esquina No. 1:
• 14 Valsa de Esquina No. 1 (Live) 02:54
• Carlos López Buchardo (1881 - 1948): Bailecito:
• 15 Bailecito (Live) 01:11
• Cláudio Santoro (1910 - 1989): Bailecito:
• 16 Prelúdio (Live) 01:43
• Prelúdio:
• 17 Dança brasileira No. 1 (Live) 02:55
• Astor Piazzolla: Retrato d'Alfredo Gobbi:
• 18 Retrato d'Alfredo Gobbi (Live) 04:07
• Pigmalion:
• 19 Pigmalion (Live) 03:00
• Tango-Étude No. 3:
• 20 Tango-Étude No. 3 (Live) 02:49
• Alberto Ginastera: Tres Piezas, Op. 6:
• 21 I. Cuyana (Live) 03:44
• 22 II. Nortña (Live) 04:29
• 23 III. Criolla (Live) 04:18
• Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981): Souvenirs, Op. 28:
• 24 Souvenirs, Op. 28: Hesitation (Tango) (Live) 03:46
• Three Preludes:
• 25 I. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso (Live) 01:42
• 26 II. Andante con moto e poco rubato (Live) 03:33
• 27 III. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso (Live) 01:15
• Edward MacDowell (1860 - 1908): Sonata No. 2, Op. 50 "Eroica":
• 28 I. Slow, with nobility (Live) 07:00
• 29 II. Elf-like, as light and swift as possible (Live) 03:16
• 30 III. Tenderly, longingly, yet with passion (Live) 04:45
• 31 IV. Fiercely, very fast (Live) 07:03
• Henry Cowell (1897 - 1965): Celtic Set for two Pianos:
• 32 I. Reel (Live) 03:59
• 33 II. Caoine (Live) 04:16
• 34 III. Hornpipe (Live) 03:49
• William Bolcom (b. 1964): Sonata for Two Pianos in one Movement:
• 35 Sonata for Two Pianos in one Movement (Live) 20:15
• John Adams (1735 - 1826): Hallelujah Junction for Two Piano:
• 36 Hallelujah Junction for Two Piano (Live) 19:48
• Michael Krueger (b. 1943): Verpasste Gelegenheiten:
• 37 No. 1. Wie so da so stand (Live) 01:19
• 38 No. 2. I sass im Café (Live) 01:49
• 39 No. 3. An einem dieser holwangigen tage (Live) 01:19
• 40 No. 4. Es begann zu regnen (Live) 01:34
• 41 No. 5. Eine Konferenz zwang mich,nach Warsaw zu reisen (Live) 01:29
• 42 No. 6. In einem Hotel gegenüber der Kathedrale (Live) 01:25
• 43 No. 7. Keine Ahnung (Live) 01:25
• 44 No. 8. Es gehörte zu seinen verrückten Ideen (Live) 01:52
• 45 No. 9. Zum 10th Jahrestag unseres Verpassens (Live) 01:31
• 46 No. 10. Und schliesslich Sils Maria (Live) 01:48
• 47 No. 11. Ich war nicht erstaunt (Live) 01:57
• 48 No. 12. Es war schwerer als gedacht (Live) 01:45
• 49 No. 13. Ich mußte lernen, an ihr vorbeizugehen (Live) 01:41
• Manfred Trojahn (b. 1949): Verpasste Gelegenheiten, Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier:
• 50 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 1. Wie so da so stand (Live) 03:32
• 51 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 2. I sass im Café (Live) 04:39
• 52 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 3. An einem dieser holwangigen tage (Live) 02:38
• 53 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 4. Es begann zu regnen (Live) 02:07
• 54 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 5. Eine Konferenz zwang mich,nach Warsaw zu reisen (Live) 03:33
• 55 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 6. In einem Hotel gegenüber der Kathedrale (Live) 01:38
• 56 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 7. Keine Ahnung (Live) 02:15
• 57 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 8. Es gehörte zu seinen verrückten Ideen (Live) 10:17
• 58 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 9. Zum 10th Jahrestag unseres Verpassens (Live) 01:37
• 59 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 10. Und schliesslich Sils Maria (Live) 03:28
• 60 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 11. Ich war nicht erstaunt (Live) 02:27
• 61 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 12. Es war schwerer als gedacht (Live) 06:43
• 62 Melodram für Sprecher und Klavier: No. 13. Ich mußte lernen, an ihr vorbeizugehen (Live) 03:40
• Total Runtime 03:38:52

Info for The Americas and a new Melodram: Edition Ruhr Piano Festival, Vol. 36

On the occasion of Philip Glass’s 80th birthday, and in view of the current global situation, I felt inspired and urged to remind music lovers of the cultural richness and variety of the New World, and to recall that its artists strongly defend humanistic values. With that motivation, the Ruhr Piano Festival 2017 was held under the global motto of “The Americas”, focusing on the music of the entire double continent. That focus is likewise reflected in our annual boxed set of three CDs.

On the first album you will find examples of the spirited, colourful music of several South American countries. You have certainly already heard works by composers such as the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos or the Argentinians Astor Piazzolla and Alberto Ginastera. But the enchanting works of artists such as Moisés Moleiro, Cláudio Santoro or Carlos López Buchardo, just to name a few, were a wonderful discovery for me as well. I therefore thank the pianists Sergio Tiempo, Anna Zassimova and Zhang Zuo, not only for having offered us thrilling interpretations of these pieces, but for having undertaken the considerable task of unearthing these almost unknown works, and having taken the time to learn them to perfection. The second album takes us to North America: to the US. The music of Edward MacDowell, a New York native, exudes a thoroughly European, Late Romantic flair. His Sonata No. 2 grips the listener with a great variety of ideas and overflowing virtuosity: Joseph Moog plays it with admirable ease. With Samuel Barber’s Hesitation Tango and George Gershwin’s Three Preludes, we enter the world of American dance music and early 20th-century jazz, both of which exerted a strong influence on ‘learned’ music of the day, not only in the US. These pieces have found a congenial interpreter in Bulgarian pianist Plamena Mangova.

The second album closes with rarities for two pianos. Maki Namekawa and Dennis Russell Davies – recipients of the Ruhr Piano Festival Prize 2017 along with Philip Glass – perform Henry Cowell’s Celtic Set, William Bolcom’s Sonata for Two Pianos, and the splendid Hallelujah Junction by John Adams, who has celebrated his 70th birthday this year.

The melodrama – a musical genre that associates instrumental music with spoken text – flourished during a relatively brief period in the late 1800s and early 1900s. A commission from the Ruhr Piano Festival has brought this genre back to life: renowned author Michael Krüger has written thirteen short texts on the subject of Missed Opportunities, expressively set to music by Manfred Trojahn and congenially interpreted by pianist Hanni Liang. In this performance, the texts are recited by the composer himself; at the beginning of the CD, you can hear an extra audio version in which the author reads the texts without the music. This world première on CD No. 3 concludes our musical retrospective of the Ruhr Piano Festival 2017. As every year, I extend my heartfelt thanks to all participating artists, as also to our faithful benefactor who finances this project, Ms Helene Mahnert-Lueg. I wish you several hours of listening pleasure!

Prof. Franz Xaver Ohnesorg, Director of the Ruhr Piano Festival

Sergio Tiempo, piano
Anna Zassimova, piano
Zhang Zuo, piano
Plamena Mangova, piano
Joseph Moog, piano
Maki Namekawa & Dennis Russell Davies, piano
Michael Krüger, piano
Hanni Liang & Manfred Trojahn, piano

Stiftung Klavier-Festival Ruhr
At the close of the Ruhr Area’s year as European Capital of Culture in 2010, the Circle of Ruhr Initiatives made the groundbreaking decision to ensure the perennity of its cultural model project, the Ruhr Piano Festival, by transforming it into a foundation. Six years down the line, the Ruhr Piano Festival can report that it is in very good health. Thanks to the welcome contributions of many new supporters, the Festival has now been able to ensure its long-term survival as a cultural flagship whose beacon shines far beyond the borders of the Ruhr Region. In my role as manager, and likewise as a proud citizen of the Ruhr Area, I am convinced that we truly need such distinctive signboards and success stories to promote our region’s vibrancy and productivity. The Ruhr Piano Festival faithfully reflects the founding idea through which the Ruhr Circle of Initiatives came into being. For that reason, as well, the Executive Committee of the Evonik Corporation has decided to celebrate our firm’s 10th anniversary by committing ourselves as the Ruhr Piano Festival’s Main Sponsor for 2017. I also have the personal satisfaction of being able to accompany the Festival through the entire year as its Patron.

Thus, in this role, I wish to congratulate Festival Director Franz Xaver Ohnesorg and his team: not only for having conceived a brilliant programme for the Festival’s 2017 edition, but also for having received the ECHO Klassik Prize as a further recognition of its educational activities. The distinction is well-earned: for over ten years, the Festival has been making a long-term, exemplary contribution to the good of society with its Education Program in urban areas of the Ruhr Region. This holds particularly true for its inclusive projects in the Marxloh neighborhood of Duisburg, and for the KlavierGarten workshops that are on offer in the towns of Bottrop, Dorsten and Gladbeck: areas in which children and teenagers stemming from immigrant and refugee families need to become better integrated in kindergartens and schools. In so doing, the Ruhr Piano Festival is inspired by the fact that music has the capability – almost more any other medium – to open minds and awaken mutual understanding among people of different backgrounds. Art and culture bring people together: that is an idea to which we, at Evonik, are particularly committed.

I wish to thank each and every one of you who have made this piano event possible: the largest and most important one of its kind anywhere in the world. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all the enterprises who are members of the Ruhr Circle of Initiatives, to the Festival’s sponsors and supporters, to its donators, its partner foundations and, last not least, to the Association of Friends and Promoters of the Ruhr Piano Festival. Naturally I’m also looking forward to hearing our talented Ruhr Piano Festival artists live on stage: it is they who turn each musical evening into a unique experience. Evonik was already thrilled to present Lang Lang’s impressive concert in Duisburg last October. Now, along with you, dear concertgoers and guests, I am looking forward to experiencing a first-rate Ruhr Piano Festival in 2017. To all who participate, I wish much success, and all energy you may require to embark on new endeavors!

This album contains no booklet.