Divine Art Records – New Releases – September 2015

Though still almost unknown, the early 20^th century Polish composer Statkowski wrote the most engaging and brilliant Romantic piano music and is a worthy successor to Chopin. This album will have the widest possible appeal and is perfect for broadcast on prime time music programs.

Galina Ustvolskaya is rapidly gaining a cult following and great popularity.  Her driving rhythms and sometimes aggressive phrases gained her the nickname ‘The Lady with the Hammer’ but Russian pianist Natalia Andreeva, who has studied this music for many years, finds it an unfair label and stresses the importance of this Shostakovich pupil in the development of 20^th century piano. This double album is a ‘twofer’ (2 for the price of 1) and contains all of Ustvolskaya’s solo piano works.

Leading lights of American modernism and clarinet specialists are featured in this unique and unusual album, with works by John Cage, Barney Childs, Christian Wolff, Eric Mandat and William O. Smith, who is better known as the great jazz legend Bill Smith.

Four major world premiere recordings of orchestral works including pieces by American composer Robert Nelson, South African Peter Lieuwen and Swiss Thomas Fortmann, with a lovely new orchestration of Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy.  Music which is eclectic, takes in mixed influences from English pastoralism to Southern Blues and jazz, all performed by one of the most accomplished young orchestras around – from the University of Houston, Texas.

Métier’s ‘Disc of the Year’ is a collection of modern works for percussion, brilliantly performed by Mathias Reumert (Winner of the Danish Music Critics Prize 2015). Music by Ferneyhough, Globokar, Donatoni, Jodlowski and Hans Werner Henze.  Produced by a leading movie director, the film is as visually stunning as it is musically.  Double-sided DVD,  region 0, PAL/NTSC so universal play in all countries.